Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-12-01
. EVENING STAR.
PEEPs AND SLY LOOKS
MARKET AT NIGHT

of meeting dozen OF pretty ladies, staring at
you and mistaking you for an upper servant,
because you don't wear kids, and haven't 10
body guard.
SO out you go, and in a few minutes thread
the spacious precincts Of Centre Market, and
goodness gracious what scene you have
just clambered over pile of sweet potatoes,
and stand bewildered, clinginS to tall maid
en- lady, whom you havo mistaken for Q lamp
post; the maiden lady screams, but the scream
is lost to yourself; alive only to the percep-
ton Of seeing motley crowd struggling and
pushing, ingressing and egrcssing, talking,
laughing, joking, halloing, screaming; and
amidst all this confusion lank countryman
informs you that You have just purchased
peck of apples, and enquiries gently if the
little boy stealing ches tDuts, with an empty
basket Is the servant de escort. You reRon-
strate, and while explaining that the fat lady
on the right is the proper owner, a gentleman
claims you as his servant, and insists upon
pouring lot Of vegetables in your basket;
with an indignant countenance you turn round,
gentleman apologises, made mistake, John
and yourself, very much alike, same size,
wear same clothes, John has a basket too
Borne off in rage and stopping for breath.
greasy individual with his sleeves tucked up
enquiries how much butter you Ill take, mea-
sures ont two or three pounds, and depositing
1t In your basket, and lauiing its excellence
IN breath, you take it out again, and get
wrathy, and now the crowd diminishes, you
Ind yourself in less frequentod portion OF
the market, where dim lanterns Indicate dim
shadows, gliding here and there; you almost
Imagine you are in Know Nothing Lodge,
by the stiffness and sombreness of the scene;
but avery peculiar smell seems to show that
you are either IN Virginia smoke house or
somewhere else, in which supposition you are
about half right, having wandered TO that
part OF the market where nisgcrs mos. do con-
Sregate, and where plies Of ham and huge
vessels of that good cid dish, horniny, seem 10
welcome tie passsr by, with trEo Southern
hospitality
Get once more into crowded localities, and
find yourself pushed and horsed about till
your entire stock of good nature forsakes you,
and you push and crowd like the rest Small
boy nearly knocks the breath out Of your
body By collision between his head ard your
stomach, unintentional, of course: attemnt To
fetch him blow; boy ingeniously dives and
hits a young lady in that portion of her figure
poilteiy termed the rear. Young lady cx-
claims that . that man insulted her; NOUS
tached individual, with gold headed cane
fercely confrontS you; try to explain. and
moustached individual shakes his head and
ferocIously demands you card; havn't any,
and In your distress present him with q free
ticket to the bearded lady; have an indistinct
recollection OF falling suddenly TO the ground,
ant feel aware that blood is trickling down
your face, and that great any curious eyes
are pecrlng upon you. Get up and recover
your basket which providcutially had nothing
III 1t, and creep off To the butcher stalls with a
determination to eat meat the rest of your
lie and grow savage; and now you are thread
ing your way to the interior Of the market.
and long lines Of butchers, stands, piled with
rocking, smoking meat, greet your doubtful
vision; and anon rising on the evening air
comes constant buZ, buz, of human voices
intermingling with the chop, chop. If many a
bloody and busy knife. Let US lake look at
the butchers Themselves, their grim and surly
countenances, look still more unprepOSsessing
by the light Of candle; and, hark what a
dendish laUsh bursts from one of them: he il
cutting a shoulder Of mutton, and while en-
gagged something causes that supernatural
burst OF merriment, somewhat connected with
his subject Of dissection, and dark suspicion
crosses your mind that that sheep died a nat
ural death, and a thrill Of horror tingIcs your
blood at the bare possibility; you meskly ad-
vance and ask him q variety of questions in
regard to the general healthiness of sheen, tho
process Of sausage making and the singular
scarcity OF cats and dogs, and you are fully
persuaded, after a short conversation, that
butchers are the most perSccuted race OF hu-
man beings on earth, that scandal has circu-
lated many false and malicious story. that
such things as sick sheep, or cattle, are mere
inventions, and that all is sheer CANNON about
sausages being manufactured from dogs and
cats or any other creature in an advanced
stats sf unpleasantness, and that the idea
only existed in the brain Of foolish people and
that whereas man Of sense will eat q sausage
down and no questions asked, and then the
butcher will wind up by telling you that these
stories emanated from young gentleman,
whose father having left all his property to a
taA tha
the trade.
Purchasing what suits your taste or your
eye, Oh you 60; here you are in bakery, ans
before you can take another lock a step fur
ther brings you into land flowing with milk
and honey, to speak poetically, but in plain
prose a little nook we'll stored with cans of
milk (nicely watered) and buckets piled up
with the honeycomb, thus realizing one idea
of that far-famed land, for which the Israel
ties waited in vain forty years to see.
Leaving Canaan, We catch n view of large
crowd surrounding an oratorizing individual,
who appears in a tremendous passion, and
raves and rants vehemently. It's quarrel,
says one it's a Know Nothing speech, says
another; and the policemen rush forward to
knock down all the antics, if there be any,
and bear them of triumphantly to the guard
house-it being an established fact that they
are the offenders in all breaches Of the peace
Llltl6 DOyc creep VI Idb Se0tle-
men to view the musS, and rowdies rub their
hands in expectation of congenial amusement
You find yourself siezed with the contagious
curiosity, and, longing to see what the trouble
ia, crowd yourself into the mass, and after
desperate pushing find that it is nothing more
than an itinerant autioneer, roaring out the
customary ss How much shall L have? how
much shall have, gentlemen ;" and holding
up something in the air, which he assures you
is valuable diamond ring, of tho first water,
at the same time intimsting that he has been
offered a levy for it, and anxiously inquiries
if the splendid diamond ring must be sacri-
feed The ring is finally knocked down TO
baretcoted loafer, for thirteen cents, who
calmly informs the auctioneer, amid general
laugh, that he 4" haint got 40 money" After
listening for awhile t. the mOnotOnous going,
going, going" you go yourself, and commence
seriously to fill your basket, which is but half
full and stare in the faces Of men and women,
who pass and repass. Bright and flashing
eyes of lovely women can De seen occasionally
dotting here and there the crowd of fat faces,
and lean faces and all the sad variety of faces,