The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-02-16
LIrE TOPICS ABoUr TOWN.

Victor Maurel. who is known to be a pro-
found thinker on any subject to which he de-
votes himself. whether II be stage manage
ment or n song recital, is about to embark on
n work which will probably do more than any
thing else to prove his power Of research. He
believes that the time has come for some dis
cusslon Of the relation between the American
ellmate aud the throats Of foreign singers. NJ.
Maurel has had such a cold that he has not
been able to sing for two weeks and is now re-
covering only slowly. The spread Of colds In
the company has led to considerable discus
sion Of the subject. and NJ. Maurcl aston
ished a group the other day with this ques-
ton: II such n thing rs the stone obelisk
imported to this country could not stand the
a w9 singer: Bow be- eS S9e q ehG to ae do so;S S0e Eye epybs ~
gave i up on the spot, but the inquiry sug-
Tho famous baritone is therefore at work on
the development Of his theories on the effects
obelisk as the basis Of his Investigations. It
is not expected that the result of his deliber-
atoms Will be made known this year. although
they will certainly reach the:public ultimate
". NJ. Maurel has begun with the obelisk and
has so far reached only the second charter Of
his. work. which is to deal with Mile. Bauer
meister.
The various kinds of leggings revealed dur
ing the past wod days have ranged from the
we SiAbSi y ulNlGlto "ONh - llC hCNlNVo
that were plainly manufactured on the spur
OF the moment and intended to meet a sudden
emergency. The effect Of all these precau-
lions was to make It clear that New Workers
think nowadays a great deal less about their
personal appearance than they did formerly
and are willing to go to greater lengths in search
of comfort than they we're only a few years
ago. 1t is impossible TO say how much of this
is due to the effects of the bicycle. which was
the first thing TO remove knickerbockers from
the ridiculous to the useful. and how much to
the popularity Of golf. which followed so
promptly. It was the golf and the bicycle
suits which were most frequently called into
use yesterday. They were abundant along
with leggings for riding. shooting and nearly
every other use to which l%eggings are put. one
legs tied up in rather worn burlaps and :he
Job was so neatly done that he must have had
men who presented their CUSTOMARY, appear-
ance Yesterday were the exception rather than
the rule. for out of every ten nine had taken
some means of keeping their trousers out of
the snow. One man walking up Broadway
selected a costume remarkable enough to
create a sensation anywhere. He was tall
and not particularly stout. His only outside
protection from the cold was light covert
coat. The place of trousers was taken so far
as could lie seen by u pair OF thick brown
wooden tights which looked like a much
heightened nair OF golf stockings. The eff
feet Of this apparitiOn among the shoppers on
broadway in the morning NAV be imagined.
II was the most striking product Of the storm
In that region.
Now that the estate OF the late Antonio Terry
has proved much smaller than was at first
expected. there are persons who can Explain
not only the way in which his mode Of lie used
up the principal of the fortune left by his
father. but also the exaggerated rumors as to
the extent of that legacy which prevailed al
ways. The accounts from Paris say that the
fortune left by him has turned out to be not
''unvoraI ~, iuinp J,11org ~ nc a p,n g ~
perted, but several million francs Sew
eral' Ia the vaEuest sort Of word in connection
from from his 'n'i father tRRSle %ss only nj M ABOUT ts ST. &C., Se5" fGS
word several must here be taken to have proha-
bly, its minimum significance. All this estate
death of the present Mrs. Terry. who was
S!byl Sandeison. During her lifetime she has
cipal. Old Mrs. Terry is still alive and pos
scsses II large fortune. II Is extremely doubt
fl il any OF it will 90 to her sons widow.
Sanderson's return TO the stage. That plan
has not been discussed since the first days of
her friends that she will ever sing in public
again. II Is not absolutely necessary that she
should. for one thing; and another reason is
David Bispham narrowly escaped being the
central figure in a scene Of Magnerian opera
which wouli have been up to date in the most
emphatic sense of that word. 1t was during
the first act of Die Walkhre" that this Incl
dent very nearly took place. Mr.. Bispham
had ordered his dinner TO be served in the
opera house after the first act OF the opera
from a restaurant not far from the theatre.
The meal was brought on time. but the act
lasted somewhat longer than Is customary. and
when the waiter arrived on the stage Mr.. Bisp-
ham was still sitting at the table with Nine.
Eames and NJ. Van Dyck as the three charac-
tarE which they Fpprpsnnt Ip I'm flp nupr1 IIa
probably'obscryed as a good many persons be-
fore him have. that the meal was extremely
s'anty IN, view Of the hospitality which is re-
had misunderstood him or the instinct Of his
profession when an empty table i in sight
proved too strong at all events. he started
toward the stage. and when Mr.. Bisnham
looked up he saw his dinner approaching rap
idly with every chance OF its being delivered
to him in the presence of several thousand
time to avert Tho trouble. Mr.. Bispham was
able to eat in his dressing room.
The movement to abolish the sIphon goes on
apa"e. it has long been regarded not only
by walters and .bartendcrs as a nuisance. but
its popularity with their customers. as well.
has waned Of late. Its recent prominence'is
in n large measure due to the prevailing high
bail. which has continued its conquering prog
ress until brandy and coda. as well as the
more American whiskey and soda, has sue
cullDel before IT, inns mas TPSNlteu III UNI
usual and Unprecedented conspicuousnoss TN
the part OF the siphon in evening conviyiali-
ties. 1t was always likely to sputter and
pun. exhibit unsuspccted powers under the
Of the slightest pressure on its han
die and otherwise conduct itself with n per-
verseness that was sometimes inconvenient
and always hnnoyinG. 50 the struggle for a
found. but whether il il 10 10 accepted re-
mains to he seen. 1t is a machine which sup
plies the acratcd waters from. Il spiCot Just
rs beer Is custom rily drawn. The guest finds
self supplied with u small dcclnter Of
carbonic or settler instead Of the customary
siphon. Whether or not this new device will
settle the question remains TO he seen. II
has none Of the defects which the siphOn used
TO exhibit sometimes. but, on the other hand.
lacks one of its, abiding merits. For tho
Riphon Kept more life in the contents than the
seem able to do. So the siphon
may not yet be a thing Of the past.
The mel who succeeded in reaching their
offices downtown on Tuesday and who left
in storm outfits which each one thought
would make him conspicuous found that the
variety OF costumes was SO great that no man.
no matter how Grotcsque his clothes. need be
m az about tlnn, ri, -