The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1886-12-03
NIGHT ON fnE BIC BRIDGE.
WHAT MAY BE SEEN AND HEARD
EXPERIENCE OF THE NIGHT POLICE.

The sights and sounds on the
New York and Brooklyn bridge at
night differ from those of the day
as much as the great arc of electric
lights on that aerial highway differ
from the glare OF high noon.
Countrymen by the hundreds drift
idly across the structure between
sunrise and sunset every day. Peo-
pie visiting New York for the first
time linger long on the bridge.
The last to leave the bridge are
the lovers. The "young fellow"
and his "best girl'' will let blissful
companion-ship trench on sleepiness
every time. They form pleasant
feature of evening life on the bridge,
these lovers. Solitary among NOV
ing crowds, his muscular arm encir-
Giles her waist and she trustfully SUBJ
mits to the caress. Nobody notices
them. They are too common, and
in that belief is their great solace
and assurance. But though they
love to linger, by II o'clock they
are following in the wake of the
vanishing domestic circles. The
benches under the towers become
vacant. Perhaps some lone youth
fingers upon them to read again in
the white glare of the electricity n
missive, well-thumbed, dirty and
misspelled. The policeman looks at
him pityingly and passes on to his
little cabin where his can of coffee
SINNERS gently on the Oil stove.
"Poor idgit," says the policeman
softly to himself, ''he's eatin' his
white bread now The policeman
gets 81 day and has to support a
wife, mother-in-law and eight child
rem out of that. He pities the
young fellow out on the bench. But
the young fellow doesn't care for
the policeman. He cons the letter
with the faulty photography, and his
ardent affection for the writer grows
with increased ferver.
Midnight sees the last lover gone
from the bridge. At that hour the
policemen are changed. The men,
bers of the night squad that then
comes on wear different expressions
from those of the day men. The
stony stare and curt reply of the day
policemen, who delight to freeze the
marrow in the bones of countrymen
seeking information, find no initial
ors among the night patrol. The
night man talks with any passing
foot traveller so long as the latter
will he beguiled. When the foot
travellers cease to amuse, there is
usually an animated dialogue going
on between the policeman on the
promenade and his neighbor down
on the driveway. These intellectual
exchanges of views have a wide
scope, and embrace religion, poll.
tics, philosophy, and the price and
quality of the various brands Of
chewing tobacco. There are nc
jumping cranks to worry the SOU
and tax the vision of night police.
| maui bup euCIC uiS Nv @lCh VI Ill
cidents to interest the night watch.
man. A reporter crossing the bridge
at 3 O'Clock one morning noticed 9
policeman leaning over the parapet
in listening attitude. The reporter
stopped walking and listened. Faint
ly ON the night air he could heal
cries that seemed to come from ia
up the East river, about opposit,
Havemeyers' sugar refinery.
woman was screaming "Murder
Murder" Presently the erie
ceased,
"What is it?" asked the reporter
Some devilishness going on dow
on the river" muttered the police
man. "We often hear cries of PEG
pie in distress out on the river. w,
are helpless to do anything up here
BY and by the cries stop, and that i
the last of it. Sometimes we see
man 60 down to the dock. We ca
see him plainly by the light jum]
into the river. If he ever comes GU
we never see him."-[New Yorl
Tribune.