New-York tribune., 1918-08-18
A LOiterer
In New
York
n T Ellen w. HENDERSON, in
her book with the above title,
-A- -@- published by George II. Do

-S published by George II. Do
ran, advises the stranger, no
matter what the cost in time or incon-
venience, to arrive in New York by way
Of the water, so as not to sacrifice "the
supreme and indelible impression of a
city rising from the sea-" And then,
with wealth of enthusiasm which must
surely warm the heart of every loyal
New Yorker, she proceeds to paint in
words her own "indelible IMPRESSION:
"The vision thus comes with surprise and
splendor. Mirage-like in the offing, its
white towers detach themselves only par
TALLY from the background of bright skies,
each detail coming gradually out until the
essence of the thing which is New York is
there before you with it's largest sugges-
tion. Through that vivid clearness of at
mosphere the impending city looms-a
bristlng promontory, pointing it's tall,
sharp end, nconceivably planted with in
credible masses of prodigious feats of
stone-faced ronmongery, into the very eye
of the spectator.
"To the excitement of the moment of
realization every great and small thing con-
tributes. There is no laziness in a pros
pect where the chief end of life seems to
be transportation, expressed in the rest
less, feverish desire of every craft afoat to
get quickly somewhere else; this sensation
of hurry and furry augmented by the wind
and the tide, animated by the same desire
for displacement and unrest. All this is
carried on with the fine unconsciousness
that bespeaks the metropolis. The tugs,
the ferries, the minor craft, the ships, bent
on their separate ways, independent OF
mien and action, yet taking one another
into account, accepting jostlings and de-
lays amiably with philosophy born Of
lifelong dealings with crowds.
"The city, deposited at the waters edge,
comes with sudden revelation, yielding at
first glance its salient features. Individ-
ual buildings rise to fantastic heights
above the compact pile, giving lightness
and variety to the aerial line. The smoke
which curs about their towers mingles
with the clouds. Everything is in excess.
League-long bridges fling themselves in
abandonment across turbulent tidal rivers
great arms that span vast spaces with
hands that grasp, and hold to the parent
island, those newly acquired boroughs now
proud to count themselves technically part
of the great city.
Like some gigantic puss-wants- "a corner
game worked out beyond all hope Of JOY
for the performer, these bridges contribute
to that same nsensate desire for change
that animates the river craft, their i'm
measurable lengths traversed by ceaseless
belts of concatenated cars condemned to
sort of treadmill destiny staggering in its
magnitude
ain all weathers, in all seasons, at all
times of day or night, the island, from
whatever point of observation, is a thing
of wonder and delight. In the early morn
ing it shines and glstens in the dazzling
sun; its walls giving back white efful
gence, in marvellous contrast to the blue
ness Of an habitually cloudless sky and the
deeper note of constantly agitated waters.
"In the late afternoon the thousand win
dows reflect the fire Of the setting sun, its
colorful afterglow, and the island seems
ablaze; while at dusk the whole becomes
enveloped in a soft, Whistlerian haze,
through which the lights in the office tow
ers sparkle like stars. The rushing, crowd
ed ferries and busy steam tugs, that all day
have stirred the restless waters, begin 8
more rhythmic action, and make black &C.
cents in the sapphire blue of the rivers,
disappearing into shadowy docks, dsgorg-
ing their heavy loads, floating out again
vast platforms of shifting humanity.
"Gradually mellowing, the scene at night
is most significant of all. Then the tow
cring mass of the island deepens to a rich
silhouette against the sky, luminous with
the city glow. The lower end is deserted.
and looms mysterious and aweiul in its
empty vastness."
NE1SS HENDERSON goes into the
lVl very earliest history of New
York, and from there on records the sue
cessive and never-ending TRANSFORMED
tions, each Of which, in spite Of the COM
plexity Of the city, has left it's telling
impression in the strata. In behalf of
the eternal process Of destruction and
reconstruction, she says:
"The only way to be comfortable in New
York is TO accept transition as it's ruling
Characteristic; neither to mourn the de-
struction Of old landmarks nor to rail
against the existing unsighty. Tout passe
sout cassc. tout lasse, was never more truly
said Of human life than of this city, where
things break, pail and are forgotten with
staggering brevity. Not only does nothing
last, nothing Is intended TO last; and this
has been true ever since the Dutch mcr-
chants built Fort Manhattan of wood, and