The New York Herald Newspaper, December 28, 1878, Page 4

4 ~NEW YORK HERALD BROADWAY AND ANN STREET. JAMES GORDON BENNETT, PROPRIETOR. THE DAILY HERALD, published every slay in the your. Su xeluded) dollars per 0 dellar perm period lens ier we dollars. hs, Sunday edition included, tree of postage. WEEKLY HER AL fo dollar per year, free of post- “i “SOTICR 10 SUBSCRIRERS.—Romit in drafts on Now ‘York or Post Office money orde canbe procared send the money in a reyisered 4 money remitted at risk of sender. Tu order to insure atten- tion subscribers wt their address changed must give their old as well as their now address. All business. uews letters or telegraphic despatches mast addressed Do x A Naw Your Hynat tters and pac ina hold wil Peepers Orr . 12 SOUTH SIXTH LONDON OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK HERALD— NO. 46 FLEET STRE! 4 AVENUE DE LOPERA. STRADA PACE. property sealed. hot be returned. PARIS OFFICE. NAPLES OFFIC Subscriptions und adver forw on the same terms VOLUME XLII. So sascrsacs AMUSEMENTS TO-DAY AND EVENING. + GLOBE-Onty 4 Faw Davoures. Matines. GRAND OPERA HOUSE—Cowionaavs, Matinee, PARK THEATRE—Bawi ‘Woop. Matinee. LYCEUM THEATRE—Doo muLaGs. Matinee, BROADWAY THEATRE: Day't. Matinee. COMIQUE—Cumst4as Jovs AND Songows. Matinee, WALLAOR’S THEATRE—My Sox. Matinee. ACADEMY OF MUSIC—I Matinee. UNION SQUARE—Tnx Bayxen’s Davonter Matinee. BOOTH'S*THEATRE. . Masinee. GERMANIA THEATRE—Inus Famiuix. FIFTH AVENUE—Riv Vax Wivkte, Matinee. STANDARD THEATRE—Atwost 4 Lure, Matinee. BOWERY THEATRE—Benruxcon Matinee. NIBLO'S GARDEN—New Yor axp Loxpoy. Matinee. OLYMPIC—Tickr-or-Laave Max. Matinee, MINNIE CUMM 00 MINSTRELS. Matinee. SAN PRANCIS' STEINWAY HALL—Mussian. WITH SUPPLEMENT. “NEW YORK, Fork and ils vicinity today will be cool and clowdy or partly cloudy, perhaps with light showers of snow. To-morrow it will be warmer and clear- ing. ur Watt Str ‘ESTERDAY.—The stock market was fairly active and quiet. Gold sold at 100 a 100 1-64. Government bonds were firm, States steady and railroads strong. Money on call lent at 4 a5 per cent, advanced to 6 and closed at 4 per cent. ® AnornerR Raiwway Co! TION is nearly ready to make itself at home in New Jersey. ‘Tue Wax against rapid transit has broken out in a new place, the proposed east side line of the Metropolitan road being the objective point. Ir You Waxt to Kyow what to do with superfluous cash or to be more thankful for whatever comforts you enjoy, read ‘Always with You.” A Treat or SNow scared many skaters off the ice at the Park yesterday, to the grent de- light of those who remained aud appreciated elbow room. A Disrrxcuisuep Foreicner of the gentler wex has ‘just departed this life owing to too much Coney Island. No hotel keepers impli- eated. For further particulars read ‘Dissecting an Elephant.” Tae Dirricunty between the Bar Association and the County Clerk goes into court again this morning, and by proper engineering may be kept there until some other man be- comes County Clerk. Mr. Vanpersrtr is said to have made ar rangements for bringing grain from the West and delivering it in New York without wharfage or elevator charges. If this be true there will be joy on the Produce Exchange and gnashing of teeth at Boston. Ose OF THR OFvIC: Savings Bank stated yesterday that he had no doubt that as soon as the new bonds are re- ceived the injunction against payment of depos- itors will be removed. Such being the case, why does he not find some way of accommo- dating the poover depositors with temporary loans? Tue Heratp Reports upon two ex-convict, whose experiences were peculiar, have elicited a very emphatic letter from Miss Linda Gilbert, 2 lady who has for several: years been devoting her energies to the aiding of criminals who wish to reform. Her statement of results is certainly distinct and encouraging enough to justity her in the appeal she makes to the public. ‘Tne Sark Anrivan at San Francisco of the Arctic steamer Jeannette, after a long and ditfi- eult voyage from Havre around Cape Horn, is a satisfactory evidence of her stanchness and ig qualities. The Jeannette will leave Sau Francisco next June with the American Polar Expedition, which will enter the Aretic Ocean through Behring Strait. After battling her way through the dangers of the Straits of Magellan and passing through four severe storms, a8 our special despatch announces, the Jeaunette will prove equal to the difficulties of navigation in the far north when she steams ahead with her bowsprit pointing toward the Pole. Tae Wrath The cloudiness, followed by very light snow, which marked the weather conditions yesterday on the middle and north- east Atlantic coast was due to the influence of a depression that traversed the ocean on a line about parallel to the coast from Geor- gia to Nova Scotia. The winds, though tresh, were in no instance dangerous to navigation, and, besides, were altogether offshore, Snow fell within the area of relatively low pressure over the Jakes and Upper Ohio Valley district, but nowhere heavily. The barometer is highest in the South- west and is falling in the Northwest, although it continues above the mean in that region, The winds in the lake districts have continued to moderate, but, the