The Empire County argus. [volume] (Coloma, El Dorado County, Cal.) 1853-1857, 1853-12-17
SUNDAY NIGHT SCENES.


The following fearful picture of life in New
York, we copy from the New York Times Bad as
the Atlantic papers make California, it is pure in
comparison to New York.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy l"-
Such the commandment given to Christians, and
in Christian cities nominally followed Let us see
how the law is interpreted Let us see how the day
is sanctifed
Last Sunday night, in a walk from Nassau street
to South Ferry. we had ample food for comment
upon the fourth commandment. Broadway was a
perfect hell Of Drunkenness. A bowling stagger-
ing Pandemonium Of bestialized men, The side
walks were trayersed by men in every stage of in
toXlcaton, rceling to and fro like ships in storm
The air was laden with snatches of drunken songs,
fragments Of filthy language, or incohercnt shouts
from those who were too drunk to articuate.-
Drunkenness in every dark lane and alley, only
discoverable by its disgusting rawlings. Drunken
ness in the wide, lamplit streets, staggering along
with swimming headsparalyzed limbs and coun-
tenance of imbeclc selisuality Drunkenness lying
in the kennel stcrtoriousIy respring its fed breath.
Drunkenness clinging to the amp-posts Drunk
cnness coiled up on the door-stcps, waiting to be
robbed or murdered Drunkenness screaming on
the roofs of solitary omnibuscs, or hanging half
out of the windows OF belated hackney cabs and
disturbing the night with incoherent Melodies
Drunkenness walking apparently steadily along,
laughing dotcally to itself and thicky rehearsing
indecencies, that adorned the conviyial meeting
has just left Drunkenness waiting at the Ferries,
snoring on benches quarrelling with its drunken
company falling fl the edge of the pier into the
water, and being fshcd out half sober.
This is no exageration Of the panorama of intox-
ication which we saw free Of charge on the Sunday
nigh in question. We shuddered we went along,
and the question suggested itself to our minds . Is
the entire City drunk
On reaching the South Ferry we saw Drunken
ness in its collective form. Out of twenty or thirty
people there collected, there was besides the wri-
ter, only one sober person, and that was woman.
The rest were either sleeping heavily upon the
benches, rompng stupidity with one another, or
quarreling. Three youths entered Just before us.
The eldest could not have been more than seven
teen; nevertheless, they were all in a state Of
beastly intoXcation. 1t was really shocking sight
to sec their young checks infalned with drunken
fire, and to hear oaths and basphemics streaming
torrent-likc, from their young lips. One of them,
a handsome youth, whose fine eyes were dim and
bloodshot with drinking held in his hand delicate
mothcr-of-pearl fan. And this he fourshcd drunk
cnly in his companions faces and famed himself
with it grotcsquely, and played thousand clumsy
tricks. But this delicate plaything ill became his
fevcrcd hands He got it, perhaps, a few short
hours before from some innocent girl, whose pure
society he left for the barroom and of whose Gifts
and love he boastcd to his friends. While it was
warm with her pure touch they scoffed and laughed
over it, and made it the subject of scandalous ests
and blasphcmous mcriment. A love token it was,
perhaps, bestowed in all confidence, and now BAN
died about by drunken rioters, with disgusting IL
reverence. Another group now attracted our at
tenton. poor, ralc-faccd, submissiye-looking
woman, sat near one of the windows scantly pro-
tectcd from the chill air by miserable thin shawl
with her husband, huge-beardcd fellow, leaning
heavily upon her bosom; snoring the time away in
the last stage of drunkenness. Poor creature.-
could by her habitually pleading cxpression
that she had hard time Of it at home and doubt
less her ncghbols could tell MANY terrible stories
of the screams at night and the oaths and rawlings
OF the brute who swore to protect and cherish her
and the bruised face in the morning as she went
out shiyering with shame at the previous nights
Disturbances But there she sat meekly and anx-
iously Watching his bloated face, and holding his
tevcred hand in hers, and fondng and chershing
him so in his helplessness, that none, save those
who read the story of life from something deeper
than appearances, would believe him to be aught
but the best Of husbands, overcome perhaps, for
the first time.
Then the fcrry-boat came in, and the slcepcrs
were awakened, and shouts and oaths again were
loud upon the night, and the drunken crew staggcr-
ed on board, and SO home.
Now, all this is true. There is no exagcration
about it. 1t is no romance picture, but regular
tableau vivant. Let any one who wishes to see
such Pandemonium, walk down Broadway after
midnight on Sunday, and we promise them such
another scene as we have described Is this to last
Is the City on the sacrcdest day of the week, to be
given up to series Of bacchanalian orgies more
mad and blasphemous than the reves of the priests
of Ceres There is no denying the fact, that the
domination Of Drunkenness in New York over
large proportion Of the people is extending every
day. We do not pretend to point out the exact
means of checking the growth Of this evil, but we
would most earnestly call public attention to the
fact that some remedy must ere long be devised, if
we wish to preserve any thing like peace or order
among us. There are some laws in existence, we
believe, ineficienty enforced rendering persons
found drunk in the streets liable to punishment
1t is our opinion, that every man, whether rioous
or not who is found in state of ntoxicaton should
be severely punished the name of the person who
supplied him with liquor, if possible, obtained and
heavy fine inflicted on the latter. If drunkenness
were dealt with stringcntly in detail, we believe
there would be little need of any obnoxious general
measures.
Mrs PARTINGroN AGAIN." Was Paul inclined