The San Francisco call., 1895-11-24
WHAT IS new IN GOTHAM.
The Craving for Novelty a
Characteristic of Life in
New York.
OPERAS WILL GO ON TOUR.
The Seasons DanceS-Death OF the
German Cotillon and Return
of the Quadri1le.

Yorker. man or woman, ii he has any ?'
a newly arrived foreigner asked me at the
Lotos Club few evenings since, and
promptly answered, 1.-The craving for nov
eltv and sensation" And having that
idea in mind it was which years ago
tempted Joseph Pulitzer here to we'll
found anew the World then fairly found
cred bv Scott, Gould, Hurlbert & Co., and
which has recently tempted the scholarly
journalistic millionaire, Hearst OF the San
francisco Examiner, to pour his income
upon the journal founded by another
Pulitzer.
Herein the New Yorker differs from
every other metropolitan in our land.
Your Bostonian, for instance, takes novelty
leisurely-not so leisurely, however, as
Briton-and he absorbs sensation gently.
Your Philadelphian does not exactly
mand relishes bonne bouche after dessert.
Your Baltimorean quizzes novelty. Your
Washingtonian boasts Of supplying it.
Your Cincinnatian-very natty OF late,
too-doesn't crave it, either, but he can di-
gest it. Chicago emulates New York and
Washington in both craving and supply
ing novelty and sensation, so that of late
New York has in that respect grown ieal-
Gus of the lake city. Just now New York
Graves novelty without temporarily getting
it. Autumn opened with an embarras de
richesse of it. Was there not ,ducaI fit
ting to and fro and ducal wedding (sand-
wiched with brace of society dlvorces); (;
then an exciting election battle between
the Republican eagle, the Democratic star
tiger and the factional rooster; next
another transatlantic wedding between
peer and the daughter of peerless
statesman (Whitney); again a portrait
show and a society fashion bazaar, mis-
named horse show; succeeded by a
cattle show, where Governor-Morton-
emulated Queen Victoria's favorite role of
taking prizes for milch cows and for
woolly mothers of the little lambs OF Brit
ish Marys. True. we have the opera, with
some show of novelty in scores of perform
ers; but that is an expensive sensation,
and New York is growing economical
lately in its cravings.
My tourist friend was medical man,
who came over to Investigate the high air
of Colorado, our hot springs and the
Floridian Riviera; thinking that his pa
tients were weary of European health re-
sorts; so that, hearing my frank and per-
haps unpatriotlc criticism OF my metropo-
lis, he responded, what lot of fever
ishness, nervousness, hysteria and brain
disorders there must be here for my pro-
fessional brethren to look after" He was
right, and DR.. Pardee, fellow club MEM
ber-dean of the medical university-soon
joining in the conversation, remarked. at
is this feyerish characteristic of the New
Yorker which stamps the word nerves. ,
There is more folly to be shot as it flies
in New York In one week than in any
other city during month, and more Cos
sip afoat in it than twenty interior Yam
kee villages can furnish. But detachments
from the very large opera troupeS OF the
experienced impressarlo Grau and the
ubiquitous and enterprising Abbey, as
sisted by the lustrous-eyed Marcus Mayer,
will ere long visit the cities and places
where this epistle is read, and therefore
their performances make suitable topics.
After preludes and prefaces of music from
the magical fingers and well-thatched
brain of Paderewski-whom the Eastsiders
of Irishmen insist upon calling Paddy
Roosekee-and from the violin OF close
cropped stunted Frenchmsn Marsac, the
opera season opened. and began with
Romeo and Juliet" in French (but what
matter, for music has its own language),
and introduced bit of carved novelty in
the Capulet heroine of Mime. Saville,
a new soprano conner, with Jean de
Reszke, as the hapless Montague. The
singing was so excellent and the orches
trauion so perfect that there were mo-
ments during the performance when the
buzz of conversation in the boxes fairly
ceased. Memorandum: Opera-boxes IN
New York are practically devoted to social
receptions, and listening to the perform
ance is only an incident. Moreover half
the occupants of the stalls practice their
lorgnettes more upon the bellies and
matrons and toilets in the boxes til an
upon the performers, unless by some
happy accident fresh and pretty face or
two should have been injected into the
time-worn chorus by way of counter-at-
traction. The second opera night brought
Calve, New York's pet, as Carmen. No
craving for novelty in that; but then even
New Yorker doesn't object to a second
help OF terrapin soup or of the breast OF
canvasback duck. I forgot to add that
there was novelty in the Romeo opera
through the appearance of bright
young lady who has had the good taste
not to Italianize her name-thereby fol-
lowing the example of Ohio, Cleveland's
contribution to the ranks OF prima donna
dom, Ella Russell-and she accordingly
sang as a page under her baptismal cog
nomen OF Clara Hunt-a native of cold
Northern New York, where her sweet
though not strong voice was never frosted.
My memory can only recall the stage
lady of that prosaic yet sportive name,
and she was an English actress of
years ago at the old Knickerbocker
EaTK Inedter ABOUT the tlme DlCkeHS
had in it reception ball. But our real
operate novelty comes in few evenings
with the presentation of "Trlstan and
Isolde" with Swedish compatriot of
Jenny Lind or Nilsson in it, named Marie
Brema, as the heroine, and the aforesaid
masher tenor again as the hero. How
time and Wagner have conquered New
Workers.. recall the first evening in the
long ago, when the man of Bayreuth's
music was first heard in this city while
the auditors accustomed to Rossini,
Auber and Donizetti listened wonderingly
at what they deemed a jargon of sounds
reed, striug and brass running a confused
tempo race-and when the critics all went
to their editorial dens to sneeringly
write, ''This may be the music of the
future, but we hope that future is very dis
tant." The veteran Capoul is again on
the programme, and he has a younger
competitor in M. hubert. who is one of the
sweetest tenors that my memory holds
comparison of. Nordica, who never had
the sad pleasure of burying her husband,
is again in the troupe. with Maurel, whom
other cities know, both of them singing
for $3.50 apiece at the Whitney wedding.
That myth called society promises soon
to begin its dancing season and bring the
quadrilles again into vogue.
1t is time that the old sociable quadrille