relations of the high to Jow pressure remaining unchanged, the direc- tious of the wind have not varied. Tempera tures have inereased in all the districts except the Northwest, but there a change is probable for today. Our special cable weather Feporta aunownce as follows for the Euglish coasts last evening :—Plymouth, moderate south- east wind, thick weather, with rain, barometer 29.38 inches. Scilly, fresh west-uorthwest win, with rain lolyhead, light southeast wind, barometer 20.43 inches. From the above we note that the centre of depression is over Ireland, and bas arrived on the British coasts exactly at the time predicted—namely, the 27th. The weather in New York and its vieinity yo-day will be cool and cloudy or partly cloudy, possi- bly with light showers of suow, To-morrow it will be warmer aud clearing. NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, DECEMBER. 28, 1878--WITH SUPPLEMENT, The Investigating Don Quixotes. Neither Don Quixote Blaine nor Don Quixote Potter has any just reason to resent the comparison here suggested. Cervantes had great affection for his hero, and although he made him constantly ridiculous he endowed him with so many chivalric qualities as to preserve our esteem while convulsing us with laughter. The personal qualities of Mr. Blaine and Mr. Potter equally redeem them in our estimation when they sally out in search of adventures. The author of “Don Quixote” intended to paint a character who was so absorbed in a fanciful past that he did not understand the present, and who was subject to the most grotesque illusions by clothing homely facts in a costume borrowed from his conceptions of the knightly adventures which he sought to emulate, He mistook his gaunt, bony, spavined, wall-eyed Rosi- pante for a well limbed steed; mistook windmills for giants, barbers’ tin basins for polished and shining hel- mets, a flock of sheep for a great army, a shabby country inn for a gor- geous palace and an ungraceful soiled dove whom he met there fora lady of high birth, beauty and accomplishments. This is a kind of transformation which a dis- tempered imagination is apt to practise when gifted men, instead of looking at facts as they are through their natural eyes, seek for forms which they*can robe in the gar- ments of an extinct past. Don Quixote Blaine has mounted the Ro- sinante which he thinks will bear him to the highest honors of political knighthood, and his active imagination transfers toa few paltry facts in the South all the forms and colors which made Southern treatment of the negroes so exciting when Andrew Johnson was asserting the claims of “my policy.” He seems to have no more idea that that period is past than the Knight of La Mancha had that he was not living in the kind of world that had been painted in the old romances, the reading of which had turned the poor gentleman’s head. Senator Blaine, like his knightly prototype, does not understand his epoch ; he, too, is tilting at windmills under the impression that they are giants. Mr. Potter is not so interesting a Don Quixoteas Mr. Blaine. Instead of being a volunteer, like Mr. Blaine, he was impressed into his ridiculous course of adventures, He retains sanity enough to distinguish be- tween a barber's tin basin and a helmet, and needs no Sancho Panza to remind him of realities. He may have been at first under a momentary illusion that the Sher- man lettef was a dragon ‘tracked to its cave; that the lively Mrs. Jenks was radiant with all the colors of ingenuous ladyhood; that the witness An- derson was a fountain of truth: but Don Quixote Potter must very early have got disillusionized, and be sensible of the folly of setting forth in quest of adventuresin the hope of delivering the Presidency from the band of robbers that had taken it captive. It must be galling to a mau of Mr. Potter's pride to be rendered thus ridiculous, and to be compelled to pursue his adventures after the publication of the. cipher despatches put his party on the defensive. Mr. Blaine’s hallucination has not led him into such a tissue of difficulties. He was too wary to take thelead of the committee whose appointment he procured, whereas Mr. Pot- ter was pliant enough to accept against his will a position which subjects him to infi- nite embarrassment and mortification. The last intelligence from his committee is that it has decided to investigate the cipher de- spatches; but inasmuch as that subject is not within the scope of the inquiry as or- dered by the House Mr. Potter would be justified in refusing to go into this new search. The very spirit of Don Quixote must have descended upon him if he thinks the genuineness of the cipher despatches can be discredited. It will be equally awk- ward for him to attempt to whitewash Gramercy Park or to rub in the colors. He could refuse on solid grounds to have any- thing to do with this ‘‘annex” to the orig- inal investigation. It is a subject which is not within the proper jurigdiction of Con- gress. None of the persons inculpated is an officer Of the federal govern- ment. If bribery was really attempted it was « crime under the laws of Florida, to be investigated and punished by the au- thorities of that State. That the Florida officers were not