The sun., 1903-12-13
STREET WITHOUT A SURFACE.
FOrty.secOnd street Sends to Park Row
Its Compliments and Experience.

To THE EDITOR or THE SuN-SH. A.
times we all of us take our pleasure sadly.
Owing to temperament. or perhaps to IA hack
Of what they used to call at ladies' seminarj,s
application" have always looked on bus.
ness from merry point Of view but Il glaucs
from China to Peru-I write verse as well :
convinced me some months ago that anv
and every occupation has its serious side, so.
much against the wishes of my friends |
took an office in Forty-second street.
There is more in that statement thar un.
pears on the surface and up to late data
there hasn't been any too much surface in
this neighborhood. My resolve was at all
events heroic, as the following comment.
will show.
The office building came to was formerly
private dwelling. Now, from the outside
1t has the appearance of wing of a work.
house 1t is dingy. dusty and dirty. But
appearances are often deceitful, Let II,
take a look within.
There was an illustrated joke in London
Punch many years ago. in which the interior
OF railway carriage was depicted SAID
one garrulous traveller as the train passed
Hanwell Lunatic Asylum
How plain the lights of the ASYLUM look
from the train"
Yes" replied strange looking man in the
corner. but not half so plain as the lights OF
the train look from the asylum
The pseudo lunatic was left alone in his
glory at the next station.
If this house looks crazy from the outside.
the inmates are certain the streets look cralier
still. When we have an idle and lucid in
the pits outside and sigh
It's true, It's pity, and pity It's It's true
Then We gaze expectantly into the regions
OF beyond and try to realize ii vision OF
macadamized reunion of what for the time
being is severed. Then we wheel our chairs
round and examine ali the comforts Of our our
business home.
Water is generally II luxury here. II it
is true that cleanliness ia next to godliness'
one can understand that the water has al
been frightened away by the epithetable
LANGUAGE used daily in the street. The in
variable block of trolleys and trucks is not
conducive to the best and kindliest feelings
-, Then. too, we have rats quantities.
for well intentioned tenant in the culinary
line started up a kind Of amateur Kitchen for
the PURPOSE of providing lunches, to ,hose
had not time to rush out and get A snack.
Since writing he has departed. for the rats
proved to be his best customers;
intricacles OF his art on the. rats Not the
slightest use: They seemed to enjoy his
experiments and throve multtudinously on
his weird contrivances.
A humorous artist next essayed his cunning
% on the na ereatnres a,ta by leaving about his and
every one else n TOOInS strange, evil smeIIlnG
pigments and paints. All to no purposs
The rats relished them as an entree. and that
pictorial wit who used to turn out funniosi-
ties by the dozen has now taken to drawing
tombstones With approprate epita aphs the
inspiration OF which he gets from the under
ground depths in the street. Let them r.
l. p, says he-and they do
! added my quota by leaving around heavy
rejected manuscripts. but the rats swallowed
even them-verse included which merely
convinces me that these efforts Possessed
some merit after all
Finally we turned to the deus or machine
the iantor. He said he would overcome
The difficulty by buying a dog. When it
rived it proved to be a mere puppy. not any
bigger than one Of our well fed rats. II has
developed a penchant for playing with what
we thought its natural prey. and has struck
up a friendly and lasting acouaintanceship
whit the very .vermin we hoped II would de-
stroy That dog. however. will grow. and
in year or two, no doubt arrive at proper
appreciation Of its duties.
More remains behind all this, but enough
is feast for the present. You seem to he
having bad highway. times In Park row to
our utter neglect. This is written merely to
show you We are not by any means out OF the
wood or worry yet. We are not Jealous. but
We should hate you to think our state is para
disiacal. Hence this jealousy.
NEW YORK, Dec. H. EN- CHEMIS.