The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-01-05
LITTLE ENGLAND.
and Sporting Gus
toms Which So Char
acterize KearnY-
Its TaVerns.

aKearny and parts of Harrison are like
an English town transplanted. Outside
of n few English colonies IN the South
and West, there is no place in the United
States that is SO thoroughly British in its
characteristics as Kearny aud the north
ern part of Harrison. It is not the ab-
sence OF the American spirit that marks
the place, for that is easily and soon
acquired by the Britishers across the
river, but it is the transplanted features
Of an English town life that strike one
most forcibly. These features are to be
observed by the most casual observer at
any time. but they stand out with greater
prominence on holidays. 1t is chen that
the British spirit asserts itself OH al sides
and one Is struck by IT at once. During
the last week this could be noticed by
anyone who happened TO visit the place.
These British characteristics are not
easy to describe. Viewed Sc separately, they
do not seem unusual for this country, but
when regarded IN the aggregate, they
rave that foreign APPEARANCE that for the
time one would easily believe that he
had suddenly come upon a piece of En-
gland that had been bodily transferred 10
the bank of the Pas sale. An American,
who recently returned, after an extended
stay in England, said, after seeing Keainy
on a h~oliday:-.It would require no great
stretch of the imagination to walk
through the streets, visit a few of the
inns. and imagine that / was in one of
the u of Manchester or Liverpool"
The Britlsher who goes to Kearny to live
seems to hold to the manners, dress and
custom OF the mother country a great
deal longer han he would in any other
American place. By the Britisher is
meant the Englishman and the Scotch
and Irish. who have lived in England
prior to coming to this country
THE CUT OF THEIR CLOTHES
The kearny EnglIshman can be known
by his clothes. He does not readily adopt
the spruce and stylish attire of his fell
low-countrymen of Newark aud else
where. His clothing is strong and sub
stantial, and he frequently prefers a plain
flannel shirt with a silk kerchief around
his neck to a billed" shirt and Numbered
collar. With a peaked or cloth cap,
trousers not remarkable for style, and n
short heavy jacket, he considers himself
we'll dressed. The married women. in a
less marked may. adhere to the fashions
which were in vogue when they left their
native country. Old country styles are
followed in. the attire of the little chill
dren, but the grown up sous and laugh
tiers of Kearny Englishmen readily adopt
the latest styles in their clothing.
ITS TAvERNS.
Perhaps the most strikingly English
characteristic of the place is its saloons,
or. as they are referred to there, ''tav-
erns," Inside they are fitted up pretty
much as the bars are in English suburban
towns, only there are in Kearny more or
less American improvements. Barrels OF
ale. porter and liquor are piled up in the
place, instead of being hIddnn away in
the cellar, as in an American barroom.
fancy fixtures. Colored prints of fight
ing COCKS. pugilists and whippets (racing
dogs), with q cheap portrait of some
British celebrity, are the chief decorations
of the walls.
1t is no unusual sight to see a husband
and wife go into a tavern together and
sit down a table and drink their share of
''hold hale" or 'arf and art" in a domes-
tic way. The wife of the keeper of the
tavern does not think it beneath her Dig
nifty to stand behind the oar aud serve
out drinks to the customers. and when
asked TO do so will join the drinking.
An English housewife who needs beer,
ale or liquor for consumption at home
does not go in a side loo or hide in a
little side room while she is being waited
upon, bu goes right up to the bar, and
more thar likely she will meet some of
her neighbors there and will remain
there a few minutes in friendly converse.
FOND OF SPORTS.
In the matter of sports kearny is in
tensely English. A football match or
game Of cricket will call out half the
town. In the summe and spring the
sport is whippet racing. These
pretty, slender and fleet-footeG dogs are
very popular in the place, and it is said
that some of the finest and deetest whip
pets in the world have been raised or
trained in Kearny within the last few
years. On the eve or night of every holt
day there are always one or more COCK |
ing-mains or rat-baits going on in
the town. Several saloon keep
ers W gamecockS that have
remarkable records. Pugilism and wrest-
ling are also INDUCED in. and the strang-
er who is fond of that sort of sport will
nave to travel far to see it on a holt
day or Saturday night. On a holiday,
who live in Newark and the
townships visit Kearny in large numbers
for the sake of meeting old acquaintance
or to find out who is the most recent ar
rival from the old place at nome and hear
from him the latest reports of old friends
eft tehipd In England.