actually bribed is proved by the result. If the attempt was made it only affects the reputation of the authors of the despatches, unless Mr. Tilden can be proved tobe aparty. It isnot probable that any witness can be found who will swear that he was, and the grounds of mere inference will remain as they are. It is idle to investigate the genuineness of the despatches, which nobody doubts; it is equally idle to expect to trace them by evi- dence beyond Mr. Pelton. Whi, then, waste time and incur expense in an inquiry which can contribute nothing to the infor- mation of the public? Mr. Bilaine’s projected investigation, which has got stuck in the mud at the start, is equally futile and foolish, By Mr. Blaine’s own admission it can be of no use now. In his urgency to have his resolu- tion take precedence of Mr, Wadleigh’s Pen- sion bill he stated that unless the inquiry could be set on foot during the recess it would be too late. With a want of vigi-+ lance which shows that he was hurried away by mere impulse he neglected to see that there were any funds for the payment of expenses—a slipshod way of doing things unworthy of a statesman and even of an or- dinary man of business. The committee is stuck fast until an appropriation can pass both houses; and then, by Mr. Blaine’s own statement, it will be too late for the in- vestigation to be of any use. It was ill judged even before it encountered this obstacle, If the alleged outrages were com- mitted they are punishable by the federal courts, unless the laws are defective. But Mr. Blaine knows perfectly well that his in- quiry can lead to no new legislation either by this Congress or the next. It is, therefore, without any practical object, Indeed, nobody ever supposed that it had any other object than that of inflaming sec- tional feeling for electioneering effect. But in this respect it is precisely on a par with the Potter investigation, which was also set on foot for electioneering purposes, but proves as disappointing as Don Quixote’s disreputable inn which he took for a palace. It is worse than folly, it is waste and impo- sition to spend the public money in these competing attempts to promote party in- terests. The War in Afghanistan. By the flight of Shere Ali and the surren- der of Yakoob Khan at Jelalabad the Eng- lish force on the way to Cabul suddenly finds itself face to face with an apparent collapse of resistance. Enemies with any very resolute disposition to stand in the way have not hitherto presented them- selves ; and now is added the complication that if there are any hostile forces disposed to fight they have no cause; there is noone to fight for. In the wars of semi-barbarous Oriental countries there is no canse apart from a person. Every conflict against a government is in the interest of some pre- tender whose right is denied ; and the gov- ernment is only the prince who is in power. Consequently the war as judged on this principle is at an end; for the Ameer having abandoned his resistance it will not be continued by any other in his absence, and his son’s surrender is a clear bid for British favor—a practical ap- peal to the Indian government to put him in his futher’s place and take any guarantee necessary for his good behavior‘and give for his safety any guarantee it may choose. Unless it can make this use of its prisoner the Indian government will be somewhat embarrassed by its success; for in the ab- sence of any authority with which it could deal as competent to control the obedience of the people it would be compelled to hold the country, which would be an expensive and unsatisfactory result of its operations. In order to be sure of the country it woukd have to take Herat, and a movement with that purpose would develop the position of Russia perhaps, while if it was attempted to rest with the possession of Herat the position of the British would be strategic- ally all the worse for every foot of ground they hold between Dakka and Cabul. It is therefore probable that Yakoob Khan will be put on the throne as a tributary prince. Another Steamship Lost. When a steamer leaves port on a voyage to the West Indies that is to last a week at furthest it is supposed that her owners have provided some means of learning of her safe arrival, the condition of her cargo and the welfare of her passengers. If, however, nineteen days after the ship’s departure a telegram from London reaches us announc- ing that two of her seamén have been landed at Jamaica, having been picked up at sea by a trading schooner, and that these survivors believe the bal- ance of the ship’s ‘company and pas- sengers have been drowned, it is very strong evidence that the steamer has met with a disaster by storm, collision, leakage or a breakdown of machinery that has caused her to founder. Such is the brief story we read yesterday of the steamer Emily B. Sounder, which left this port on the 8th, bound for Turk’s Island and St. Domingo, The perplexing point of the case is how she was lost. The runto Turk’s Island, which is in latitude 21 deg. 20 min. north, and longitude 71 deg. 30 min. west, would be about six days forsuch asteamer as the Emily B. Souder. The survivors say she foundered when only two days out from New York—that is