Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1879-05-16
Collecting Crowd.

A gentleman passing by an unattfac-
tive show window the other day stopped
and began looking 1T an old-iashioned
square clock exhibited for sale (pIice
Sl.15). Ii so closely res mbled the time
piece that he had so many times gazed
upon with affection IN his old home,
that he began 60 examine it, musing
meanwhile on the many scenes of his
bovhood Gays tnat would come back TO
his memory. He seemed so absorbed in
what was before him that another gen.
tleman passing thought he would take a
look, and likewise came TO a standstill
IN front OF the window; an old woman,
going ~ with a basket, had her feminine
curiosity aroused, and partly to rest, sat
down her burden, and, adjusting her
shawl, turned her eyes in the direction
OF the big square clock; a couple of small
boys, rolling hoop, next stopped to see
what was going on; and all the time the
nucleus of the gathering was undoubt-
eddy Eliminating on the happy past, I'M
conscious of his surroundings. In about
five minutes a crowd of twenty-five peo-
pie from the different walks in life had
halted before that same window, all
eagerly stretching their necks to get Il
peep at what was the central object of
view. The crowd grew larger each
succeeding minute, and the man inside
rushed down to the back of the store to
bla k his boots and smooth down his
hair, in anticipation of big rush of
trade; and the original cause of the COM
motion was still revolving in his mind
the joys OF his boyhood, utterly oblivi-
Gus of the rapidly gathering multitude,
who by this time had begun to push and
crowd each other, in order to see what
was the matter. In moment more the
clerks in the various stores near by had
started on dead run tor the SPOT, and
the fever spreading five hundred or more,
men, women and children. all broke into
q canter. bound to reach the scene OF
disaster in time to get good seat. Every
team that came down that street refined
up, and, in less time than it takes to tell
little street and sidewalks were one surg
ing mass of humanity, horses and
wagons, yelling, swearing and fighting,
and the first man that stopped was still
INDUCING in "reminiscences of the days
of his pastoral simplicity. Just then q
policemen strolled in sight, and, motto.
ing something a little unusual, became :
little nervous and somewhat mixed
pulled the fire alarm hastily, anC
another guardian of the peace down thu
corner of the block let drive in the same
way, pulling in an alarm from another
box. Whang, whang, whang, wen
the fir" bell, box liza, and every otheI
conceivable number. The fire depart
ment started out in three different direc
tiOns, with the entire town at its heels
yelling, where's the freP" and tn,
black smoke from the steamers, and tn
rumbling of the heavy wheels, with til,
gongs and bells of the hose-carriages ant
hook and ladder trucks, made up bed
fanatic compound Of rackets that would
have awakened the dead, if it were pos
sible but the man that was the prim
caus OF all the hubbub had his eye
fixed unmovedly on the object that frs
attracted his attention, apparent,
dreaming of the golden days of the past
After a time the confusion came to al
end, and he walked off, having won
bet Of i've dollars that he could stand still
and draw bigger crowd than an
welking-mat"h in the country. - Nc1
HuaB Register.