Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-09-09
THE BusINEss-LIKE WAY IN wnrcu
THEY ARE CONDUCTED.
BUT LITTLE EMOTION DISPLAYED.
Dinerent from Those in the SOUTH
ern, ns Are Many of the Other Gus
toms-A Limited HospitaIity--Ex-
chnnge of Christmas Presents.
CNew York SUM

t.ltr VINO comes 10 New York 10 live
..l they seem always to be something
more than the result Of the ways Of a
metropolis as compared with those Of a
,y only a fraction as big. The south
e.uefs who come here find the distinctive
..aracteristics OF New York life not in
l~.e.Iug cable-cars nor in towering sky
s..apcrs. The lavish evidences Of wealth
49, .I the good hat 1t can accomplish
o.. always interesting TO them, and they
s.irc.ate the advantages Of the libra
a.s and art galleries. the delights of the
theatres and the opera. and the best
clements Of metropolitan life. But If they
really feel. as some Of them have
SAIL. they do. the genuine differences lie
deeper than the contrast of all these ex-
.Ia.s with the features Of smaller
t.a1s. To the superficial differences
s...te-ners say they can become accus-
toned it IS only the opposite elements
e. c.aracter 20 which they are some
tuas unable 20 reconcile themselves after
years or residence here. and this applies
a., only % New York. but also to any
city where the influences are wholly
IDitEtgn.
THEIR TREATMENT OF DEATH.
~ anybody should ask me in what
one greatest difference lay between the
habits maybe j should say between the
characters, too. of the people of the
North and the South. ! would unhesitat-
ilgly say that II was their treatment Of
DEATH said a southerner. with us
in The South. death is an awful. solemn
g.et. that shuts us out as completely
from the world as If the black veil actu-
ally did fan between it and us. Here.
death Isl only. or seems TO me. TO be
only a dreadful incident Of life. Nothing
Il my life ever gave me a greater shock
than the first funeral procession l ever
saw in New York. The horses were trot-.
ting along at a lively rate. with the
htarse moving nearly as rapidly. l had
never before seen a funeral move at any
gait more rapid than a walk. and l felt
as II / ought TO tell the drivers to go
more slowly, that what they were doing
was a sacrilege. But 1 soon became ac-
10 seeing funerals moving at
mat rate Of speed. and the smiling faces
Of many persons who sat in the carriages
to.d me that probably the mon0tony
riding slowly would have proved tire
ONE 20 them. The sight of these rows
IF carriages travelling rapidly through
me streets gave me a pang of home
sickness when l thought Of the slow.
..lemn professions OF the dead that were
emluiscences Of my old home. And that
not a country town. but a city Of
.ereral hundred thousand inhabitants.
There is, of course. not the same rush
md hurry and scramble that exists here.
no while my home city has activity and
nierprise, there is plenty Of time as
veil 10 bury the dead with all the solem-
and respect hat dignity can
i've. l believe that the size Of the town
las very little to do with It. The car
.aees would have time enough TO 20
..'ly here If death meant the same to
0e people who sat in them.
DRY EYES AND PLACID FACES.
Doubtless New York people grieve for
ne dead just as much. But the dry eye.
ne composed manner. the placid voice
are not found among us. Mere ex-
ressiOn of emotion does not. Of course.
idicate the depth. Stin waters have al
avs run deep. But this very composure
that the feeling is different. The
lea Of the thing is not the same: the
fef, the depth Of sorrow that accom-
death with us seem TO be unknown
the North. The promptness with which
lee ola ways OF life are taken up again,
.e return 20 pleasures, the quick recOv-
y-an of these things help to mark the
uerence 10 me between the way in
hich sOutherners and the people of New
look at such things. In nearly :
cry outward aspect the appearance of
ath here will be appropriate enough. far ,
ore so probably than could be found in :
lee South. The mourning. for instance, :
- be promptly and amply supplied. Such
tails are ever overlooked here.
BUSINESSLIKE HOSPITALITY. !
Christmas, or rather a few days
ttrWard. l was at the house of a New r
.rk Oma who was very agreeable. '
l-able, and well bred. on the table [
ar her was a beautiful piece Of blue I
.d white porcelain. / admired it and c
If it were a Christmas gift. I
'Oh, yes! she said, that came from
q Blanks. We have exchanged presents c
Christmas for years t
Exchanged presents! What a way TO r
@ IT, What southerner. man or wo- j
in. would ever refer TO giving or re- |
wing presents as exchanging them? o
.at shows one Of the great differences. |
act Of generous courtesy. following .
custom that ought to be one of the Il
70 aAl4NNAf Ae AAkAAAA anu EUOllNdlltOuS i .
the whole year is-an exchange! We u
Re- presents Christmas In the South be-
Use we like the persons we give them /,
or because they stand toward us in vi
nae Intimate relation thai makes such u
attention seem in a measure neces- -
81. But We don't give them because q
else has given us one. or will al
e. us one and expects 10 get the same y,
return. Exchange a Christmas present! ~
a thought! u
NOT KNOW THEIR NEIGHBORS. IN
To differences in smaller matters one st
become %reconciled more easily. The be
ntsslike way in which hospitality is up
rbutcd here Is something that / never ne
I'D now. because / know that IL means W.
necessary limitation on IL. The first sh
ilatlon that i got 10 go out OF town fu
spend from Friday until Tuesday j tn
uptly refused, because / felt that II ra
70 reflection on my dignity TO be ask Ey
To- leave on a certain day. Out Of pre- Kt
l should have come away on that to
But II seemed 10 me too marked a wi
latlon on hospitality 10 suggest that thi
welcome would be worn out on that WI
This ! regretted Immediately after wo
%. My husband said l was a goose, fel
aimed hat the majority OF invitations 10
'1ld get In the North would be framed del
mat way, and told me that unless / an
cted 70 give up all hope Of visiting a
BODY IL would be best for me 10 change to
feelings on that subject The truth OF cia
c DC said became clear soon after that. Sta
4 have never minded since how sharp for
be- limits Of an engagement were made. int
as told, Of course, that this plan was Nm,