Year: 1867

"a
sense of the horrors the great Italian describes and
TO suggest some that even his imagination couldn't,
OF didn't conceive Of Let the reader get the latest
Observation-Disclosures say-apd taking a horse-car
down town late in the afternoon set out for the City
of Elms AS the fight for seat is if he
have succeeded in getting one, let him at once begin
reading the canto describing Charon's boat and its
sarge Of lost souls Any conductor Will do for Cha
ron. and before he reaches Twenty-seyenth-st, if
thore have been an ordinary profitable trip, with a
good supply of pickpockets, drunken man or two
plenty of splitting, few women with clothes baskets
of soed linen the usual amount of swearing at the
conductor by the driver with spirited returns OF the
compliment by the gentleman whose duty 1t is to
pull the strap but who never does it, and II the pas
enger gets well sat by stout elderly females, and
has his corns well ground by the heels OF the stand
ing army and gets carried past the station and loses
his watch in struggling out of the swelerng crowd
II all goes wel and tho horsccar trip passes off with
the usual success he will be convinced that Dante
must somehow have rode in horse-car in Florence,
and began his account of Hell the first thing after
getting out. AS our passenger WILL of course have


missed the train he started for else the tlp would
not have been success, as soon as he reaches the
sayory station at Twenty-seyenthst he can sit down
and begin the fourth canto in which he will find that
very place described as only first-cass prophet
could have described it. under the name Of Limbo.
1t is dark, with windows that never have been
washed and never will be- cloudy with the smoke OF
bad tobacco from innumerable pipes, and the air
trembles with the squalling of hungry and impla-
cable infants the raucous cries ofthe two most dread
full old orange-women in the city, and the paintlVe
yelps of the unbaptized little " "black-yer boots"
"shine-em-ups" who 1utter round the entrance. AT
last the train starts and the dismal journey begins
In earnest with the stencil and gloom of the damp,
unwholesOme moldy tunnel at Thirty-fourth-st, and
then the Geryon of locomotive seizes him and
whirls him along in sweltering heat, on jouncing
seat with dust in his eyes and ears and mouth, with
dust for q garment and cindeTs for food with hve
minutes for refreshments somewhere or other either
long before he wants it, or long after-hard-bohed
eggs and hard boiled tea and in addition to the sand
he has devoured already, the sand which is there;
and then moro jOuncing, andthen the popcorn man,
and then the magazne-bOy whom 'tis no use TO blow
up and then the large hot, punctua cinder right in
his eve lust as he is whirled into what seems the
very likeness of the books worst and lowest circle
the JudaS-pit. the concentration Of all the horrors
he has gone through, the NewHaven Depot. Here
is the horrible STENCIL for is be not landed close TO
the very cloaca here is the darkness here are the
yells of demon porters and cab-drveTs; and he Is
glad to climb to the upper air, where lie may once
again behold the stars.


suppose there is not in the civilized world place
called railroad depot that is such vile hole this
of New-Haven. Yet tits almost a waste of adjectives
TO call 1t VILE or dsgraceful to the Company, or dis
creditsble to the town The COmpanydoesnt carewhat
we think of and the town is rather proud Of count
ing it one of the lions of the place am told how
ever have not seen at its best that there are two
occasions when it makes much more striking i'm
preston the stranger who sees for the time,
than on any weekday visit. One Of these occa-
sions is when the Freshmen arrive in the FALL to begin
their college life and when the members of the older
classes rush into the as they begin to get
ready 10 STOP and in the pitchy darkness amid the
subsidng dust and the shriel,s OF the engine, grab
the unfortunate urchins and compel them on pain OF
manling to pronounce directly in favor of one or
another of dozen secret societies TO one OF wuch
the tender boys have ever so much as heard OF before


The scene am assured and can well believe 1t, is
uuits indeseribabe, and beags closer resemblance
TO Pandemonium than anything else ia the world,
unless it be the Battle OF the Prague, as formerly
played by fashionable young ladies on the piano,
forte Here, q luckleSs yOungSteT OF an undeclded
and accommodating turn Of mind IS bounced upon
simultaneously of societies in deadly Op


position and furious rivalry. This innocent, fresh


from the hands of his mother, is dragged over the


benches, thrust through the WINDOWS, now captured


by one and sat upon until auxllies can arrive and


secure him now rescued by the other who sits upon


him in turn and shouts for his particular Soday TO


come to his aid now the two engage IN deadly


struggle fer the prostrate booty who sezes the first





escape, but is brought down By fly NJ caIpet-bag


and cOmpelcdtO capitulato to one Or another COM


bnatiOn of Greek letters, an 90 PM or an Alpha


Sigma, Sigma" as the case may be, and getting as


much profit in morals OF manners out OF one as ont Of


the other.


The other occasion on which the New-Hayen sta
tOn is said to he seen TO great advantage is the
evening before any important Connecticut election


that for Governor for Instrumentation the vast
horde of Democratic voters imported from New
York tQg the OCCASION are met on their arrival by the
resident rOwdy and ,COpperhead population: AT
such times when Greek meets HIeeh tne sla.'on ~
for some reason best known to these importers OF
Foreign Lckers such, am soTTy TO say, they proved
themselves in the case of Englsh) shrouded IN Cln-
deTian darkness result brought about by the sum,
mary process of putting out the only light allowed
on the premises-that In the ticket oihee-all the
spaEe change and tickets, with any loose yaiuables
the Ticket agent may be possessed OF, having been
previously removed. / am sure l need not waste
Vour time with description Of the scene that then
ensues for after all, any description must come
short Of the reality Indeed owe YOU an apology, in
any case for keeping you waiting so long In this
"demnitOn moist, unpleasant place atoM me 10
ask you up stairs and out into the hight OF heaven


/ said in my letter written after Commence
ment,1 that New-Haven is certainly lovely place,
and II is so even if does not judge immediately
aftar pmereinp from the station But then, It's only
a certain part of the town that deserves the ad1ee-
tive for the business trading, manufacturing parts
are as uply here as anywhere. great deal, let US
saw frankly nearly all of the architecture is OF that
peculiarly ambitious character when marks the
gentlemaDs residence everywhere IN tnIs iaToreu t
land. often pause before these melanch0ly struc-
lures and drop imaginary tear IN pity IOr those
who are obliged to hve in them. They cost so much
money to build; they give so little real pleasure or
even common comforts to the occupants; and they
are so out of tune with nature. New-Haven is not
whit worse thOn 500 other towns and cities that
NAV be mentioned for though her gentlemans resi-
dences are quite up to the orthodox standard OF ugli
ness and discomfort they do not profess TO excel
what has been accomplished elsewhere, and indeed
think that there are.here more of the plain, old
fashioned rOOmy, and comfortable houses IL which
our grandfathers and gTandmotheTs delighted, than
are commonly TO be met with. AT least, do not
know where have seen Of them than have
in an hours drive about this city and its suburbs.
Some of them, although not at all likely to be adj
H., 1., nrofaC ona1 opchff ffacfu