Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1875-12-01
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Our favorite walk Is through fulton street IN
| Brooklyn. Leaving the mere magnificent streets
| Of New York where are displayed in shop win
| dows goods SO gorgeous and costly that We Won
| der if there are people in the world rich enough
| 10 have them, and into which shops we hardly
dare to enter the expense of their wares chlls us
| SO. We find ourself at the Fulton ferry. Such
| crowd Of people are passing over, that in every
| five minutes or so they file steamer that will car
| nv from five hundred to a thousand. At about
from three or four to six in the afternoon, there
are four of these boats running at this one ferry
alone. The eager crowds spring from the steamer
before she strikes the draw on the Brooklyn side,
and we join the throng that are homeward bound.
II is not very safe thing to attempt, the crossing
Of the street at Fulton ferry. But we join the
procession. Most Of them are going home, they
have been away all day. Fond hearts may be are
waiting for them but We are going along out OF
curiosity, so we choose the music we will march
to. No trouble about that. One hand-organ On
the corner is playing FISHERS dornpipe" perhaps
If Won like more sentimental strain, poor fel-
low without legs another corner IS grinding
out "Silyer Threads Among the Gold" We like
this better, ami saunter along to It's meiodlcus
strains Here the shops look more home like, and
you can see anything You want; bookstore,
carpet store, grocery, drug store, tailor
shop, dry goods an eating saloon, then barber
shop with baths; anything from first class jew
eer's down, and all delightfully."- close to one an
other, and nice stores too. And then they have
such tempting way of displaying their wares
See the Great Mongolian Tea Store! Out OF pure
love for the down-trodden masses, this great phil
antbropic Tea Co. sells tea for less than costs IN
China, and gives the buyer his choice OF chromos
beside and not satisfied with this they grind you
out pure Java coffee for song. OF course you
don't want tea or coffee without sugar, and here II
is for YOU Great chests Of each kind only Tor the
asking, and the only wonder is that they don
have lot of Jersey COWS ready to be MIXED that
YOU NAV have chance to buy "Fare MIX atthe
same time You stop to gaze with the crowd
when sort of fire alarm bell startles you, and you
turn TO see four elegant horses with rich trappngs
and pumes drawing covered carriage, on which
are the illuminated letters "Bessie Turner'S new
book A woman in the case" The bell Is inside
| and gives tremendous ring and OIL 1t goes.
Along this street We love to walk, looking INTO
| the windows The bookstores vie with each other
| in displaying pictures Of Moody and Sankey, and
| Beecher, and Moody and Sankey hymn books
| look YOU in the eve from every quarter. Alter we
| have gazed enough we turn from the square and
leave the city hall and court house behind (where
| they tried Beecher) strong along Montague or
| pierrepont streets. Rich "brown stone fronts
rise up before us. A hall door will open and Ia
dies and gentlemen are seen to clasp richly jew
elled and gloved hands, while the elegantly got up
private carriage with its span Of bays, hveiied
| driver, and monogram, rolls grandy away over
the Nicholson pavement, or macadamzed street.
| You catch a tone Of music from the piano per-
| hans, and the door closes From out the costly
curtained window, soft lights fall, and you glance
| up at the frescoed walls, and perhaps you get
| good view of some fine painting or statue before
| YOU pass on out of sight. On, on we so through
| many scene like this. But the scene changes.
| The gay peal of laughter, the music, the richly
| lighted parors are left behind. We have nothing
| TO do with them. We are going to the ship lying
near Erie Basin. Less pretcntious mansions rise
| up before u.s. Police stations are more frequent.
The Jingle of some solitary horse car bell is heard
far off. We are approaching one of the worst dis
tricts in Brooklyn. The lights grow scarce now,
and we pass over unswept streets and fitful gusts
of wind blow the dust in eyes. We button
our coat and hurry on. The principal buildings
are drinking saloons. "Purc whiskey" "Hol'
lands Gin" "Imported Liquors" "XXX Ale
brandy, &C. are what you see on many corner
now. door opens and bacchanaian music is
heard and you know that vile women, and viler
| men are in there. Fumes of rum and tobacco
flow out into the street. From those doors come
men who have spent their hard days earnings,
end 20 struggling along the sidewalk.
| On the steps of dalksome house sits some poor
wretched woman. The ftful glare of q distant
| lamp, with its broken glass, lights up counte-
nance not pleasant to look upon. She scowls at
us as we pass, and draws her dirty rags closer
| round her. At distant corner is group OF
| Young bareheaded women You shudder at their
| conversation as you pass. Squalid children arc
out and perhaps if they were in, it would be in a
howell worse than pigstye. You would not say to
one of them, "child where do you live" for if they
led you home, you would want a brace of police
men to attend you. And on we go. Great con-
demned boilers, and pieces of machinery, anchors
and chains, and old capstans are in the way Tall
chimneys of some immense machine shops stand
! like giant sentinels in the sky. Great derricks,
and cranes for hosting seem 10 swing their enor-
| NOUS arms about, the chains for hosting attached
| TO them creak and clank, while the machinery
seems to shrek back to the moaning wind, and
puts you in mind of gibbet, and Dick Turpin
and Jack Shepherd. We pass another woman, a
| babe in her arms, and YOU catch a glimpse of a
face on which woe and beggary are painted. The
child nestes close TO its mother, and she tries to
cover it with her remnant of shawl, while you
try to think that some wrctc h swore once to cher
ish and protect her. God knows.
Miserable shanties are stuck in around our path
out of which perhaps a single ray Of light strug
giles. Dogs bark and howl, and now the tide
rushes up to the wharf, and the rats scampei
away before US, till at last we are alongside the
ship. The mate puts down friendly rope and we
chamber up the strong ships side and feel as if i!
were fort to rs. What change. We breathe
freer. The moon is smiling through the clouds
the stars shine brightly; over across the bay the
lights are shining nearly as thick and as brgh,
as far as the eye reach. The great city lights
twinkle afar off, the steeples pointing up to
Heaven. and the sun will come in the morning