The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-04-28
Life and Death in a Great City.

The most striking feature of New York
lie, perhaps, is the utter lack of social
sympathy and intercourse. Persons live
for years in a street without knowing the
names even Of their neighbors, and think
little more of visiting each other merely
through neigbborly instinct, than you
cupied the room next to you at 8 hctel
There is not trace of the fellowship and
sympathy that dwelers in smaller cities
are accustomed to. Of course, this has
its advantages, in that it gives every ono
perfect independence of action and es-
tablishes the police and health officers as
about the only censors Of social conduct
or individual behavior, and enables one
to live in perfect quiet and seclusion, if
it is desired. But it seems to me that it
tends to selGshnese. coldness and loveless-
ness. Just next door to where I am 10.
Gated, for instance, saw yesterday q
little coffin taken in at the door. No one
in the house in which I live knows the
names of the next door neighbors. In
quiry developed the belief that bright
eyed little 10y, who had been missed from
the sidewalk and the little yard for few
days, YVES dead, and that the coffin was
intended for him. But none of us were
permitted to offer sympathy or assistance
in that house Of mourning. We had
nothing to do but to look out OF the win
dow upon velocipede standing idle in
the yard, and boys dog wandering
aimless!y about. And yet we knew that
o little child was dead in the adjoining
house-that little form was lying still
and pulseless in a coffin-a mothers heart
was breaking in that silent and dcsolate
house. OfcouIse, any interference might
have been worse than useless, but it
seemed strange to people coming from a
town where the death of little child
started the tears in hundreds of eyes, and
wrapped the bereaved family in heartfelt
and universal sympathy, that it should be
made 80 much matter Of fact. There
were no friends who called at the house
that could be noticed. The little coffin
was taken to the door-the door opened
the casket was passed in-the messen-
ger departed-the street cars swept noisi.
ly blythe newsboys cried the evening
Papers-the rag-picker passed in the al
leyway without lifting his eyes-the door
closed-tho parents were left alone with
the dead.
To-day, Sunday, the funeral took place.
There was the same dearth of sympathy
ouN ICuuctucbS tiidI we u2Q QOteQ OeIOTG.
There were dozen persons present, but
the most of them had the formal look of
mere acquantances. The little coffin was
put in carriage and the procession
trotted off briskly to the cemetery. In
an hour or two one carriage returned
bearing the parents and little sister of
the dead boy. They got out of the car
riage, the door was opened by a servant
and they went in alone with their grief,
to master it a. best they could. Ofcourse
this is tao custom of the cities and of
city people. They doubtless feel as
deeply and are as full of tenderness and
sympathy as provincial, but the death Of
that little child, the desolation of the
house in which the corpse was laid, and
the stiff formality of the funeral, has sad
dened little colony Of Georgians this
Sunday afternoon, aud sent their hearts
wistfully back to Georgia with its warm
sympathies, its affectionate friends and
it's impulsive kindness. I hope never to
see Atlanta grow so large that misfor-
tune to any one of its citizens will not kin
die regrets in the hearts of the people,
aud bereavement not be tempered by
common friendliness and sympathy.-H.
w, g., in atlanta COnstifufiOY.