New-York tribune., 1907-12-08

the trochac beat and time-thus. 1r1ed-cahe-
Now the fred-cake is not an indigenous prouu0.'
peculiar to Utica. Roughly speaking 'he -
cake belt extends from the Hudson RIVER w. w.
ward Lake Erie. and the excellence OIL t''e
cake Itself increases in sort of georne'ilch i"o
with every hundred miles. Thus at Albany II Is
possible TO procure and eat fred-cake; put YOU
are WISE you will not do So At Uhca' the itieu
cake attains a degree of delfaousness "hich -
supposed 10 justify the cult. At Syracuse IL
ravishes the palate. At Buffalo II IS gasuoholic
dream-a I.ucuIlian climax-an epicurean ecstdey.
At least I have been told So / once kne" siI'
yAho used up an immensely long strip out OIL d
Mileage in travelling all the way from BoonV'ie
TO Syracuse. just 10 eat some fred-caKes aI'er Hi
absence of several years.
Nv commenta riolum must prove rather unsaus-
factory as explanation OF Just what a ir'eo-cahe
really is ] may imperfectly describe II as cFuiIer
that is trying 10 lead the simple life. 1t looks like
a cruller; only its golden brownish circle is more
pItrnp and puffy. and the hole in the middle Is
smaller The fried-cake Is never greasy, ana 'he
interior is of a beautifully homogeneous texture
light and firm and fine. I am obliged to confess
and have eaten one. In the railway sta
ton at Utica l have walked cautiously around
glass cylinder which was full OF them: and once.
Utica, bought one and broke II open 10 see
what it looked like inside. But 1 am timid soul
when fooling with kinds OF food
/ will secure all the evidence that can be had, and
will most minutely question those who really
know; but eating is serious a matter 20 be
made adjunct to sociology.
Thus France, l have sojourned in Caen with
out touching any of its famous tripe. L have es-
capped from Marseilles quit, conscience stricken and
yet secretly relieved because its huge snails had
never tempted me. In sundry picturesque and
bacilliferous towns in Italy l have turned away
from some very remarkable concoiions OF oil and
garlic which knew were necessary to make me
genuinely Weltreisig; and in Stuttgart have stub
borny refused TO do even much of a
certain dark blue soup which smelled as though a
poodle had been washed in II. These things con-
with shame: but all have our limitations
and this is of mine. Therefore. let me simply
note the fact that in Utica the fTed-cake is locally
regarded with delight and reverence, and that 1t
probably is good TO eat-or, at least, that 1t
good for Uticans
And what sCrt OF human beings are these
Ctcans? When you stroll around the corner
whereOn Baggs Hotel has stood for generations
and where even in the eighteenth century Bagg's
Tavern furnished accommodations for man and
beast-you will feel that here is one American city
which is not cursed with national unrest The
hackmen Go not raise a noisy cIamor at your
coming They are all asleep within their hacks
from whose open doors protrude quiescent legs
AS you turn into Genesee street.-the Grand Boule-
ward of Utica-there is refreshing absence of
all noise stir hustle The shopmcn lounge
before their shops and ruInnate throughout the
day. The small boys do not or yell or scutie
put are statuesque IN tfeir apparent immobility.
The -sLsn and women whom you upon the street
ha
become Eternity Even the trolley cars move ~up
and down with little noise and with the minimum
of speed They will stop for you as long as YOU
desire You never have to dash them, and then
hear the sharp clang of the bell and feel the
jerk of the starting car il throws you off YOUR
feet 1t is not thus in Utica, n Y That bIessed
town has never heard the irritating formula "Step
Hvelyr'
Its atmosphere of deep repose does not connote
vacuity or sluggishness Grass stohdity You are
TCf fnrfn
when you saunter up the slope Genesee Street
Go into any shop and you will find n friendly in
terest displayed IN your requirements. Accost any
person IN the street and ask question and he
will be entirely your Disposal These naonle
nave not merely time to give you. but good will
In certain portions of New England yoi, may ,n
serve precisely the same touch of ''neigbborIi-
ness; but In New England it is always united
with q rabid curiosity as TO who you are and
where you come from. When YOU accent = cas,,I
favor you have to pay for it by gratifying This
sharp-edged ;nquisiveness Again IL, NAV. W.,
erh towns ana cities there is the same American
iiieholhess put there you have pay by listen
ing to what men tell you of themselves In Ttc,
there seems 10 prevail a natural yood hroadi,,
"hlch neither intrudes upon your personal con-
Germs nor makes insstent raids upon your natie,ce
Anu 'his ~ why like much the men and
"onei anu even the small children of ITtca
~. l. iney al pass what is one of the most
essential elements of true gentility-a bann, oo,,
bination of retcence about tben,selvag -
"ihehess TO respect your reticence The ri,,
iet-mlhueu Yankee and the Dragging Wes,error
might both, 10 their advantage learn nss,, ,asan
from the citizens of Utica " i7''''
Comfort table folk are these Ir.,o
SHOPS, one leeis that he would have no obiection
10 OWING several thousand dollars to anv ., .sa,,
I,eio' 'oo' you pegln TO perceive traces of otber
than commercial influences L note in the r,ndnm
OF coiossai emporium a sign in black and I,hI,o
that arrests my wandering stems. "'''e
x.-.'.''.. ....................