The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-09-04
RAINY DTS ~ CENTRAL Farm.
An Aspect Of tho Great lcnsure Place
Little Known to New Workers.

An Aspect Of tho Great Pleasure Place
Little Known to New Workers.
Everybody knows tho brilliancy and splen-
dor Of Central Park in sunshine. but the noble
pleasure place has upon rainy days O sober
charm Of its own. which is revealed only to
the few that deliberately seek IL out. When
gay crowds throng the walks. and fashionable
carriages fill the drives. Central Park is only
Fifth avenue plus lawns and foliage and minus
that business which threatens to make the
avenue its own. The Park at such times ap.
pears thoroughly urban: its rural aspect is .
manifest make believe. But on rainy days.
when the crowds are absent. when vehicles are
few when the saucy nurse maid is invisible.
and by strange coincidcnoe the gray-coated
policemen are hard to find. then this trim
garden Is taken back to natures heart: the
city scems to fade from sight. and even its
coaseless roar may DO imagined some sound
OF nature in hor stormy mood.
The sympathetic man who enters Central
Park on such a day will find tho place less
cheering. perhaps. than in its times OF splen. :
dor. but moro soothing. There Is O musical
patter OF raindrops on millions Of leaves. and
a deep. intensified green over all the land
scape. The sky seems to have shut down over
the broad lawns. while the whole atmosphere
Of the long alleys through which the leatier !
footpaths run seems sympathetically tincture47
with green. The air. even in broad open
spaces. seems saturated with tho almost pal. i
pable freshness of new-washed nature. ThereS
arc no sounds that do not suggest nature and /
outdoor life in far country spots. The hum Of
traffic upon Fifth avenues granite floor melts |
into tho sough Of the wind and tho swish OF :
damp-laden branches. As n vehicle passes Z
every stroke Of the hoofs is accompanied oy !
the fash OF rain wutcr. Woody doors are in. 4
tensitied. and instead OF that indescribabls
smell OF great cities. compound Of q thousand \
individual smells and dear to the ~nostrils OF the I
urban dweller. there is n mixed odor OF fow- !
ers and saturated sod and new washed foliage.
few determined oilers sit about upon theA
benches Of the moro densely shaded aisles. |
and whole colonies OF such congregate under J
nrched bridges. Here and there u man from |
only for the day. aud not To- he baked Of sights
seeing. leads his dripping i'ock from one pointH
IF ]'ntsio ST h to n MEN f:I T"1 m s%Si ts0 s Sas ev ua; ]
u rainy day can quit. rob the 400, OF it's siRht- i
seers. md the aniInlIs. W.th characteristics
esting antics tho occasions when the specta- 4
tors are fewest. II Is then that the bald eagle I
wars upon til" grlirn Nultura. and that the.
latter walks with II peculiarly t!ucuicnt stride
September. when to all ordinary observers ID ,
is vet full summer. and only by subtle touches |
Hint Of coming autumn. all the delicate indi.f
cations that prophecy the approaching DEL
tnoiir nmoIanchoiy message. Red and yellow
iSayes tlutt"r d1Wn unoX tsdly from tress ,
tho paths arc patched as lar as eye can reach
with these = silent monitors Of coming frost.
Tho msitnehoiy Of autumn Is In the air, ready
presence Of cheerful crowds. but Whispering IN
tho ear Of the lonely man, heard in the patter
Of rain upon leaves, and In the gnsty shower
taken noss.ssioa Of tho lPto; pond: A. 81
unfold their delicate beautio- for another week. d,
ani yet others that have no. shown their tips
a a"rGan H Ind IN Lis, Ga until ne maryeIlous
which is soon to DO the hard. green seed ysss8
SCI, is laid bare. until tho pink and siken
ff tasmsnt % over 'H the I nond tRs. Is IS ts ssr.f ho%e. q.
widensilt; shores: II lie: gray. troabIed. and
fss,sa Sis,%, "IiEe catSea!rai !aSlsies nlsts Witt
embody tho Spirit Of the dripping dry. North-S
wara tn s,, oSf III q Eray .i nsnril seems nfs bSSte
sysa Fl i M sam ,sSis i a t ha%ia ' %asss
E| aiS Of wan haif tHllfn lsa Ss'u nna STTf% ns p@gb ssS ssS1
dripping, 9dorous. silent. undisturbed ~
squirrel or bra or human c]reatqre. redoleHSi
q pine. might easily be a bit q forest niles
fr9m grauite ravements and sidewalks
bedraggieI rural sigltsoets, Tho rsstaurant;
cred in little knots. ignore lie few customers
nnd talk IN u ton" that'wouId make u Partisan
G%a,Gon,s hair stand en- end with a sense Of
Of WicEcdnesS in the rainy-dgy contingent ol
the restaurants. Couples who would rather
safe and aGroea, lie. The lone man, under the
smell OF Experimentation and tho subtle
temptation of "a falnyday, hears tho swish ofR
feathered fan from the screened alcove. and
ianguidly wonders whether the unescortsd
lady across tn" room would resent an invita-
ton to irnchron.. New York seems 50 far away
that ordinary, urban, rules ~ conduct may be
nbrosRtrI Yet Fl!th .IyouIa il only zoo Yards
distant. and there stands the hiieous reality
Of Col. Shepard's omnibus. ready to destroH
rural illusions and Danish the moist err
chautmcnt Of the drippin. Park.