Evening journal., 1888-08-06
AFTER y O'CLOCK.
THE eREWsoMENEss OF THE VOICES
OF THE NIGHT.

Scenes in the Streets of a Great city Be
tween the Graveyard Hour and tho
First Faint Indications of the Early
Morning.
Nightin a great city is an impressive and
awesome time. filled with strange and, TO the
uninitiated, unintelligible sounds, strange
sights and strange deeds. There is peculiar,
indescribable sense of something mysterious
in the air; the atmosphere rests in folds upon
the city, and is heavy and almost palpable TO
the touch; the sounds are acoustic etchings,
the sharp outlines blurred and dimmcd, but
the meaning and expression impressively
clear, distinct and mellow. Values and per-
spectives are either entirely lost or gro
tesquely distorted Soft ,As, unnatural and
gruesomely cool, steal in their currents
round the corners, with asuggestiou of damp
vaults.or still, black waters in their breath.
BAYING THE MOON
It is still The silence is heavy and oppres-
sive, yet seems unnatural All sorts of gro
tesque thoughts obtruae themselves in dis
connected and senseless confusion. A quick
football startles the ear and echoes sharply
back from the tall brick walls. You watch
intently till a form is vaguely outlined IN
the black shadow Of the opposite wall, and
feel intensely disappointed because tho eye
fails to make il out distinctly, and the imagi-
nation Immediately bushes itself in framing
all kinds Of suppositions regarding him,
which are suddenly broken off by the sharp
barking of a dog. The barking continues
The animal is baying the moon because-be-
cause he is dog and has to. But why did
Providence implant such an absurd, useless
and totally irrelevant necessity in a dogs
economyl This question begins to assume an
overwhelming and vital Importance when
1t is driven from the mind by a sharp
rattle far Off up the street. What is
thatl The vehicle approaches, curiosity
is keenly alert. It approaches rapidly, and
passes with a din that iiritates every nerve
in the body. It is only light carriage, CON
tanning tired man, who is Fastening home
TO bed. Gradually the sounds die away, but
a moment later the silence is again desecrated
by heavy voices in maudlin dispute. A
party Of roistereFs are leaving saloon.
They stop on the corner and engage in a hong,
aimless and heated discussion over the most
trivial subject, but finally break up, with
shouts and protestations Of mutual regard,
and the last car rolls slowly up the street
with two or three passengers whose slunlbers
are rudedy broken by their noisy entrance
A cool breeze steals up from the river, and a
light, scarcely visible opaline mist floats
over the streets like a vail Strange, half
articulate sounds issue from the bosom OF
the night that mysteriously whisper of wierd
deeds, yet leave the story half untold and
stir the imagination 10 wild fiights
Far down the river the deep, fall notes Of
steamers whistle rise in mellow cadence
that rolls slowly along the sodden air Up .
nefghboring street an owl car bell fnintly
jingles, and moment later the clocks in
neighboring church towers deliberately strike
the wee, sma' hour Again there is the
sound of hurrying wheels far down the
street, and soon The faint strokes of a gong
are heard. Ait fiAe. The sound increases,
and then swells louder with a sudden burst
and there is a flash Of light and long train
Of bright sparks trail out moment on the
air, and the engine has passed There is no
second sound and the noise dies away It is
growing very late and the silence becomes
deeper The moon rides high and her pol
ished beams play strange tricks with familiar
objects.
BLIND, CHILDISH TERROR.
Suddenly a startling impression-it is
nothing Inore-one Of those strange, impal-
pable, noiseless voices Of the night-chills
the blood. A cool breeze springs up, and
dies away again. Ali what was thatl There
is a shudder in the air, and the silence is in
tense. What is it, Every nerve is strained
10 highest tension. The breath is stopped.
Objects before distinct and unimprossive
take on weird and threatening shape. What
is that strange, ill-dehned shape to the right
Surely it was not there before. See! 1t
movedl No-yes-ah, then it moved It is
approaching-no, it recedes Again that
awful impression Of something. A grizzly
phantom seems clutching at ones back. The
flesh creeps. A scream rises to the lips, but
dies unuttered. There is a wild desire to flee,
burt the body is chained to the spot. The eye
glances warily around, but not a muscle
moves On would give years to turn sud-
denly around and confront the nameless
specter standing there, but could not do it,
were life at stake. Reason is summoned to
the rescue, but for q time it cannot combat
| the blind, childish terror that has seized the
soul; but the effort is "A healthy one and the
struggle to exert the faculties and control
the mind abstract the thoughts from the ex-
citing cause, and gradually the causeless
/ fright gives way to nervousness and sur
rounding objects assume their normal shapes
A policeman turns the corner and PAGES
| past with measured tread, and no is gladly
hailed The presence Of the laws minion
/ brings instant assurance and calmness, and,
with long breath, one enters into a weather
wise conversation and accompanies the Of
ficer on his beat. In little while a faint,
gray line makes visible the eastern horizon.
/ A butchers cart rattles down the street with
the sleepy driver catching maps between
crossings. The breeze freshens. Another
wagon follows the first. Then the first down
town car appears. a red eyed man comes to
the door of a saloon and gives the policeman
a tired salutation. Confused and iumbled
sounds fiji the air. Vehicles of oil kinds are
becoming more numerous, and several hacks
leave their stand for an early trip to the
depots A window on the opposite side OF
the street is thrown up with bang, and a
man With a frowsy head leans out and looks
up at the sky and down the sweet. A dog
barks excitedly, and tugboat emits a deep
throated howl. The light increases, and it is
morning.-St. Louis Republic.
Individualism In America.