, 1875-10-17

! tQEul as Anj bueht~
let one eau hardly migs Of finding some scene
Of artisan labor in ramble through almost any
large building in the business 4uartera~ IN yon-
der basement he will espy, amid rattllng mach IN.
| cry, begrimed workors in METALS orhndlsninE
| the sooty ina1gnia Of Vulcan. Over 5onder
long corridors arc filed with the sons
OF St. Crispin, busy at lapstone and
last. Up this vista of staiH-casas, on the
top floor OF this imposing palace OF merchants.
100 girls ply their deft digita at the stitching and
| blndlng OF books, while in the adjacent bulldog
four score sew,ne-nachinea, driven By steam,
keep busy vast community OF lively maidens
and quiet danes. Who could enumerate one
! quarter even OF the occuparlpns that people the
| upon miles of the manV-storl I'd structures. With
the swarms OF aproned aud shirt-eeeved yotaries
OF labor, the stalwart aud worthy sons and
| daughters Of honest toll.
| Wait goodman mine, till the hands OF the
evening dial point to the zenith and uadi1, and
| THE MAGIC HouR OF SIX
is tolled upon the gathering shades and upon the
quick ear Of the tired city: Instantly, from a
hundred directions, as through one electric
shock Of sympathy, shrieks OF exultation come
| from IS many throats Of steam, speaking, as it
we're, for labor, which they represent, and utter
ing IN more than stentorian tones the toler's
glad acclaim, "fhe dav is done!" Then
you who viah to behold Chicago come
great centres and have your eyes about you
| Hardly hayo the last echoes Of the steam-
whistles ceased ringing their anvil chorus in
| your cars when you recognize new stir in the
streets. Forth from the doors Of the great
stores Issue, not eauntering groups Of shoppers,
| but streams OF qulck-steppipg employees. male
and female. The sidewalks arc peopled with q
new and active life. Flying aquads Of young
men shoot in every direction into the mid
| die Of the streets, and storm tho horse
| cars, filling every vacant seat in m instant.
; They blockade the buses, and climb in nlmbla
scaling parties to tha parapass. where they
cluster and hang in heaps.
Then down the staircases dribble the occu-
pants Of the second floors. Law clerks, agency
| men, jobbers OF merchandise, and men and
women Of hundred different geuteel occupa-
tions, stream out from portals on every hand
and join the rapldly-increasing throngs OF pc
destrians. And now the BtairWays that debouch
upon the streets fairly bubble and boil with the
vast volume OF rushing humanity that seeks exit
therefrom. Men and boys, women and Rirla,
loose from printing offices, tiu-shops, binder1es
places Of mechanical industry, rush in motley
and scurryinR masses down tho long flights
OF stairs that lead to the sidewalks,
and Join the hastening crowd homewara bound.
Every allsE, too, sends up its quota avery
basement its contribution, and from around
every corner flock constantly-increasipg hordes-
The sidewalks are filed with tramping feet
from building to curbstone, and the cry is,
Still they cone!"
A MIGHTY TIDE OF uUnAy BE1ros
is, on each side OF every street, moving, alt in
unison moving, all away from the city's CENTRE
So dense ia the mass. that to breast it wtre al
most impossible. Ssndwiched in the middle,
between each sidewalk procession Of pedestrians,
moves noisy and eHervescing mass OF
crowded vehicles and struggling, straining
horses. There are the street-cars, packed like
sardlne boxes, each having twenty persons with
seats and aftv persons with no seats. Our Com
mon Council profess to be friends OF the work
ing classes, yet they allow them to walk to their
distan. homes after each days toll, or to stand
in crowded car after paying fare emitting them
to a seat, rather than force the rights due these
people from the rich railway corporation that
uses the peoples highways to make it's wealth.
There too. arc the o1nnibuses, With the heels of
passengers sticking out Of the third story win
doWs.-the long 'sprairie schooners." too, With
their platoons OF travellers sitting vis v1s, and,
mingled with all, crazy mob Of express wagons
swear at every pause OF the procession
Could one step, at this moment, upon
SOME ELEVATED PERCH,
like the top OF the shot-tower, for instance. he
rivers Of animated humanity aud AorseHesh, all
flowing toward the outskirts Of tho town
Southwark, Wabash, and STATIC, aud South Clark;
westward, Van Bu1en, Adams, Madison, Ran
doiph, aud Lake; and uorthward, Fifth avenue.
North Clark, and North State, each triple pro-
cession Of dense and fastening throngs. moving
on and on for miles and miles, gradually
iessenng in size, as each side-street swallows up
its portion, until tie lines are LOST in the distant
limits Of the city. But to the student OF human
nature the most interesting station for obserya-
ton ia in the street and
AMID THE JosTL1SG THkoyd ITSELF.
What jocund hilariousneas there ia in the air
Of most Of these children Of toll Is they emerge
from the pent scene OF their treadmll duties
and snuff the brief air OF liberty once more.
The lights that touch most faces are the catch
lights from the freside. In those eyes nest;e
thoughts Of home. Of the family meal, Of
loved ones waiting, OF the social evening to
como, tho festive dance. the trysting hour. i
Here comes bevy Of plain-looking working
girls, in their WORKING dress,-tired, doubtless
bat how jolly they arc. Their faces almost look
handsome as they beam with good nature and
r7pple with smiles. Next follows q group Of in-
doubtless, as many have packages, probably Of
provisions, for the home. How earnest their
look, how sturdy their stride. Life to them is
earnest, and their thoughts are on the wife and
''uee uns " who, away out yonder, are awaittng
the footsteps of their bread-wlnner. And now
comes the tin-pall brigade, or rather platoon
IF it. hardy rough laborers they are, each bearing
the rail which erst held his substantial dinner.
joys, to which they are hastening. Hirsute,
sooty, and curly, though they may appear,
tagged as they doubtless are with ten hours' Of
hard drudgery, let US hope thst each one sees
ahead about to greet HIM snug hay en- and a
Welcome home, old boy"
Now and then pass ue faces not 20 cheerful, |
Here comea
a PLAINLY CLAD Young WOMAN,
on whose brow sadness and anxiety seem to have |
taken their constant seat-a friendless female,
perhaps, earning precarons living By sewing,
or other unskilled labor, and who now
seeks her lonely room, there to prepare
and eat her frugal meal, and gather rest for |
another poorly-compensated day Of toll The |
dapper young clerks, in their nobby suits, jostle
ty her as though they we're Of finer olay than |
she Her entire earnings would not supply one |
OF them with cigars, yet for real intellectual and
moral worth she wou1d doubtless outbatance |
whole ship-load Of these gentry. The night |
comes on aDace. Tho street-amps are lighted |
and are fashing to each other bright signals Of t
recognition. Far down each avenue
stretch their flaming rows like to:ch-
light professions Ut grand halt and
roll-call. TIE stores have put on their evening
brilflance. and the blazing show- windows toss
their sparkling radiance to each other in friend
ly, gassy chit-chat across the streets, whose
every surface they reveal as by MONDAY light.
It is
AFTER TIE GAS 19. LIGHTED |
that Chicago streets look most animated aud
CHEEKY. These miles Of brilliantly illuminated
shops and bazaars In whose windows tho array !
+3,n+n He |