The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-05-11
THE HOWARD MISSION.
Station House LOdgers MT Breakfast.

Station House LOdgers MT Breakfast.
The usual weekly drama, in which station house
dodgers the principal actors, enacted yester-
day morning at the Howard Mission in the New Bow
cry, with the usual results in the way of spectators
Breakfast is now prepared for an average of one
hundred and thirty persons which is all the Mission
building can at present accommodate. That thou
sands might be gathered, were the accommodations
sufficient, is the evidence of all competent judges
who at all cOnversant with station house statis-
tics The system pursued thus far has been to send
given number Of notes OF invitation to the cap
tans at the several station houses In the vicinity
Saturday night The selection Of candidates is then
left discretionary with the captains who select those
who seem to them most promising and dis
tribute the invitations among them. The more
hardened and criminal are usually omitted from the
list unless as 1t happens that OF more promising
candidates the number may not be sufficient to abb
sorb the whole number OF invitations In which case
the more abandoned come in for share OF the bread
and butter and coffee. To take ones station at the
door of the Howard Mission at hafp seven O'Clock
on Sunday morning would result In an opportunity
for most happy series Of photographs Of low life
from types furnished by the occasion and selected
from the mas. by the scrutiny Of police captain:
even honored with an invitation. but of the
better class In whom the seeds Of doing better have
not been utterly smOthered In the weeds OF doing
very badly. They are from all quarters and Of every
nationaty-American, German, Irish, Italian, Span
lSn mixtures OF tncSe Wtn every possible per-
centage OF either. Ragged-s0 ragged, some Of them,
as to merit the literal appeation Of ragamuflins-
fOot-sOre and bandy-legged some of them, leprOus
with sores and filth some OF them, vermin-nfected
all OF them-for vermln hold high carnival among
station house dodgers. These are the constituents OF
"a ungainy regiment as were ever invited to break
fast with gentleman and accepted the gentleman's
invitation and went.
II you take pains to note carefully you will OBJ
serve that the majority exhibit tendency to sore
eyes and general cuticular disease, while some Of
them have the appearance Of having just walked up
from an exceedingly long sleep, with.the peculiar
stare of eyes and the tendency TO open them abnor
mally wide which exceedingly long sleep produces.
Some, too are respectable looking, though downcast
while Others have adopted sort OF assumption OF
bravado which is far enough from their real feelings.
Every one exhibits his ticket to the doOrkeeper-
none Others are permitted to pass-and Ia
ushered into the wash room, where an opportunity
Is afforded for thorough abutions, and II some
lose all identity In the washing there need he
especial wonder for there have been those before
who being washed, were by no means the same In
dividuas that they were before that epidermc ope-
ration. Washed clcansed OF station house cobwebs,
the ragged regiment Is ushered into the breakfast
room and ranged along the table, which Is loaded
with bread and butter and coffee steaning In Its
cups. few brief words OF blessing, during which
the breakasters keep most vigant eye the stacks
pyramids Of white bread, as II It might possibly
take legs and scramble away If they lost sight
OF II, and then the breakfasters beake them
selves to the repast-sender enough, to be
sure but better than nothing, even better
than examining barrels OF oial along the
street for the fishing out Of possible crumb. An
hour, or possibly a little more, having been con-
sumed nj breakfast an invitation IL extended to all
words Of exhOrtation and prayer drop from the lips
OF the master of ceremonies and the weird congrcga
ton IL dismissed, to return who VIII at the hour
specified.
IL Is but proper TO add that O considerable number
OF conversions and many recamations have been
wrought through the simple fundamentally Of this
breakfast and that thus far IL has proved most
effective means of doing good among the class known
a. staNOn house dodgers.