The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-05-14

Bradford. Charles W. sandford. and William a.
Appleton. who not long before had opened 10
London a branch estnblishm emit OF the hrm OF
d. Appleton a Co. Ex-Mayor Hone was select
cd to address the letter OF invitation 70 MT
Dickens. who was then in Boston. The som
mittee recommended that the ball should be
given at the Park Theatre. the inside OF Wnic"
should be 30 transformed rs to represent !"
magnificent saloon the auditorium to be Deco
rated with flowers, draperies, ana tokens e"-
blematical Of the different States In the Union
tho floor to extend from the front OF the boxes
to the rear OF the house. whore. on an eieva.eo
stage. were to be represented In taoioaua
various interesting scenes from Dieheneo
works. The programme OF the commi''ee
was faithfully carried out. Before a .empo-
rary stage was hung . drop curtain Mpon
which Pickwick and his friends and Sam well
Ter were depicted. Behind this curtain were
represented groups OF persons illustrating In.
cidents in "Pickwick.' Nicholas Nickieny'
"Olivcr Twist THE Old Curiosity shop.
"Barnaby Rudge," and others OF Dickenss
then published novels. The intervals between
the dances were enlivened with the taoieaua
and with refreshments. Mr.. DouGherty tells
us that the guests represented tho wcaith
| and aristocracy OF the town. but. as they num-
bered nearly twenty-five hundred. they must
have constituted q somewhat. mixed assem-
blage. A few days later q dinner to the novel;
ist. attended by moro than two hundred ladies
and gentlemen. was given ut the City Hotel.
It L. interesting to learn that Washington
Irving. who. with other American authors OF
the day were present. was almost as much OIL
lion as Dickens. To Irving's many literary
honors had recently been added. at the In
stance OF Daniel Webster. the appointment OF
Minister to Spain. We are indebted to the
editor for a pertinent reference to this visit to
NJ v~rlr Lea . ,,1ANt1 frnp, thu 'AmArINnn
Notes" Dickens records that the toneo OF the
best society OF this city New York; is like that
OF Boston. Here and there. 1t may be. with a
greater infusion OF the mercantile spirit. but
generally polished and refined. and always
most hospitable." Dickens adda that tho
ladies are singularly beautiful" 1t should here
be mentioned that gas. which had only lately
been introduced. was used for illuminating
purposes at but few ofthe many brilliant enter
nme nts for which these years were noted.
The New York Gas Light Company had indeed
been incorporated In 1929. with permission to
lay it's pipes below Canal street. and in 1880
the Manhattan Gas Light Company was or
eanized to supply the illuminant to the upper
wards. but for many years candles or lamps
supplied with sperm oil were employed In the
majority OF households.
This was the era in which clubs were formed.
There. for instance. was the Hone Club. which
gave weekly feasts at the homes Of its mem-
bers. usually Wings. and at which both Web
ster and Clay were guests. There. too. was
the Kent Club. SO called. Of course. in honor OF
ex-Chancellor Kent. and comprising some OF
the most eminent lawyers Of the city. such as
Samuel Jones'. John Duer. Ogden Hoffman.
Peter A. Jay. Francis b. Cutting. and the then
rising Charles O'Conor. The Union Club was
formed In 1896. 1T was" says Losing. "a
representative organization OF members OF the
old families. tho survivors Of the knicker-
booker race. who chung with tenacity to their
aristocratic traditions" According to Fair
field. whom Losing quotes. their names APP
pear in the list OF members with q sort OF
aristocratic monotony OF the knickerbock-
erism. which earned for them tho epithet OF
the Bourbons OF New York. Extant. moro
over. at this time. was the Sketch Club. which
had been formed by Morse and other artists In
1887; its members used to meet fortnightly at
the old Washington Hotel. corner Of Broadway
and Chambers street. We should not over
look the Bread and Cheese Club. whose menu
bers were selected on literary and scientific
grounds. and at whose meetings might be
seen DR.. Francis, author and physician: the
naturalist De Kay and his friend. the author OF
Marco BoZxaris:.' the Duer Brothers. Gul1hn
{. verplanck. Prof. Renwick. and Charles King.
aftsrward President OF Columbia College.
vi.
New York rather than Boston was at this
time the centre OF American literature. Hnw-
thorne's Twice Told Tales" were first pub
iished in tho Enicka'bocke' Magazine. Nor
toms Hope" was brought out anonymously
by tho Ilarpers. and gave little promise OF
the authors subsequent compositions. The
Dutch Republic" and the United Neither
lands" Tho knickrrbocker. like the Mirror.
was in the meridian OF it's success. with n roll
Of illustrious contributors. both foreign and
American. To its columns contributed
Southey. Bulwer. and GuiZot. as we'll as Long |
fellow. Hawthorne. Whittier. Bryant. Cooper.
Irving. Percival. PauldinE. William L. Stone.
Charles Fenno Hoffman. Halleck. \. T. Willis.
Theodore s. Fay. John lnman. and Park
benjamin. To the same era belongs Poe's
Narrative OF A. Gordon Pym:" Longfellow's
Hyperion: - The Pathfinder" THE Water
Witch" and "The Deerslayer." by Cooper.
and Tho Adventures OF Capt. Bonneville"
ard Astoria" by the veteran Irving. Not
only were there admirable books published In
those days but at the Lyceum were to be
heard lectures by Jared SPARKS. Verplanck.
President Duer Of Columbia College. and the
author OF The Yellow Plush Papers,
Nj. Dousherty points out that tho pioneer
OF the penny PRESS and the first newspaper to
substitute steam presses for the old machines
turned by crank was THE NEW York sun.
which first appeared in 1885. He goes on to
tell us that steam presses and cheap journal
ism revolutionized the city press. The Herald
was also begun In 1885. but the Times and
the Tribune were OF later and the poln was
OF much later oriLin. The latter paper. which
was started not long before the war. was the
offspring of tho Courier and Enquirer. which.
edited by James Watson Webb. was the Wing
organ of the reriod now under review. Before
the days Of ocenn steams rs photographs. Webb
initiated tho pony express. and maintained
q feet OF small vessels outside OF Sandy Hook
to hail each incoming packet for the latest
news from abroad. Webb's transient monop-
oily was soon contested by the Journal
Of Commerce and other papers OF the
day. and with the advent OF the steamships
Sirius and Great Western this method OF pre-
empting the latest information became obso-
lete. In 1910 Horace Greely. under the au-