to say, on the 10th. She must have been at that time somewhere between Cape Hatteras and Ber- mutia, but her position with relation to these points is yet unknown. On the evening, of the 9th it began to blow strongly from the south and southeast over the region in which Cape Hatteras is situated, and during the 10th the weather continued very stormy. The Emily B. Souder is stated to have been overhauled and reclassed quite recently, but the heavy seas raised by the coast storm may have opened her scams, disabled her machinery or otherwise injured her beyond repair. Without detailed statements from the two survivors it is impossible to de- termine the immediate cause of the ship's loss. It is strange, though, that a schooner bound in the same direction should have escaped when what was supposed to bea well appointed steamer should founder in astorm. The loss of life, it is feared, will prove distressingly great, unless, os is barely possible, other rescues, not yet re- ported, have been made like that of the two sailors landed at Kingston, Jamaica. The Riverside Avenue Contract, A report of a special commission of civil engineers appointed to investigate the man- ner in which the contract for the building &c., of Riverside avenue is being executed under the direction of the Department of Public Parks, has been rendered and is printed elsewhere in our columns to-day. Contracts of this kind may be classed as of the “Big Bonanza” type when o lax supervision permits the contractor to evade the specifications in the spirit if not in the letter. We find from the report of the commission of civil en- gineers that in many instances neither the letter nor spirit of the specifications has been carried out, and that the works now present the two damaging features of careless construction and inferior mate- rials. The commission seems to have pursued its investigations in a very syste- matic, if nota thorough manner. Baried work is often so uncomeatable that its character can only be surmised. But ex- posed work can be inspected, and in this case much of it is stated tobe defective, So much work, executed at public cost, has been and is being done in this city that would be condemned by a commission of civil engineers that we are at a loss to suggest a plan by which it can be remedied or stopped. ‘The fact is that the people have very little to say asto how their money is to be expended, and respon- sibility is so elaborately intricate in its dis- tribution that no one is responsible. If the Mayor of New York was the real executive of this city and the departments were made bureaus under his immediate control re- sponsibility coald soon be brought home to wrangling commissioners, venal superin- tendents and dishonest contractors, The’ Schools and Their Managers. The school system of New York is, we believe, far better than the average. Most of the buildings are goo1, when properly managed ; the teachers generally are com- petent, and the commissioners and trustees are, as a rule, intelligent and honorable citizens who have children of their own in the schools, and have, consequently, more than ordinary incentives to faithful per- formance. of public duties, But school officers are human, and itis human not to know everything and to neglect those things which are not in one way or another brought persistently to notice. Still more, the commissioners and trustees are legis- lative bodies, and personally have little or nothing to do with the execution of their own orders, let alone with that inspection which is necessary to the proper fulfilment of orders. Their school duties are gratuitously performed and at intervals, their real business being private and absorbing, and no. matter how earnest these gentlemen may be in their devotion to the cause of education abuses and neglect will exist in spite of them,, The Henaxp’s reports and editorials have been written largely for the informa- tion of the officiuls alluded to, and in the belief that they would not be likely to be brought to notice in any other way. We have given the same information pub- licly because experience teaches that re- forms are most effectively accomplished when live officials are backed by a strong, intelligent public seatiment We have been assured of the hearty gratitude of some of the local and general managers of the schools, and we have no doubt that the remainder will be business-like enough to recognize the importance of our informa- tion and make good use of it, As for a variety of school manager quite different from those mentioned above, we refer commissioners, trustees and readers toour report of yesterday upon the Nine- teenth ward schools, in which was described that intolerable autocrat, the average janitor, with the method of his appointment and the interests which secure his retention at an expenditure of human health which can hardly be estimated. Thera can be no possible difference of opinion as to what should be done with these ignorant ruffians, No matter how necessary it may seem that political wirepullers should be provided for wherever there are positions at the city’s disposal, there is no reason why the worst of them should be placed in positions of greatest responsibility. There are