The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-02-24
Dur Now York Letter.

| Dur New York Letter.
NEW YORK, Feb. 2O.-As the countryman ex-
| pressed it, we hava been "havng sight o.
| weather" here lately. and although for a day
| or two the sun has b zen most generous with
| his smiles, great masses of almost blackened
snow still! Scowl back ut it from he streets, ana
| the crossings ten remind one of tie wide
river to cross" The regular STRENGTHENING
| forces have been utter!ylnadeaunte, of course,
| and Commissioner Nc Ilrtney was almost dis
Outraged. Men would no. risk their horses
| lives by hiring them in such weather. and all
| the carts available were about onC-tiftn the
number necessary. Neither were sufficient
SNOW shovcliers obtaina5e. One of the down
| town branches of rhe Y. N. c. 4. reported that
for once in its history the demand for men ex
ceedei its supply of applicants for work.
large number OF the discharged soldiers. whom
tao Red Cross Society had been looking AFTER
| were mp.oye,i on the streets during this past
week, and Sc these "il Winds" bitter they
were, blew positive good to many. Bat still
| the sEOw is with lis, and many OF the narrow
downtown streets, where the sky. scrapers
almost exclude the sun, are yet nearly impass:-
| bic.
None of the city departments have suffered
more severely from the storm and consequent
were the discoEntorts and suirerings of the sit
uation borne with less complaint than by its
employees. Fire Commissioner ScanneiI says
| it has been the worst ex pericnce the iirenen
| have ever known. In fcrty-eight consecutive
| hours Gl alarms were responded to, most of
which were in dwelling houses and caused by
| overheating Of furnaces ard injudicous efforts
| to thaw out frozen waite r-pipes, etc. The fire.
| men nave scarcely had an hours rest, and IN
| order WAS issued sCspending all time off " in
| definitely. By far the Iaost disastrous occur
rance in this line was the million dollar blaze i'll
| the Brooklyn Navy Yard last ednesday. The
| origin of this is still mystery. But once
| started, the old buildings and wooden docks
| went like tinGer. The records of the steam
| engineering department were all lost, and in
! fact nothing CT value was saved. People have
| long been clamOring for tire-proof buildings
ana stone docks, and now this fiery object lesson
| comes to cmphas:Ze the need. The inability to
| obtain sufficient water at many of the fires has
| revived the scheme to supply the department
| with salt water, and this is now being seriously
| considered for needs other than those of the
| Fire Department. Also the water supply is
considered insufficient. Comm ssioner Dalton
| reports the average daily consumption of
| water in the Burroughs of Manhattan and
/
million gallons-greater i'll proportion to its
population than that of any city i'll the world
from which pleasing lnfere noes as to u state of
| general cleanliness might be drawn. To be
strictly accurate. however. rs IT, this, one might
have to consult other statistics ether than those
OF the Water Supply Commission.
| The heavy wind and rough sea in the North
| River, last week, t. gether with an unttimmed
| cargo of coal, caused the sinking of the Ger
mania, of the White Star Line. at her pier, foot
OF West 10th ST., and though the Wrecking
Company and great gang of divers and eX-
| perts have been at work on her ever since, her
case seems hopeless. The damage already done
is estimatimated at over 100000 and she will
| probably never be sea-worthy evenif they sue
coed in tlratng her agai0. 1t is really a
pathetic sight-the great half-bured steamer,
only her smoke stacks and Il part of her deck
in sight, lying there like some huge, helpless
creature waiting for human help, with the ice
fields stretching out pitilcssly all around her.
Places of amusement felt the effects of the
weather for night or two, but drew the usual
houses after the first iierceness of the storm
had passed. at the Herald Square Theatre the
| coal tupply gave out, and the Bijon had to be
| clio ed because May Irwin had gone over to
! Washington on Sunday and her returning train
/
note this week at the theatres. "Treiawnay of
| the Wells celebrated its hundredth perform
| ance and others their tfteth, etc. Plays that
| take at all with the public have very long runs
| here LAST season May Irwin played three
| hundred nights i'll Barric's Little Minister
| Jefferson lovers here are made glad by the an
nouncement that he has entirely recovered bis
health, and i'll April next will appear at the
| Harlem Opera House as the ever delightful and
lovable rip" Despite the fact that almost
all the best singers have been i'll for the past
, week, the Metropolitan Opera House has been
open on every night advertised, and recitals
| and concerts billed tor other halls have kept
appointments punctually with the public. A
: great deal of shifting and replacing among the
artists has been necessary, however, but for
| tunatcly one would rise from an illness just as
another succumbed to the grippe, so the
= audiences, if surprised by a change of pro.
gramme were not necessarily disappointed
8 | German opera this season has had an UMPIRE
| cedented success, and New Workers are giving
Wagner an intelligent, and therefore Il sincere
appre citation. At one of the especial afternoon
l performances of the liking of Niebelung,'
Q Lehmanu's illness necessitated Mordca's tax
ing her role. and as the latter sang the part In
n French only, the audience was treated to the
n | spectacle which used to amuse Addison OF
n | IOye-making i'll two languages, but as Nine
II Mcrdica's singing is equally good in any Ian
| giiugc, it did not materially matter. Herr
| Sauer's piano recital ard Van Rooy's ant
Mauret's in song have charmed music-lover'
lat=ly. But an incident, at Clce amusing ant
il Distressing, occurred at the atters recital, il
II Memberships Hall. last Friday. Mr. Herman
y who accompanied Maurcl on the piano, becom
:. ingannoyed by little hum of talking through
h out the room, suddenly left the piano and cleo
G. triiied the audience by declaring that he "kneV
how to play accompaniments to songs but no
II to conversation"