The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1856-02-02
THOUGHTS AT THE CROSSING.


What a panorama Of human lie anil pass
ions Is hourly witnessed in our crowded thor
ouchfarcS Lite III the city is intense. Z:
seems heated up as in some vast ~rrril,e-
Passions which elsewhere develop slowly.
and work moderately. here Glow with fer
vent heat, and seem awavs at the boilino
point There is no place or time for slug
gi>hn">S. The wav is ever rrow,ic,! Ike =
puhilc rarc-cou->e. 81 that whoever vouIJ
drive moderately must turn aside 70 The wall
or run the risk OF being dashed in peces.
Tins is equally true in figure and in letter.
Earnc>tncss. vigilance. and versatility arc
alike necessary whether we would drive
through Broadway in our buggy. or would
keep our place IN The throno of merchants.
editors or ministers. y sort of high pressure
acts upon all d"partmcn'~ of lie. The fast
spirit is contagious. II rises rapiilv and al
most uncons.ioa>lv We tc, our>clv,, borne
along hv som" Irresistible snrll. whose Ian
gna-e If interpreted would be. "lo quickly
rs"
lhS qWchcning power ac:s generally up-
on ali classes and all characters. and stimu.
latcs alike the Good and the bad. Hence We
expect to find in large cities, the best and the
worst Of men. Here are the most liberal. and
the most avaricious. Here are worIdIinys
in ,launtinc co!ors. and h.wildcreI with van
''lcs. though protesting better things Here
too is 4 noble army Of Christians who work,
think. and pray increasingly. As they bend
every crcrcv towards hcs.ennr the Redeem
'r's kingdom. Here virtue and rietv thread
the lanes and hv-wavs. visiting .arrct anu
ce.'r on thcir heavenly crranl<.
i,e-c also wee and Ter two ill-fayorcd
daughters, panDrrism ard suffering. stalk
boldly IN all our streets. The metropolis is
forcing house in which ii!iaI disrcsrcct ri
pens IN 4 few davs into wavwardncss and
rain. Here the boy. who Yesterday shudIer-
ed at an oath, will shortly startle the rassor-
hv with the ingenuity ard rccklcssness Of his
hiasnhcmles. But while the good people Of
the land are scrrowing over the dcrravity of
the city, let them not forget that here zoo vr-
tue and Plcty are forced to unusual procoritv,
and frutfulncsS. Many a youth who twenty
years ago swept the counting horsc. and ran
of errands. has ma'urcd into the rich. earnest
liberal Christian. who is now giving his thou
sands yearly TO sustain our churches and COL
leCes. Cities must ever exert vast infIu-
ence on the land. So they have always done
To live in the city then. involves a RESPONSE
bllity proportioned to the good which it is
possible, and the evil which is just as practi-
caple.
But we were standing at the street cross
ING, to wait for some break in the endless
press OF stage, truck, carriage and GIG And
all these thoughts crowded through the mvs-
ferrous avenues OF mind as eagerly as the
throng pressed on. II seemed but a moment
but how rapidly the eve, the ear, and the
mind were working. Perhaps the time was
longer than it seemed. For the impatien,
drivers clocced all the passages, and the re.
suit was "jam," which brings all alike to a
stop, however hurried or at leisure.
Is there atiger in mans heart? Or why
in such scene do men instantly become fe.
roclous. and seem as if they would devour
one another: What language assails the
ears,-each accusing the other of CAUSING the
stoppage. What fierce looks-what yocifera.
tons - what almost unnatural petulance =
All are strangers, and now from opposite
ways they have met, to fret moment and
then pass on to meet no more till the final dav
What variety of costume and character =
That poor washer-woman with her bulky has
ket wants to ride in the stage already full -
There IS jnst one seat vacant. Butt is nex,
to that gay lady with the crimson shawl Of
'nd'a SILK. She is elegantly dressed, see he,
bracelets, her diamonds, her flowers. Anc
how she scorns the poor woman with her bas
ket who would sit beside her. What ex
tremes are here met See that pensive. toll
worn face. 1t is perhaps the widowed moth
er Of half-fed children She is on her va,
10 deliver her clothes and receive her hard
earned wages Has she no friend? Is She