The herald., 1893-11-04
LONDON BY GASLIGHT
SATURDAY NIGHT STREET SCENES IN
THE CITY OF THE DOCKERS.

A Break In the Fearful Dreariness That
Marks the Life of the Toiling Thousands
of the East Side of the Great Metropolis.
Music, Songs and Dances.
The memory of Saturday night in
the City of the Doclzers is like the recol-
lection of a troubled dream, for on this
last night of the week the great, hot
streets are filled with the pentup life of
100000 houses Zone cannot call them
homes), and all the varied phases of this
hand to hand struggle for existence ap-
pear The docker 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, wom-
en- and children are out on the streets,
and, whatever else it be, Saturday night
is something of 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 labor demonstration of
Sunday gets terribly punished before the
day is over, but it commands great fol-
lowing, and on Saturday night the street
musicians and singers easily gather their
crowds and reap an abundant harvest.
The barrel organ is found everywhere
and wherever it is rattling out the popu-
| l. tsT
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 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 un-
tanned fantastic lot. All wear enormous
hats, adorned with feathers, and train
their hair about the forehead by curling
it forward quite fiercely. They are in
tensely loyal to the customs and tradi-
tions of their own ''set," and forced as
they are to subsist on an income of to
S shillings per week they are vexing
problem to the east London philanthro-
pist and reformer.
Besides the barrel organs, there are
violins, accordions and any number of
soloists unaccompanied by an inssrr-
ment. Blind women, old men and t;..s
poor wrecks of this awful struggle fef
existence here stand at the curbsto
and ip weak, tiiinNdicss sing their SOM
The restless crowd moves on. save when
some one moro curious or more kindly
than the rest stands near to look or hiss
ten. A bent woman, whose thin shaNi
was thrown over her shoulders, WAS
feebly singing some old song in the
midst of the jostling throng around u
public house. | saw q strong young giYi
of ID come kindly toward her, drop Il
penny in the little box held by the fees!c
hand and then hurry away out of sigh.
Happy will the strong young lass be Il
the swirl of the turbid stream of cast
London life does not bring her some time
to the place of the curbstone singer In
deed there is no place that have ever
seen where mirth and pathos, vice and
virtue, meet and mingle as on these
streets in q night like this.
One sees very little begging THERE'S
not much street begging anyway
there's no use begging; the people are
too poor The mendicant fees Canning
town for the wealthier residential quar-
ters. OF course the children beset one.
The sidewalk artist is sometimes found,
but the most common form Of appeal is
from the ragged little fellows who turn
handsprings or stand on their heads for
you. They really do their athletics
very nicely, and there is something SO
appealing and "oid mannish' in their
looks that it is hard to resist them.
was hurrying through the crowds III
Victoria docks ono night about 10 when
boy of 7 came ont and ran beside me,
relating some sort Of verse, thought.
Three repetitions made it clear:
Ha'p'ny won't wit yer,
Penny won't break YER
Tr'p'ncc won't send yer & the work us.
He was evidently working ON grad
uated scale Of benevolence adapted to
the abilities of tho donor" believe by
the emphasis laid ON the last item that
he estimated me from my gold bowed
spectacles at tu'pence.
The barrows of east London delicacies
abound in the streets where marketing
goes on. The woman who sells cold
picked pigs feet is in fair demand. The
man who retails shrimps at a penny a
bag gets q good trade, but the couple
who preside at the barrow filed with
cookies and wrinkles" have their hands
full. The delectable molluslrs are dis
played on little dishes as large as ''indi-
vidual buffers" with bit of garnishine
of parsley, and are eaten with vinegar on
the spot.
These barrows are found especially al
the entrance of Victoria Docks road. a
great marketing place in Canning town
on Saturday night. Clothing very cheap
and shoddy and called ''slops"), little
tools for household use, cheap laces, FL
berts, ''red bandanna" handkerchiefs
and horn combs are some of the many
articles sold from barrows in the street,
outside the regular shops for meat, fruit
and fish. On the whole. trade is carried
on with great briskness. but more qui-
etly than in market streets at home.