in other city departments intelligent men who receive no better pay than janitors do. Let the schools have the services of some of these, and if the present brood of child- killers. cannot be put where they will do the most good they can at least be provided for where they will do the least harm. A change in this respect is an immediate and imperative duty. m Lost or Stolen? It is not unusual to read of bank messen- gers being attacked and robbed in broad daylight on public thoroughfares while on their way to the Clearing House, and although such a crime appears to -be reck- lessly hazardous it is not after all a great wonder that the robbers manage to escape arrest. People who see a sudden scuffle in the street are not apt to interfere very promptly, and before they realize the situa- tion the thieves, who ate necessarily daring men and know what they are about, are out of reach. It is not easy to find a policeman when he is really needed, but in these cases the robbers do not make their attack until they are satisfied that no guardian of the public peace and property is near. The case of the messenger of the Importers and ‘Traders’ Bank, who lost over two hundred and seventy thousand dol- lars out of his pocket yesterday, between the bank and the Clearing House, was not one of this description. The messenger was accompanied’ by the bank detective, and if his pocket was picked it must have been done with wonderful expertness. The money was all in one package or book, and it might be supposed that the messenger would have been prudent enough to keep his hand on his precious load, or at least to have protected it by walking with the pocket of his coat protected by the guar- dian detective. The probability seems to be that the book worked out of the man’s pocket or was lost in some other manner, Even this implies carelessness on the part of the messenger, and the matter evi- dently needs investigation, It will be fortunate for all coacerned if the miss- ing treasure, if really lost, should be found by an honest man and promptly restored. If it has been stolen, which seems very unlikely, the detectives will probably find the thieves at the same time that they discover the whereabouts of the late Mr. Stewart’s body. Last Day of the Race. It is strange that Campana has been allowed to fall into the same mistake which so effectually cut off Hughes from even a shadow of a chance of winning. Ordinary common sense ought to have pointed out the folly of overdoing one’s self on Monday and dragging on through all the rest of the week jaded and sore. If Campana is even a good second rate walker he must point to other proof than this week's record shows to determine it. ‘here is little doubt that there are gentlemen in this city—not pro- fessionals at all—who, after trajning, could have started last Monday morning—not at one o'clock, but at five—and, instead of thin chicken broth and cat naps, could have had their three solid meals and seven good hours’ sleep daily, and yet by eleven to-night could have left Campana many miles astern. Few who know Messrs Eustis and Downs, of the Atalanta Boat Club, for instance, will question that, had they entered that track masked shortly be- fore daybreak on Monday, they would, when the masks came off to-night, have shown a decidedly better score than Cam- pana will now, while their style of going would have been worthy of the name of walking, and more like that of the splendid man who to-day wins as he likes. Plainly, wo have ‘had no such meeting yet as that where O'Leary wrested the cham- pionship from Corkey, “Blower” and the best’.men. England could produce... From the great crowds which have witnessed the third rage work at the Hippodrome this week it is clear that if, with O'Leary, Weston, Harriman, Holske, Leonardson, Hughes and Campana to pick from, a race is arranged which shall keep the champion at top speed all the while, -it will not only gratify New York with o pedestrian contést likely to become remarkable and to surpass any work of the ‘sort yet done in this country, but it will be pretty sure to prove handsomely remunerative as well. The King Killers Again. In at least six countries in Europe at- tempts to assassinate the sovereigns have recently been made, and now one more comes into line with the story of a plot to kill the Austrian Emperor. In the old days of the Austrian secret police it would have been. safe to set this down as a. contri- vance of their happy genius for invention ; becanse with the throng of such attempts in other countries they would have been ashamed not to have one in their own coun- try, and, indeed, would have feared for the loss of their places, Is there any return to that sort of history in the Austria of the period? Asthe mania to kill kings goes round, it is, of course, natural enough that it should turn up in Austria, and yet this story of a plot has a very dim and nebulous aspect. In the absence of uny assassin or attempt at assassination the police can have no firm grasp of facts, perhaps, but it is pre- cisely in giving very distinct facts to deal with that the king killers have hitherto dis- tinguished themselves, Have they com- pletely changed their style or has some policeman had a troubled