Bryant, himself one of the most irresistibly humorous delineators of the
"burnt cork opera," has collected a band of genuine artists, and has
fairly won his success. He has raised Negro Minstrelsy to the dignity of
a fashionable amusement, and has banished from it all that is coarse and
offensive. Men worn out with business cares go there to laugh, and they
do laugh most heartily. I think that even the king who "never smiled
again," would have been forced to hold his sides here. Families come by
the score to laugh at the vagaries of the sable minstrels, and the mirth
of the little folks is one of the heartiest and healthiest sounds to be
heard in the great city.

Next in order are the concerts. These are well patronized when the
performers are well known. There are several fine halls used for
concerts and lectures. The principal are Steinway Hall, in Fourteenth
street, and Irving Hall, in Irving Place.

Lectures also draw largely. The principal halls used for this purpose
are Steinway Hall, and the Halls of the Young Men's Christian Association
and the Cooper Institute.

Last, but not least in the estimation of New Yorkers, is the Circus.
This is a permanent entertainment during the fall and winter. The
performances are given in a handsome iron building located on Fourteenth
street, opposite Irving Place. The building is in the form of a circus
tent, and is lighted with gas, and warmed by steam coils. The audiences
are large, and consist to a great extent of children. The little folks
are very fond of the sports of the ring, and are among Mr. Lent's best
patrons.

XXXVI. THE MARKETS.

The principal markets of New York are the Fulton, Washington, Jefferson,
Catharine, Union, Clinton, Franklin, Centre, and Tompkins Markets. With
the exception of Tompkins Market, they are, as far as the houses are
concerned, unmitigated nuisances to the city. They are in the last
stages of dilapidation, and from without present the most ungainly
spectacles to be witnessed in New York. The streets around them are
always dirty and crowded, and in the hot days of the summer the air is
loaded with foul smells which arise from them.

Within, however, the scene is very different. The rickety old buildings
are crammed to repletion with everything edible the season affords. In
the summer the display of fruit is often magnificent. The products of
every section of the Union are piled up here in the greatest profusio