The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-10-24
LONDON BY GASLIGHT
SATURDAY FIGHT STREET SCENES M
THE CITY or THE DockERs.

THE CITY or THE DockERS.
A Break In the Fearful Dr~~rinessuhas
Marks Life OF the Toiiing thousands
Of the East side OF the Great metropolis
Music, songs and Dances
The memory of a Saturday night in
| the City of the Dockers is like the recol-
lection Of q troubled dream. for ON this
last night of the week the great, hot
streets are filled with the pentup life of
SOC, 900 houses Zone cannot call them
| homes), and all the varied phases of this
hand to hand struggle for existence APP
pear. The decker is prodigal of his few
shillings On Saturday night, the maxi
mum of his liberality being shown
most often in the public house and on
the catch penny street conjurer, while
the minimum is apparent at the stalls Of
the grocer and butcher. But men, WON
en- and children are out on the streets,
and, whatever else it be, Saturday night
lie something of q break in the fearful
dreariness that marks the life Of the east
London toiling thousands.
The people love music. Their inter.
probation Of music is rather rough and
loud. The bass drum of every band that
parades in a labor demonstration of q
Sunday gets terribly punished before the
day is over, but it commands great fol-
lowing, and on Saturday night the lstreet
musicians and singers easily gather their
crowds and reap an abundant harvest.
1 Tt~~ lc--c1 ~~u~ 20 fcr~1 nxrorxx-yha~a
and wherever it is rafting out the popu-
lar Daisy" or 1.-THE Man Who Broke
the Bank at Monte Carlo" the sidewalks
will be crowded, while two or three
couples Of little girls dance on the flag.
stones.
Nearly every girl of 8 can dance, many
of them have already appeared in public
at the cheap concert halls, and as one
watches them, hatless, dirty. but with
faces beaming with delight, he does not
know whether to be glad Of their Joy or
to pity their hollow present and hopeless
future the more. Often a part in these
street dances will be taken by the older
girls, factory girls, as they are all called
in east London, who are out in crowds
on Saturday night. They are an II
tanned, fantastic lot. All wear enormous
hats, adorned with feathers, and train
their hair about the forehead by curling
it forward quite fercely. They are in
tensely loyal to the customs and tradi
tons of their own ''set." and forced al
they are to subsist on an income of 6 tc
8 shillings per week they are a yexine
problem to the east London philanthro
pist and reformer.
Besides the barrel organs, there arr
~violins, accordions and any number Of
s~oloists unaccompanied by an instru
ment. Blind women, old men and thu
poor wrecks of this awful struggle fol
existence here stand at the curbstons
and in weak, thin voices sing their songs
The restless crowd moves on, save wher
some one more curious or more kindly
than the rest stands near to look or lis
, ten. A bent woman, whose thin shaw
was thrown over her shoulders, wa
feebly singing some old song in tn
: midst of the jostling throng around
public house. / saw a strong young gir
!, of IA come kindly toward her, drop
penny in the little box held by the feebl
hand and then hurry away out of sight
! Happy will the strong young lass be ]
the swirl of the turbid stream OF cas-
: London life does not bring her some tim
!. to the place Of the curbstone singer. In
4 deed there is no place that / have eve
| seen where mirth and pathos, vice an
virtue, meet and mingle as on thes
streets in a night like this.
- ~-~~ ls%k1n hna~Dr~ Thnrn
: not m'ash street begging anyway
there's no use begging; the people al
too o The mendicant fees Cannin
town for the Weather residential qual
a tiers. OF course the children beset on'
The sidewalk artist Is sometimes fount
"a but the most common form of appeal
from the ragged little fellows who tur
h~andsprings or stand on their heads ft
" you. They really do their athletic
n very nicely, and there is something |
e appealing and "old mannish" in the
e looks that it is hard to resist them.
Is was hurrying through the crowds
Victoria docks one night about 10 whe
a boy Of Z came out and ran beside m
: relating some sort Of verse, | though
q Three repetitions made it clear:
in Ha'p'ny won't wit ger.
Penny wont break yer.
Tu'p'nce won't send yer Z the work 'us.
He was evidently working on q tsgra
uated scale Of benevolence adapted
= the abilities OF the donor" believe
70 the emphasis laid on the last item th
he estimated me from my gold bow
~spectacles at tu'pence. 4
SO The barrows Of east London delicaci
abound in the streets where marketil
= goes on. The woman who sells co
picked pigs feet is In fair demand. 4
:, man who retails shrimps at a penny
bag gets q good trade. but the couI
who. preside at the barrow filed WI
:. cookies and wrinkles" have their han
full. The delectable mollusks are d
- played on little dishes as large as s.in.
yidual buffers" with q bit of garnishil
= Of parsley. and are eaten with vinegar
the spot.
These barrows are found especially
1T the entrance of Victoria Docks road
nd great marketing place in Canning to,
on Saturday night. Clothing VERY che