Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1891-07-02
IN THE METROPOLIS
How the Fourth is Celebrated on
Manhattan Island.

l. Manhattan Island.
l Somehow or other l don't think tina
l shall ever forget the first Fourth o.
: July spent in New York. In Texas
! where l had previously resided, the glo
rious Fourth is celebrated in pretty
much the same style as it is in New
York; but somehow or other it did not
seem to me to make so much noise
Texas is somewhat larger than Manhat.
tan Island. Perhaps that may account
for it.
Yes, rejoiced that it was over, but
still was not entirely happy, for an IL
inch frecracker had exploded on the
rim of my ear, and L became an eye
sore to my friends. When we convers-
ed they had to do most of it, for 1 was
kept busy holding my hand to the side
of my head, and repeating such ques-
tions as "Hey?" "What do you say?"
feel perfectly sure that missed several
invitations to "take something" owing
to my temporary deafness. For awhile
l was very deaf, indeed, but 1 have re-
covered my hearing, and now it is no
longer safe to invite me to join in pass
ing the flowing bowl.
Still have my doubts about the peo-
pie of the North being more patriotic
than those of the South. Recently, sta
tistics have been published which show
that more people have had their arms
and fingers blown off in the South than
in the North, which also goes to prove
that the feeling against the British is
more intense than has generally been
supposed.
Judging perhaps by the noise made on
the Fourth of July the thoughtless OBJ
server might conclude that the South
was really less patriotic than the North;
but it should be taken into considera-
tion that in Gotham frecrackers are on
ly three cents a pack, and pin wheels
cost only a ceut apiece, whereas in
Southern cities they are much more ex-
pensive. Even the poorest classes of
New York can afford to express their
detestation of George Ill. and his min
ions at a comparatively trifling expense.
The high price of explosives in the
South is the real cause of the people of
New Orleans, for instance, seeming to
be comparatively Indifferent as to which
side whipped in the great revolutionary
struggle. In New York, where cannon
crackers are almost given away, the
enthusiasm is so pronounced that revel-
ers begin to make the welkin ring, and
to get tight, on the night of the third of |
July.
So thorough is the detestation of Eng |
lish tyranny in New York, that even as
early as the afternoon of the third l |
have seen the police whipping up the
sidewalks with we'll dressed inebriates. |
In the drug stores boys get their fingers |
tied up from toy pistol wounds as early
as the second of July. Two years ago,
1 saw an elderly gentleman fall out of
second-story window while firing off
Roman candle, and it was not later than
eight o'clock of the evening before the
Fourth.
But to return to my experiences on
the first great national holiday spent in
New York. At an early hour bounded |
slowly and reluctantly from my couch,
and hied me to my private journalistic
arena on the ground floor. My inten-
tion was to write glowing editorial on
the "Decay of American Patriotism"
but owing to the constant detonations |
1 was unable to finish 1t.
While | was trying to collect my
thoughts, there was boy in the window
of the fourth story of the flat house in
which 1 resided who dropped, on an av-
erage, three lighted irecraekers a min
ute into the yard and less than three |
feet from where l was collecting my
thinks. The firecraekers were all ruined
by the explosions, but l was glad of.
They could never be used again, but
never shed tear, not even moist sob.
In the next yard there was full
grown man with an adult gun, who
loaded and fired at five o'clock don't
know whether he hit it or not-and
kept it up all day without turning a
hair.
1 did not make much progress with
my patriotic editorial. Iwrote:
"This is the national gala day, the
day that for more than century has
been resonant with the echoes of patri-
otie music, = :" Bangl Bangl Bing
bang bang bing- bing- bangbang- -bing-
bang ~ *!!?*!*!?IIl- l-bangl |
But l rallied, and wrote out:
at is well. Let the cheers be given
II lie, a.ln r0i
the sky with their brilliant path of
light"
Here small boy interrupted me, and
replied in small caps: "NOl I'm not
going to give you another cent to buy |
firecrackers with, and if you fire anoth-
er one of them in this yard I'll slam you
against the fence so you'll stick there.
Get outF
then l resumed my writing:
"Let us celebrate the day, and not |
mourn that it costs a few hard earned
dollars"
mo! say; clear outl Not nickel
more for tirecrackers." Bangl Bing-
bang bang bang bling -whiz Kerflaml
Kerfium!- these last two detonations |
being from the idiot with the gun in the
next yard.
Then 1 gave it up. There was no use
trying to write under those circum-
stances
Nevertheless, l am in favor of the
Fourth. Perhaps it is just as well that
our revolutionary fathers succeeded as
well as they did in dispelling the Brit
ish yoke; otherwise, more of us might
be standing around like clothing store
dummies, with eyeglass and an idiotic !
leer and saying in a tone of voice that
indicates nasal eatarrh: "Aw, weallyl
'Ow's yer 'elth, melud," just like those
wretched dudes on Fifth avenue. Let
us be thankful that we are collectively
no bigger fools than we. really are.
-Aler Il Street.