dream? PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE. Paris is dull and forsaken. Nice is having @ brilliant season. The Queen of Italy almost always dresses in white. A slippery card player probably plays according to oil. . London bankers are trying to form a bank clerks’ club. Mr. Theodore D. Woolsey, of New Haven, is at the Everett House. Speaker Samuel J. Randall arrived lest evening at the New York Hotel. The funeral of the late Henry Wells will take Place December 31, at Aurora, N. Y. Georgo Eliot has a face which for its fine lines is said to resemble that of Vather Newman. Ex-Governor Seymour and Judge Ward Hunt once belonged to the volunteer Fire Department of Utica. At Cedar Key they can’t afford to eat mock turtle soup, because green turties arc only six cents a pound. ; London Punch:—“A hint to 1adies who will wear outside pockets. ve your purses made up to look like prayer books.” A Wisconsin astronom¢ says that the carth is lop- sided, Has Sunset Cox been leaning his head a little too much one side? Frida Wagner, the new prima donna, is from the teaching of Wartel, the old master of Nilsson. She is a pale beauty and only a child. ‘A Welsh traveller finds nothing very great in the Hudson Highlands, though he thinks that at the Palisades the river surpasses tho Rhine, Mr. Alexander Stuart, late Finance Minister for New South Wales, has arrived here by the steamer Republic, en route to Australia via San Francisco. ‘The London Daily News announces this morning that ex-President Grant, sccompanied by Minister Welsh and Governor Noyes, will arrive at Dublin op the 3d of January. . Prince de Metternich, who has a great taste for all the arts, as well aa literature, is smusing himself with composing ballets, which are represented by friends at his chatesu in Bohemia; ‘Many harmless German socialists, who do & great deal of talking and lounging and who have becn banished from Berlin by Bismarck, hang about Lon- don ana fraternize with French socialists. ‘There isn’t room enough for an ash barrel and s man at the same time on Nassau strect. And, by the way, filthy barrel of ashes and refuse in front of a" store is not a very pretty sign for the store. Mr. George Augustus Sala has just atteined his ff- tieth birthday. In celebration of the happy event the proprietors of the Daily Telegraph have presented him with an exquisite service of plate of great value. In Siberia you can buy beef for two cenits a pound, & goose for twelve cents, a chicken for four cents, horse for $5 ana 361 pounds of ¢orn for six cents, and you can shoot bears out of your parlor window. Let us get exiled. Alady writing to the domestic department of s Western paper sighs, “O for stuffed tomatoca in winter!” Well, stir the “stuffing” intd a quantity of canned tomatoes and bake in very small deep dishes. Serve in the same dishes. London Spectator :—“Good girls in Boston are as good as they will be found anywhere, but if they want to cross ‘the Common’ without escort they cross it; and it will come to that here, even if we have to revolutionize our police syatem to secure it.” London Ezainiaer :—“To suppose that the opinions of a statesman should remain the same for a period of forty-five ycars, and that he should speak and act at the age of seventy just as ho spoke and acted at twenty-five is to imagine that the statesman’s mind or that the world stood still."’ : Mile. X. » of Paris, meeting one of her old boarding school friends who has just been marriod:— “Well,” saya she, “are you happy? Do you get along well together ?’ ‘Happy, yes, without doubt; but wo squabble a great deal.” Already! and about what?” “Paul pretends always that it is he who cares the most for me, and I'm very sure that it iol?” Some one in the Nation (was it?) once said that there was no culture west of Cleveland, Ohio. Cleve- land is one of the three pretticst cities in tho United States; but with all its society and literary eulchaw it has # great deal of obtrusive rawness about it. It resembles its chief products—maple sugar and pop corn—in its culchaw; and it isn’t Boston baked beans after all. END OF THE COAL COMBINATION. ‘The Board of Control of the Coal Combination met at ono o'clock yesterday at the office of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, in the Coaband Iron Ex- change, Cortlandt street. Among those present were Thomas Dickson, of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company ; George A: Heyt, of the Pennsylvania Coal Company; F. 8. Lathtop,- of the Central Railroad of New Jersey; Samuel Sloan, of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad; J. B Graeff, representing the coal operators on the line of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad; A. J. Cassatt, of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company; BR. W. Clarke, of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company; Franklin B. Gowen, of the Philadel- phia and Reading Railroad Company. and Dr. Linder. mann, representing the Lehigh rators. The Lehigh Valley Coa! Company was Hot reprerented Mr. Thomas Dickson, of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, presided and Mr, F. B. Gowen acted as secretary. Dr, Lindermann inquired whether any