A tour around New York, and My summer acre; being the recreations of MrFelix Oldboy . mes it was a buxom widowwho kept half a dozen gentlemen and twenty childrenat work. I remember that, small as we were, we hadour favorite taskmasters, and carefully avoided sundrydictatorial old maids. As I grew older, I discoveredthat it was almost as pleasant working among theChristmas greens as battling for favors under the mis- A TOUR AROUND NEW YORK 123 tletoe. Besides, there was a sublime satisfaction inlooking up from the family pew, during a prosy ser-mon, and watching a wreath certain fair fingers ha
A tour around New York, and My summer acre; being the recreations of MrFelix Oldboy . mes it was a buxom widowwho kept half a dozen gentlemen and twenty childrenat work. I remember that, small as we were, we hadour favorite taskmasters, and carefully avoided sundrydictatorial old maids. As I grew older, I discoveredthat it was almost as pleasant working among theChristmas greens as battling for favors under the mis- A TOUR AROUND NEW YORK 123 tletoe. Besides, there was a sublime satisfaction inlooking up from the family pew, during a prosy ser-mon, and watching a wreath certain fair fingers hadwoven. What, in comparison with such a treasure,does the purchased decoration signify? Indeed, thedressing of a church for Christmas has become a lostart. The sexton attends to it now. He buys a fewtrees, crosses, and wreaths, and sticks them here orthere as his fancy dictates. But in the dear old daysof lang syne we elaborated a plan months beforehand,and made the sanctuary a bower of Christmas life andglory—creating in those plain, old-fashioned interiorsa beauty of COPPER CROWN FROM CUPOLA OF KINgs COLLEGE 124 -^ TOUR AROUND NEW YORK CHAPTER XI A METROPOLIS OF STRANGERS—SOME OLD MANSION-HOUSES ON THEEAST SIDE—CHARACTERISTICS OF BOWERY LIFE—BULLs HEAD ANDTHE AMPHITHEATRE—THE STUYVESANT PEAR-TREE—A HAUNTEDHOUSE No historian of New York gives half so graphic apicture of the embryo metropolis of fifty years ago asmy correspondent, who writes: I do not think thatpeople can understand the size of our city in thesedays. We all knew who was who. Old Mrs. Stuart,in black brocade, selling candy by the pennys worthat Chambers and Greenwich streets ; Katy Ferguson,on Hudson Street, making all the jelly and sweet-meats, and Mrs. Isaac Sayres, in Harrison Street, pre-paring all the wedding-cake, were types of the knew them, as all knew the ministers andour few rich men. The city is changed, indeed, since then. Not manymonths ago I stood at my window
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectnewyorknybuildingsst
