Fish and Fowl.
Notwithstanding the heavy demonstrations of the Common Council, by word of mouth and by strength of lung in favor of the Atlantic Cable, it seems that the reception of the crew of the Niagara was entirely overlooked by these distinguished characters, who, in their ovations to Mr. Cyrus W. Field, and such like magnates, ignored the existence of such a poor set of individuals as the absolute toilers, who live by the sweat of their brow. To make up for this deficiency in courtesy, a few gentlemen invited and gave a species of demonstration, wherein they expected to realize something digestible for the poor Jacks of our navy, who, in an humble way at least, contributed to the success of the great event. Well, these gentlemen in hiring a room wherein the speechification could be made, naturally stumbled upon the great Peter Cooper Institute, first from the connection Peter had with the tail end of the cable, and, secondly, from the fact that they labored under the impression that the building had been given to our municipality for the encouragement of arts and sciences, and, assuredly, what could be more encouraging to science than a hearty meal after scientific labor?
The committee waited upon the proprietor of the Institute and discovered the nightly rent for the use of the hall of the building, so magnanimously donated to the city, to be $100. However, the breasts of landlords are not always of stone, and the illustrious Peter, taking into consideration the object and the occasion, kindly consented to receive from the friends of poor Jack but one-half the usual price for the loan of a building, vulgarly conceived to be public property. Now who dares to assert that Peter, the great and liberal minded Peter Cooper, never does things by halves?