allotments were to be made for next month, and, on being answered in the negative, he informed the moveting that his functions aa a representative ceased of -o4 presto BO pA hearty of the born 8 jug, interest Revie iced adopted fol- lowing preamble and resolutions :— Whereas tho proscut meting convened for the pu nd whervas no representative of xh Val- ley operators or of the Lehivh Valley Coal Company ts present; and whereas it is nitterly useless to attempt to reithout the netlve cu aperaston ct the Ligh Yeuley opare” ag SR a fh ‘The meeting then adjourned, ‘This is eh the end of the present coal com- bination. Notwithstanding the gloomy outlook sey- eral coal operators, Who were approached on the aub- ject yesterday, were of opinion that the coal com- paniés would come ip the beginning of the coming Lhe 4 4 tora An a result of yesterday's meeting there was 4 sharp decline im all coal stocks, mt for the. mal (|AMUSEMENTS. ACADEMY OF MUSIC.-—'*LL FLAUTO MAGICO.” ‘The last night of the Maplesou opera company, for the present at least, was celebrated by the reproduc: tion of Mozart's “11 Vlauto Magico.” The audience was largo, as it well might be with such a prima donna in the cast as Mime. Elteka Gerster, in addition toa magnificent cast, Mme. Gerster’s Astrifiamente, in which she has already made herself famous by the rendering of the two wonderful brayura piccet with whieh the sopramo part begins and ends, was equal to her first’ perform. ance. Her exquisite case of execution, her purity of tone and perfection of — technique have oaie been cousmentéd upon at in these cohuuns, and it is therefore unnecessary to recapitu- late details, The Pamina of Parodi was ouly a fair performance and not noteworthy. The rdle is one that requires much dramatic force in addition to a cultivated voice, and she was not-equal to the task. It is much to be regretted that Mme. Marie Roze was unable through indisposition to appear, us some of the ablest erit have prono’ her one of the best exponents of the ra/e of Pamina. What we have heard of the charming prima donna leads us to be- lieve that she will do justice to this character aud we trust Colonel Mapleson will repeat “Il Flauto Magico’’ next sewon, in order that we may judge of Mme. Rozo's Pamina for ourselves. Signor Frapollt made all that was possible of the part of Tamino. Seerratt eeestel his spnciad of shears ae, tation opera as Sarastro, the Papageno x dol Puente was equal to most of the efforts which this favorite baritone has so ently made. ‘The chorus waa better than on the firat occasion and the orchestra, under Signor Arditi, waa evidently less annoyed by insufticiently voices. The lust grand matinée takes place to-day, when Gerster, Campanini, Galassi and Foli will appear in “Lucia di Lammermoor.” STEINWAY HALL—‘‘THE MESSIAH” BY THE OBA+ TORIO SOCIETY, ‘The crush wag so great at Steinway Hall yesterday to witness Miss Hauk’s first appearance in “The Messiah’ as to necessitate the opening of the smaller hall, which was soon filled by the overflow from the larger auditorium adjacent, Previous to the per- formance it was announced that Mr. M. W. Whitney, the basso engaged, who hag been singing in the same oratorio in Cincinnati, was detained by the snow storms in Ohio, but expected to be here last evening in time to sing to-night, Mr. A. E. Stoddard appeared in place of Mr, Whitney and there was no delay or interruption of the per- formance. General interest, of course, centred upon Miss Huauk's rendering ‘of the soprano part. From “Carmen” to “The Messiah""—it is a very long and difficult step, and uone but an artist of rare ae would venture upon such dangerous und, ‘The artist’s performance, making the allowan called for by her inexperience in this line of her at ‘was unex, enlisteshory The opening recitatives. following the ‘Pastoral Symphony” were delivered most impressively, and, except in the ‘Rejoice Greatly,” the artist evidenced in no ordinary degree the dramatic power and the religious fervor which oratorio music exacts, In this - first aria the attack of the opening phrase was made with a timidity that did not reflect the spirit of the piece, and there was lackinjs, in a measure, the fuency without which this number fails ot its full effect. But the ‘‘Come Unto Him’ was exquisitely given. The conception was original, the execution delicat tender and surcharged with true feeling. The “I Know that My Redeemer Liveth” was scarcely less admirable, was, too, full of an emotional quality that few wingers have brought to it. Miss Hauk was cordially roveived and was complimented by unusual démonstrations of fevor, especially for “Come Unto Him.” Miss Anns Drasdil, who made her first appearance here this se2sou, was, as she always 18 in this work, thoroughly at home in the contralto part. Her ren- dering of “He Shall Feed His Flock’’ was one of the most notable efforts of the performance, and was 50 recognized by the audience. Mr. George Simpson's finished method showed the artist throughout, and if he did not electrify his hearers, for want of op- portunity, he gratified them in his own un- assuming way. Mr. A. E, Stoddard’s voice is not well suited to the music of “The Messiah.” He is too cold a siuger to’ render, vivifyingly, fhe want dramatic numbers that fall to the basso in this work, and then, too, he is not so much a basso as a bari- tone, and the muaie is not effective with his timbre of voice. .He was familiar with his part, however, and the audience were not called upon to make any allowances in this way for his luck of preparation. The chorus did some excellent work, especially #1 its renderings of the difficult florid parts with whic! the score is thickly studded. The singers at times lacked sharpness of attack and were, as Well, cons fused in some parts, as in the chorus, “And He Shall Purify," for instance. The best efforts were the ‘‘Hallelujah” and the finale, “Worthy is the Lamb.” The orchestra was, under Dr. Damrosch, usually very good, but aometimes showed insufficient Teheatasl, ‘aa in the Fi ae to the contralto air, O, Thou that Tell ”* Both chorus and orchestra will improve upon the rehearsal, which was of great advantage to them, in the concert to-night, when Mr. Whitney will take bis place in the quartet of soloists, MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC NOTES, “Almost a Life,” at the Standard, is dtawing to @ close. ‘There will be # matinée of “Evangeline” to-day at Booth’s at two o'clock. . ‘The San Francisco Minstrels give a grand holiday matinée to-day. Whoever desires abearty laugh ought» to put in an appearance. ‘i Mr. John McCullough makes his last appearance in, “Coriolanus” at the Grand Opera House at the mati- née and this evening. “The Banker's Daughter,” st the Union Square, continues to be one of the dramatic points of attrac- tion. A matinée to-day. Miss Julia Rivé-King, the woll known pianist, will ‘be ono of the soloists at the Brooklyn Philharmonia Society at their concert on the 18th of January. Mozart’s grand mass in E flat, No. 33, was publicly performed, it is said, for the first time in America, on Christmas Day, at St. Mary’e Catholic Church, Phila delphis, Mrs, Adele Broas, assisted by Mr. Frank Gilder, the ‘well known pianist, will make her first a) in New York at Chickering Hall on Moeiag Mocing, § @ is said to be a fine humorous and dramatic reader, At the Park Theatre, during the engagement of the Colville Opera Barlesque Company, which is now presenting “Babes in the Wood,” the pricaof sde mission for children has been reduced to half price. General Tom Thumb, his little wife, formerly Mise Lavinia Warren, Miss Amy Reed, another microscopic fraction of humanity, and Major Newell, who is de scribed as a skatorial phenomenon, will commence aj series of porformances on Monday, December 30, a& Masonic Hall, ‘The last two performances of ‘My Son’ take place to-day and this evening st Wallack’s Theatre. On’ Monday tho new play “At Last” will be presented, It is said to be full of effective situations, and will doubtless derive additional interest from the fact that Mr. Lester Wallack will make his reappearance, Mr. Coghlan is assigned a part in the same cast. Owing to the continued illness of Mme. Anna Granger Dow her place will. be taken at the Chicker- ing Hall Symphony Concert, this evening, by Signor Enrico Campobello, an artist who has achieved quick. distinction since his arrival in this country by reason of his admirable voice and method. He will sing @ recitative and aria from Mozart's “Le Nozze di Figaro.” Whoever has seen Mr. Joseph Jefferson in “Rip ‘Van Winkle” need not be reminded of the exquisite Meissoniet-like detail of color and action with which he invests every detail of his characterization, and those who have not seen him should not miss the present opportunity of witnessing the superb pers fortwance at ‘the Fifth Avenue Theatre, A matings is announced for to-day, HOW HATTERS ARE POISONED. ‘At the instance of the New Jersey State Board of Hoalth a leading physician of Nowark has been mak- ing an investigation into the causes of disease among hatters, the result of which is to be submitted to the Legislature, which meets at Trénton in January. He finds that much injury to health is caused by the use of poisonous stuff used in hat. ting, which is — coi of nitric acid and quicksilver, and because of its resemblance in color to the vegetable of that name is called in the trade carrot. It {is stated that the poison affects the brain, driving men almost to idiocy, and that it, ‘wastes the muscles, enters the pores of the skin and’ causes injurious eruptions. Scientists have lon; been endeavoring to find a substitute for carrot, bub! thus far without avail, BENT ON SELF-DESTRUCTION, Margaret Fleischmann is the wife of Charles Fleiache mann, of No, Thompson street, which is a cigam store, Forsome days Mrs. Fleischmann has been in very low spirits and has given her husband much anxiety, and yesterday her despondency culminated in an attempt to kill herself with a knife. Her lus saved her from herself, but not, a the had cut Berscif budly og the arin, “Onbece: Mele Hen of the Fifteenth povginet, took her to Jeffer- fon Market Court, where the husband told oaere Morgan that she had soaked Incifer matches for eight days and ‘was caught by him trying to potson herself with the water, The wd woman, who stood rule, we the bar while these things were told about her, was committed for medical examination, a *>