The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-12
EVE TOPICS ABoUr row.

Marshall p. wilder. who returned from Eng
land on the St Louis last week. said some
thing that amused a group Of his fellow pas
SengerA. They laughed, and none Of them
could remember having heard 1t before. Such
unusual elements In one OF Mr.. wilder's stories
seem 70 entttle the story to repetition. Some
body asked him what he had been doing IN
over last year" no said, "and told them a lot
OF jokes. This spring I went back TO find out il
tney had seen the point yet. and to explain it II
Ont New York woman at q suburban hotel
changed her room very suddenly last week
and there was nothing that the proprietor Of
the hotel could have done that would have REQ
onctled her to tho quarters abe had occupied for
several days. The rooms were comfortable
and faoed the main street Of the village and
the ocean . abort distance beyond. But ther1
was one oh3ection to them that their last &C.
cupant found nsurmountahle. She had taken
her two daughters to tho hotel for the summer
and her rooms on tho Second floor opened on a
piazza. Hero the dignined mother OF the party
vas supposed 10 psss most of her time and
from this point abe watched tho daily process
sion Of drivers and pedestrians passing down
tho principal drive Of the town. 1t became
evident after the arst day that something was
wrong. The hotel was the best In the place and
was patronized by q class Of people whose posi-
ton was unquest.oned. The mother of the two
was . very grave. sedate- looking woman who
would be the last person in the world to excite
undue hilarity. But she noticed that q num-
Der OF people who glanced up at her piazza
smiled. while even her own friends who looked
up to bow grinned with an enthusiasm that
s Tas mot mot n 1ss : the i've re sS1s Of 2, p sss n;a+s, A ssssr
ing and knitting. while she wondered what
there was about her appearanco, 20 arouse so
much morrfment among those who looked up
at her, she decided 20 confer with her dRughr
ters. They determined to tnvestigate the
up &C their mother in her accustomed atti-
tnda. Then they, burst into . laugh.
wrath until rhsy reached the room to explain
the cause OF their amusement It proved TO
be merely the effect OF the striking contrast
the old lady and a sign which was hung or
tho piazza in a position that made tt appear
i aiEeisiH here sS Asr o SssT tho IL 's sSp of the the s aEa s sp-
peared the face of the mother as she sat all day
smiles were now understood. and before an
hour had elapsed the rooms were changed.
Mime. Melba seems to have been the great
feature Of the Covent Garden season. II the size
Of the audiences be taken as the STANDARD of
Judgment. It is said that she drew larger
audiences than did any other singer at the Gar
dem She proved the star of the company, and
II the newspaper reports are TO be credited,
sang as well as she ever did in her Life Wal
ter Damrosch may have shown himself prudent
In selecting Nine. Melba as the leading star Of
his company. as it becomes more evident every
day that sne is to be the great feature OF the
company to which all others viii be subordinate,
and the Wagner season viii seemingly be made
a secondary part of the company's work. Just
before her illnsss it was announced in London
that, Mime. Nordira was to appear at Covent
Garden in -Siegfried'' and Tristan ind
Isolde and her projected Wagner concert to
! ~. -T,rar rTrh Anrnn 2AtHl N hanIn nAT IN
allow her time for rehearsals- some Of the
London ommen on Anton Seidl,s work as q
of them ara most Gathering. Some Of tine crit
icisns Indicate that the writer's regard View
ner's works and the best manner Of their per.
tormance, and IN at least one weekly the faults
the ground that his art had been damaged by the
demands Of The American taste. As a matter
OF fact New York has heard more Of Wagner.
operas than London ever did, heard them BET
ter sung, and seen them better acted, and would
reject contemporary the average Wagner
production of London as too far below thu
standard established here. All the operas arr
better done here. and London audiences ar
afc si1Ssps tb AZ would 5sEdn Se rslard 4 eS as medIoer'
In this city.
Many people think" said an English man
that New York ID more like Paris than an!
other city in the world and that ia probably
true. Certainly It Is moro Ike Paris thai
London is But one Of the most striking
features Of Paris Life has been entirely ignores
by New York Here one never sees an Outdo0
Gaia or restaurant, and the climate Is on
entirely suited to open-air eating and drinking
In London there arc not three days ont Of ia
in which during the spring and summer q ma
could sit with comfort under an awning or il
the open .air and cat or drink. New Yorl
has many opportunities 70 enjoy this feature O
Parts life. but as TAR al I can SEQ it has not bee
anywhere taken advantage Of In other re
spects New York foll0ws tho lead Of Londo
rather than that Of Paris. The little open vic
suited to the conditions existing in New Yort
but no attempt was ever made 10 make theI
popular here. When somethlns dndsr a eSaR
taurants az we'll as the little open cabriolets ar
when they are a. much suited 10 the condition
an they are hare it is too bad they should not b
Introduced
. During the last week q number Of extenafv
pockets Of auckland have been uncovered /
the lower part Of the city by men excavatln
for foundations for big office buildings. In on
case the amount of quicksand found was nearI
a record breaker. A geologist brought An el
cellent specimen Of this quicksand to THE So
! ONCE on Saturday. IT obtained it from an a.
c~avation On lower Broadway" 40 said. IAN
the workman are now 5usY sinking plt
through it. IL L f. very Taa 81 hoW Ri Ginning and 70
10 deal with when one is'seeking a firm toundi
ton. New York's rock bottom has bee
: saooped out In many places. AZ II by the actio
OF water ares ago, and in nearly, every one
these hoIlows quicksnnd may be found II i
creases the expense OF building very Target.
and several Of these pockets that were apsI
pscted when the foundations were laid hay
: been Responsible for serious damage To con
: paratively new butldinRs.'
A new definition Of the habit of swearing WI
brought out In q viii case in the Orphans Cou
of New Jersey last week. A highly eccentr
woman Of East Orange had been the ~testatri
i and her sister contested tho win on the groun
/, that the testatrix was Of unsound mind.
: trained nurse who had attended her tcstihe
, that she was in tho habit Of swaarins Vtolentl
DR.. John d. McGill, a brother Of the Chance
lor, az an expert. defined the wonan's swea
. inE as a moral functional peryersity. but
. did not believe that IL was any Indication
2 parssia- Another physician testified that d
though the woman was given To swearing 20
. caaionaIly,' her condition was one of perfa
/ sanity.
Q rHIELMANy TO s1H ON JULY o