Smyrna times., 1888-08-15
A STREET CAR BLOCK.
ONE OF THE EXPERIENCES OF
LIFE IN NEW YORK CITY.

What Waiting Passenger Saw from the
Car WindOw-The Imperturbable Man
with the Turkey-A Hard Working,
Cherries WOrld-NIoving On.
The car has stuck in Greenwich street.
We are aground. The indications are not
favorable for soon getting off. The driver
gets off the platform to look ahead. So
does the conductor. When these worthless
leave their posts be sure you are to re-
main in statu quo for some time We
take an observation. The track is blocked
for quarter of mile ahead. The drivers
Immediately ahead are off their percbes
also. Another bad sign. We commend
our souls to patience. The more uneasy
passengers gaze through the front car
door window. There are ten of us. A
woman and child, cOuntryman, a stout
man with turkey tied in paper bag, q
girl and stout lrishman. The rest are
simply of the human species, with nothing
particular to recommend them.
The driver mounts the platform. The
car moves. We are off. The block is
over. Hope rises. The car moves six
inches. And stops dismally. Hope fails.
We lmove no more. Carts, wagons and
carriages rattle, roar and ruckle over the
stones on either side of US, one line up.
the other line down. By us are passing
the manufactures of New York, the pro-
duce of the country and the product of
other lands. Down load of sewing
machines incased in wooden frames. Up
a load "a coal. Down q load of new fur
niture cased in bagging. Up a load of
apples. Down load of flour. Ahead of
us in the block wagon piled high with
dry goods boxes. Up a load of long oars
Down, potatoes. Up, turnips. Then a
load of beef quarters. Up piano.
HOPE REvIvEs.
The woman with the child looks at her
watch. She fears losing boat or train.
The man with the turkey is of all the
most resigned. His face is vacancy.
Time to him seems of no object. He is
framed to wait. A policeman bobs hither
and yon, growing, cursing, ordering.
But the block is immOvable.
All! We move We are off. Home re-
wives. We fear it is too good to be true.
1t is. We have moved half block. The
block resumes Drivers going up and
down handy words with our driver. Peo-
pie stop on the curb and gaze stupidity at
us. We get even and gaze stupidity at
them. Then we read all the advertise
ments in the car. A load of iron bangs
and clangs past. Then a load of hay.
Then one of cotton. The woman and the
child get out. The man with the turkey
is immovable Is he, like the rest of us.
consumed with anxiety and impatience,
or has he the power of projecting his
mind into some region of thought that he
can forget this irksOme delay? We count
four dry goods boxes on the wagon ahead,
on them a red seat and on that a blanket
The conductors OvercOat has but three
buttons upon it. It should have four. It
is a very ragged coat. The pockets are
sagged down.
There is an endless shouting outside
and cries of Get up! Get upl" The stout
Irishman can wait no longer. He leaves
US. Farewell! We shall never meet
again. The man with the turkey gazes on
and on into futurity.
MOVING ON.
Again we move. We get ahead a whole
block. The scene changes. It is refresh.
ing even to see a new set of dingy store
fronts and signs. And no end Of carts
Going and coming, rattling and rumbling,
bringing things from the north and send
ing them south, bringing things from the
oSNtAA "AAN SCAlNALAS buGlll uOEll, all QIlVeQ
by these hard, grimy men, who seem to
have no other thought in the world save
to get somewhere with a load and get
back again. A hard working, grimv,
cheerless world it is all about here
Again we move. We are not encour-
aged. We have now too often been dis
appointed. But we keep On moving.
Boast not thyself, it is but momentary.
But we keep on moving. No matter.
We shall stOp-there. We move slower.
We feel the car stopping. But it does
not stop. But we shall stop. But we do
not stop. An atom of hope kindles in our
detected souls. We try to keep it down.
to smother it. 1t will not stay smothered.
We are still moving. We have so long
been in a stationary, helpless state that
we have ceased to regard the car as cap
able of motion. Yet we do move. The
drivers back looks as if he intended to
drive farther yet. Even the drivers
back assumes a sort of go it expression
when he sees no obstacle ahead and his
hand is off that discOuraging brake. We
have actually moved four blocks without
a stop. The man with the turkey is as
vacant as ever. 1t matters little to him.
We keep on moving. The block is over.
Only half an hours delay.-Prentice Null
ford in New York Star.