The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1891-06-18
TROUBLE IN The CROWD.

Boy with a Pipe and Men with Pane Of
Glass and bundle or Brass STRIPS,
This procession of destruction was
led by boy. He bore on his left
shoulder a slender brass pipe about fif-
teen feet In length. Ii was polished in
places, and rei1eeted the sunlight with
a vicious glitter Fifty feet behind
him came man, trudgmg along with
the stulnping gait Ia laborer. This
man carried 4 large pane of glass. One
corner of it rested "a the bend of his
left arm. one corner pointed upward
two feet above Iiis head The two
other corners projected two feet before
and behind him. This glass also re-
fected the sunlight with binding
flash when it happened 10 turn to the
proper angle. Fifty feet behind him
came man carrying ID his left hand
four flexible and at times. unmanage-
able brass strips, which Tapped up and
down and sideways, and at times
raped on the sidewalk, now before,
now behind the carrier.
A deadlier combination could not be
imagined. and the crowds Of people ON
the east side of the Bowery noted the
progress of this .ps.ade with terror and
rage.
The boy with the pipe had two bad
tricks. He did not follow the rule of
keeping to the right, but after lodging
that way, would suddenly change his
mind and turn. to the Left Aso, he
would stop suddenly, then tnrn abrupt
ly and look in at a Window His first
bad habit made several people catch
the end of the pipe full in the breast as
they tried to dodge. When he came
suddenly to a full stop the man who
was hurrying on behind him would
find himself staring down the end of
| the pipe, and in imminent danger OF
losing an eye. When he swung quickly
to. look Ia show window, those com
ing on in front would have to leap
back to avoid slap on the chest.
No sooner were people coming down
clear of the pipe than they were faced
with the deadly corners of the pane of
glass. An old man in a beaver hat had
just lodged a side slap from the pipe
and had readjusted his hat when the
pane of glass, creeping up on his con-
fusion, caught the hat and knocked it
to the sidewalk The laborer stopped
and watched the old man pick it UP.
The old man, rising suddenly from his
STOPPING position, got such a jab on the
top of the head that the tears came
into his eyes. sis.-.r -, .;s,st s,
The glass next encountered an old
woman who had come out from Hester
street just after the pipe had passed
She had a huge bundle of rags and
paper on her head. The covering of
the bundle was a piece of sacking,
hnnsy and insecurely tied The bundle
sank over her forehead so that she
could hardly see. s4 lssE asHafa
The pane of glass, stiI1 worrying over
its misadventure with the old man,
came on blindly, and, catching it's for
ward corner in the fiimsy sacking, tore
open the bundle. The rags began to
drop to the sidewalk. The old woman
stopped and was just STOPPING over to
lay the bundle down, when the brass
rods came up and raped her on her
thick ankles. She gave terrible yell
u psAI1 dAlu AI1SsAe eaAIA 4esn AA<Lt Ou 1AAC
sidewalk. Then she wept loudly. The
pane>of glass and the brass rods were
already there. The pipe, hearing the
noise and seeing people coming, came
back and pushed through the crowd as
carefully as it could.
When the excitement subsidized and
the old woman was stufing back the
rags the crowd began to depart, and
the instruments of misfortune also.
But several hats were knocked off, a.
coat was cut, and four people were
slapped about the shins. The process
sion resumed its way, but each of its
three divisions kept at respectful dis
lance from the other, as powerful foes,
appreciating the others proves, should
always do.---New York Sun. 81