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GENERAL FEATURES OF THE DAY. CROWDS IN AND ABOUT WALL STREET. HOW THE ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE FAILURES WERE RECEIVED. Much earlier than usual Wall Street was alive On the way to the street the brokers had of companions when a they had had one. Several yesterday. hundreds thousand neighborhood persons day before of had in the streets in the the before 10 the the men gathered Stock who Exchange sought o'clock, floor had and to elbow their way through a dense crowd. The majority. of course, were mere curiosity-seekers. They betrayed this afterward by standing for hours and staring at the buildings in which were the offices of the firms whose failures were announced at intervals between 10 o'clock and noon. Others had a more vital interest. These did not spend much time in looking about them; they pushed past the starers and disappeared in the brokers' offices. The brokers went upon the floor of the Exchange in larger force than usual. There they took part in occurrences, but the demonstrations not different on an day. In fact, tension ordinarily many were exciting busy widely when from those the was the business of was comparatively carried greatest on with the little Exchange noise. The happenings which set the outside crowd to rushing madly and aimlessly about subdued their brokers. Announcements were made from the rostrum every few minutes, but it was only after the news a failure was thus communicated that half alhundred men would dash wildly through the doors,and communicate their madness to the wondering multitude outside. Then a great tide in the human sea would set toward the office of the broken firm, to swirl and eddy in front of it for the rest of the day. WALL STREET ALMOST IMPASSABLE. Long before noon Wall-st. was almost impass able. Seen from the steps of Trinity Church it was black with human beings as far as the vision reached. Carriages, cabs and stages which turned into it occasionally had to make their way slowly through the path which opened in front of them. Here and there a surging mass, denser and more ex. cited than usual, was seemingly thrown up against the front of a house. Thus the offices of the brokers who had gone down e distinguished. The first of the firms was Nelson Robinson & Co., at No. 18 Wall-st. Then followed Goffe & Randle, at No. 5 New-st.; then O.M. Bogart & Co., at No.108 Broadway : and at this spot, at Broadway and Pine-st., the crowning excitement of the day was reached when about half-past 11 the Metropolitan Bank closed its doors. At ten minutes before 11 the last violent irruption from the Exchange took place. A hundred men burst almost simultaneously from the doors into New-st., gasped Hatch & Foote' as they dived into the crowd, and disappeared in all directions. Nearly all the banks 111 the vicinity of Wall-st. were crowded with people eager to reach the windows of the paying tellers. The failure of Nelson Robinson & Co., a firm composed of a son-inlaw and two sons of George I. Seney, and the fact that the Metropolitan Bank had been under suspicion for a week, started a run on that concern. The paying teller paid out money as it was called for, or certified the checks presented in the usual order of business until twenty minutes after 11 o'clock. Then he shut his window, and the announcement was made that the bank had suspended. The heavy doors in front were closed, policemen were stationed at the head of the steps to keep back the multitude, and communication between the bank officers and their customers was cut off. Till nightfall people jostled each other off the iron steps their anxiety to read the notices tacked on the door, which told simply where drafts drawn by correspondent bankers would be honored. THE CROWD EAGER FOR NEWS. On the part of the crowd there was a disposition to believe any story which told of disaster. A chance word of conversation, which had a questionable sound was picked up repeated, developed with lightning-like rapidity into a damaging ru mor. and accepted for fact, The Phenix National Bank found itself besieged about noon with a multitude clamoring for The bank began some time ago to money. reduce its broker business, and in pursuit of this policy had refused to certify checks unless there was money actually on deposit. The belief got abroad that the bank was unsound, and the turmoil began in front of its doors. President Dutilh took his station at the head of the steps in front of the bank, shook the bands of those of his customers whom he knew, and a hundred times gave the information that the bank was all right, and that those who wanted their money could have it. In an hour or two the excitement here was allayed. THE LAST ANNOUNCEMENT OF A FAILURE. The last announcement of a failure in the Board as made at 2,30. It was that of Hotchkiss & Burnham. The gavel had been kept going almost incessantly while the chairman of the Board was closing transactions under the rule" on a account of the suspended firms. but vigorous rapping than usual at the time mentioned called nearly every member on the floor to the vicinity of the rostrum. The intelligence was received with shouts of " Oh!" and whistlings, and a rush into the street. Afterward little attention was paid to the announcements. As the hands of the clock approached 3 there came a great erescendo of sound, which wasswelled into a deafening din by the signal gong. A quick hush followed the stream of enectators
