The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-09-28

Concert Halls and Dives a Street
Full of HoodIums-In the Gallery of a
Theatre.
Under the stars, the elevated railway
and the electric lights. ColoTs look brighter
than by daylight. There are no neutral tints
on the Bowery. The violet would shrink and
die here unnoticed in the blaze of the peony
and the hollyhock. From the hucs which
adorn the body of the "tattooed lady" in the
dime museum to those which are Haunted
upon her morally tattooed sister without, all
are of glaring reds, blues, greens and yellows!
n smile blossoms into broad grin on this
high pressure street, a whisper takes on thun-
der tones, and friendly greeting often APP
pears as aggravated assault.
An undertaker's shop, with the grandeSt
and gloomicst "casket" violently starred i'll
the window The proprietor has stepped
next door to hobnob with the florist over
glass of beer, and under the shadow of an
enormous floral trophy appropriately marked
REST" which is calculated to cause n modest
and sensitive corpse 10 SILVER with shameful
surprise.
on THE ROAD TO RUIN.
Hoodlums,-femalc hoodlunls, from Is to
IL years of age, short of dress, long of tongue,
with bangs, bold eyes, tremendous hats and
"Alikado tuck-ups" to their hair The street
swarms with them and they seem to "know
road to being So Looking for excitement,
aching for attention, dying for a dance, any
thing for admiration, any length for COM
plment. Vanity ruins moro women than
vice. The philanthropiSt who would seek to
save these girls might be met by startling
question, Do they wish to be saved.
Beer and free lunch galore, attacked by
a perspiring and not particular throng. Ten
men to one forkl The red herring, so con-
ducivc to thirst, is not popular, the tripc
having evidently borne the brunt of attack.
The cheese has suffered greatly, too. and
looks rs though it wished itself dead, which
it isn't.
y "lunS testerl"
TRY your lungs, gents!'
What's thats a woman struck by the
proprietor. Evidently his wife, for she sinks
down on a door step, rubs her arm and n<>llcs
no complaint.
you won't!'
"No, John; won't!n
Another blow. a knot of people block up
the sidewalk and cry Shame" No one steps
between them, however. Probably if any
one did the couple would combine against
him. The man turns to his lung tester and
polishes it flercely, trying to appear as if it
were not conspicuous, which, as Dickens has
remarked, NO ono has ever yet succeeded in
doing!" go ON about your business
The growl seems to come from the nickel
tipped machine. The crowd slowly dissolves,
wondering, perhaps, why the woman doesn't
test her lungs 10y calling the police,
y shooting gallery! "SiN shots for ten
cents" One man is received coolly here, but
two, if they are acquaintance, make tho
proprietor joyful. For the two are sure TO
compete in craftsmanship, and in the excite
ment Of emulation take little heed Of the
number of shots fired. 1t is an easy matter
to blow in" n dollar in a shooting gallery.
a "TuP-HEAvY" HOUSE
The theatre! Last night of Jack Shop
pard.' Cast of Bowery favovitesi' Come in.
a handsome theatre. a ''top-heavy' house. a
bad performance. Let US go up into the gal
leryi Phcw, 1t is packed! Jack Shop
pard," Saturday night, the gallery and the
Bowery! What else could be expected of
such conjunction! Many of the boys arc
stripped to mdershirts. They want action,
these gamins and care little for consistency.
1t is nothing to them that Jack is escorted To
the gallows 10y detachment of local militia
in the uniform of the n. q. :. y. y. or that an
''oak chamber is used as prison. as long rs
the guupowdcr can los depended upon. the
manacles the real thing, and the red fire
holds out to the bitter endi Sharp fellows
these gallery boys, too. One of them, sent by
three friends to secure seats in tho front OF
the gallery, achieved his purpose 10y lying at
full length ON the benches until his friends ar
rived
Out into the air again. charged with cleo
tricity and becrl An old-time gambler, with
his mustache died deadly black \ relici
Such as he have stopped dyoing, or have died
altogether. "Dives" 10y the dozen, down steps
from which arise language and music equally
offensive Huge posters of popular and
respectable actresses adorn the fronts of these
places, with the names carefully covered up
Through the swinging screen doors n "hush'
customer is welcomed, or a bankrupt one
"bounced."
a Chinese laundry! Five celestials hard at
work, although it is 1880 ironing shirts all
of them, squirting water from their mouths,
and, rs Thackeray has said, without profile
among EN-" Bangi \ brick is hurled
against the window, but Won Kee is undis-
turbed. He has profitcl by dearly bought
experience, and his window Is Melted with
wire.
Twelve o'clock by the illuminated dial on
the Cooper institute, which grandly towers
above the sea of frivolity that beats against
its base. One more glance down the broad
thoroughfarc. But little diminution OF the
throng, although it is the moon of night"
The street seems crowned with fire, studded
with blazing gems. And below the electric
lights, that make the pale old moon seem but
faded thing.-Edward Z. Kidder in New
York World