The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-07-27
ROUND ABOUTIN GOTHAM
SUGGESTIVE SIGHTS TO BE SEEN
IN THE GREAT METROPOLIS

Campanini, Past and Pressnt-An AL
dermanic Pageant-The Late Genial
General Fisk-A Funny Wagnerian
Episode-seeinR the Sights.
Copyright 1907
NEW YORK, July 26.-Fifth avenue, a
hot morning, on the shady side, man on
the shady side of youth and fortune. Where
have seen that faces Something of the
farmer about it. and something OF the
butcher. No, / have not tie honor Of a
large acquaintance in either cOnfraternity,
so try again. Beaming countenance, just a
dash of disappointment weakening It's
native jollity. perhaps a trace OF
''going the pace" or it may only
be the sultry morning. A burly build
and a sailor-llke rollin walking, surely he
must be some skipper one has sailed with
somewhere No, that face is perfectly ia
miliar ell the time, yet where to place it,
that's the puzzle. A newspaper manl Ger
tainly not, there's too much of the trouba-
dour in the make up for that. All, trouba-
dour-a happy hit-a wandering minstrel
he is, a knight of romance, not long ago a
veritable king in the realm of the stage,
for it is no other than Campanini. Was
ever love-lorn operate tenor so unlike
the part in the daylight. Perhaps our
monarch has hidden long farewell to all
his former greatness. He looks it. There
was CampanIni concert given in Chicken
ing hall a few weeks ago, and 1t was we'll
attended, but it does not seem as though
the once adored tenor will ever again be
able TO thrill the sons and daughters of
fashion with his trills, or replenlsh his
depleted pocket ook with the superabund-
ant dollars of yore.
Talking of past celebrities, l came I'M
awares upon scene the other day that was
evidently as momentous an affair within its
limits as any grand national celebration.
1t was no less than the funeral OF an alder
man of the Empire city Of the world.
Strolling purposely through the purlieus Of
Palestine in Gotham, | emerged about the
lower end of First and Second avenues, ana
got stuck in huge crowd that
blocked up First street. Grand distinc-
ton to he a denizen Of the first street
of the first city in the promlscu-
Gus universe. We were threaded and
hemmed IN by 400 pair horse coaches le $
or more, for they movedaround too quickly
to be counted correctly. All the aristocracy
of boodledom and saloondom were present
in the flesh, averaging, apparently, some
1t borne in mind that The detunct city
father was a member of the bar by profess
sion. His mansion in the First street OF
Gotham was adorned with a noble swing sign
all gold upon the front and the back sides
thereof, on which were emblaz ned the
heraldic insignia, showing that the lamented
proprietor purveyed excellent beverages,
and that the name OF his mansion was
Beer CreeE." Glorious it was to behold
the great men of our great city gathe.
beneath tue gilded coat-of-arms t. do
honor to a good man gone. A shout, a
hustle, a cleavage of the crowd by a
carriage rudely driven, and then a
murmur OF admiration as we saluted the
celebrated magnate who honor our city by
being its mayor. whole hour of this, IA
binding, dazzling array of distinguished
arrivals, and just as nature began to give
way under the stress of SO mucn delight, |
Joined the lowlier string who invaded n
neighboring hosiery and revived my flag
ging energies with "a draught of Lutheran
lager But too close contact with the great
ones of earth is always depressing.
Gen. Clinton q Fisk was the second best
chairman of public meetings in New York
The best is Bishop Potter. | heard Gen.
Fisk make one of his wonderfully genial,
telling speeches only a month ago. 1t was
probably mis- last, and was on his favorite
humor, quiet, rich, keen and always
strictly to the point. His fun dubbed up I'M
consciously, and, therefore, much more Ell
fectively than that of the fussy man
who advertises in advance that he is
going to tell you a funny thing that
will mako you laugh your head off. Gen.
Fisk looked good for twenty more years Of
activity. Allowing for whatever Of crank
cry there was in his craze for prohibition
he was man of singularly well-balanced
mind, always calm, apparently calculating
as he spoke, and he never manifested any
pas iionate feeling for or against anything.
Judging by his platform appearances, the
Prohibition party have lost their most intu-
entail speaker, and it will be interesting to
see on whose shoulders will fall the mantle
of one so rarely endowed with insight and
foresight, and wise temperance in leading
his crusade.
If you have never attended the Seidl So
ciety's concerts, at which the Wagnerites
and clasSlcists of the high German school of
opera fairly revel in their own peculiar fad,
You cannot be expected to know how strong
a hold that sort of thing really has upon
susceptible Gotham. To help 1t along, the
Seidfs have invited Frau Wagner to come
over here and be the guest of the soci-
ETY. for several months this summer
1t is expected that if the frau can overcome
her natural repugnance 10 the sea she may
dITlNe dDOub August, DuJ no udUe mas Vet
been fixed. OF course, her presence will be
an advent in musical circles worth discuss
ing. The lady isn't intensely musical bv
any means: but for that matter neither are
a good many of the most enthusiastic wor-
shippers Of the Master of Bayreuth.
/ heard a story in point, yesterday, that
illustrates the prOfundity of the Wagnerian
emotion working in American boSoms. A
family of wealth and the highest culture
gave musicale, and almost the first part
of the pr gramme a sonata or some
such movement by Wagner, rendered by a
professor whose long hair, jungle-like
whiskers and gloomy, cavernous eyes pro-
claimed him an enthusiast of the master
He started in at great rate. Said the host
to me afterward:
"When about ten minutes had passed, |
saw poop Q pulling out their watches and
slyly peeping at them. At fifteen, they
couldn't suppress yawn or two. Twenty,
began to grow uneasy ard cast sharp
sIerces at Herr Teufeltomper's music sheets,
which were apparently undiminished l
tried by every means to draw his eve and
signal him to stop, but ne was absorbed in
the composition. He sat there all twisted
I'D, his shoulders bumped, his ewes glover
ing and his long, bony fingers skipping like
digital fiends across the keys.
After the half hour, watches
began to be pulled quite openly, one or
two made well-bred excuses and left. and l