Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-05-10
METROPOLITAN SCENES.
Giimpses of Loafing Life Revealed in tho
Streets of New York.

METROPOLITAN SCENES.
Glimpses of Loafing Life Revealed i'm the
Streets of New York.
In street through which / pass
daily some old buildings were recent
tY torn down. A plank causeway was
built over the sidewalk while the cellar
was being excavated. Foul weather or
fair. this bridge would be packed with
idlers until one had often to take the
other side of the way in despair of
forcing a passage. There was nothing
to be seen at best but lot OF Irish
men and Italians digging dirt and
weary cart-horses hauling it away. In
wet weather the work was suspended.
But in the wettest weather. when the
rain was pouring in pailfulls. the
bridge would still have it's unresting
force collected, in triple rank OF
wide-eyed stupidity, immersed in the
absorbing employment of looking at
some muddy pudd es down in pit.
One streaming morning. when the icy
rain was freezing as it fell. 1 asked a
man whose overcoat had been turned
into sheet of mail by the congealing
downpour. what he was looking at so
earnestly. He replied. in n hoarse and
awful tone of voice. nodding at the pit
the while:
They're diggin' sullar.''
WELL" said I. 'what if they are?"
Its too wet for 'em to work. he
responded. irrelevantly. but solemnly.
1t was not too wet for him to remain
on ovor tho IaSarta5 Iirripr
though, and l left him. one of the
many who were gradually stiffening
into icy petrifaction for the pleasure of
doing nothing. or not being called
upon to think while they were do
ing it.
L have a friend of the clubs-as mad
a wag as ever lived when the humor
of his befOre-dinner absinthe is upon
him. We were crossing a public
square. one balmy evening last spring;
six o clock had just been screeched at
us by every factory whistle within
hearing. and the sidewalks were
aswarm.
'.Tll lay you the dinners" said my
drceur. ''that can create a riot here
inside of five minutes.
He stopped at the public drinking
fountain. and took up the tin-cup that
was chained to it. The passers-by
stared little to see so elegant gen.
tleman stop to drink at a common
fount of cheap refreshment. Several
halted. after going on few PAGES. to
look back. He filled the cup deliber-
ately. The waiting several had be-
come score. He raised the cup
slowly toward his lips The score grew
TO fifty. Suddenly he dashed the
water into the basin and filled the cup
again. only to empty it untouched. By
this time we were encircled by SO
many people that they could not be
counted. and l could hear such OBJ
servations and inquiries all around us
rs:
He ii drink it this time"
BET you the drinks he don't"
Must be dirty
What is itp"
MAY be the cup leaks"
He must be some crank"
What ails him. anyhow
inlay be common water isn't good
enough for him."
There was also addressed TO him,
.slirough this running fire of comment,
maRy more or less friendly and disin-
terested suggestions and instructions,
like:
Wrench the cup out" from a
motherly fat woman. poking her UNI
.brella at him.
Have a stick in it, by man with |
a shiny black hat and shiny red |
nose
Tell the waiter to open another
bottle"
This sally. which proceeded from |
young man in cross barred trousers |
with very large and massive cane.
which he carried like yardsick. was
hailed with such applause that park
policeman found himself called upon
to interfere. whereupon my friend |
buried the cup into the basin with an
expression of the face indicative of |
great disgust and loathing. and showed |
his way out of the crowd as quickly as |
he could. We could hear the roar of |
voices and the sharp rapping of the
club when we turned into
the restaurant. a block and more away;
and learned by the papers next day
that the shiny red nose and the shiny
black hat slept in a station-house cell |
on a general charge of disorderly con-
duct and the utterance of murderous
threats against some person or persons
Cor Boston Budget