The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-10-19
EAST LONDON NIGHT SCENES.

EAST LONDON NIGHT SCENES.
The Poor in the Great City in Their satur-
Cay E:ssirSsIons.
The memory of Saturday night in
| the city Of the lockers is like the recol-
lection Of troubled dream, for on this
last night Of the week the great. hot
streets are filed with the pent-up life
Of half million houses lone can not
| call them homes), and all the various
phrases of this hand -to-hand struggle
for existence appear. The decker is
prodigal of his few shillings on Satur-
day night, the maximum of his liber-
atty being shown most often in the
public house and on the catch-penny
street onjurer, while the minimum is
apparent at the stalls of the butcher
and grocer. But men, women aud chill
dren are out in the streets, and. what
ever else it be, Saturday night is some
thing of break in the fearful dreari-
ness that marks the life of the East
London toiiing thousands.
The people love music Their inter
probation of music is rather rough and
loud; the bass drum of every band that
plays in labor demonstration of
Sunday gets terribly punished before
the day is over, but it commands
great following: 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 whenever it
is rafting out the popular "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 fag-stones. These dances are
combination Of the stately steps
OF minuet and the wild whirl of
waltz gone crazy. Nearly every girl of
eight 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 I'M
tanned, fantastic lot. All wear enor-
nous hats, adorned with feathers and
train their hair about the forehead by
curling it forward quite fercely. They
are intensely loyal to the customs and
traditions of their own set" and,
forced as they are to bsist on an in
come of six to eight shillings per week,
they are vexing problem to the East
London philanthropiss and reformer.
Besides the barrel organs there are
violins. accordions and any number of
soloists uuaccompanied by an instru-
ment- The popular airs are the En-
glish Comrades" After the Ball" and
DAISY" which appear to be easily in
the lead. The East Londonsrs sing il
in all stages of soberness and inebriety, |
On the streets and in the houses. 1t is |
played by the cornetist on the forward |
brake of every excursion party, |
and not ten minutes since a |
mere child was piping it under my |
window. The chorus has plenty of |
local color in it, and the tune is rollick- |
y
giving the inevita BILE long i" sound TO |
a proper long q" In fact. they tell |
the story here that pupil in French |
class being asked the French word for |
ito die responded at once ''aui ourd'- |
hui" Such is the strength OF this 1
hab bit. But TO return to the street /
singer. Blind women, old men and 1
the poor wrecks of this awful struggle 4
for existence, here stand at the curb
stone, and in weak, thin voices sing 4
their songs The restless crowd moves 4
on. save when some one more curious /
or more kindly then the rest stands near
to LOOK or listen. 4 bent woman, /
whose thin shawl was thrown over her
shoulders. was feebly singing some old .
song in the midst Of the jostling throng
around public house: ] saw strong
young girl OF fourteen come kindly to-
ward her. drop penny IN the little
box held by the feeble hand. and then
hurry away on, Of sight Happy Will
the strong young lass be Il the swirl Of
the turoid stream OF Eas. London life
does no; bring her sometime TO the
place Of the curbstone singer Indeed, /
there IS no place that have ever seen
where mirth and psthos- vice and
virtue, meet and m;ngie as On these
streets IN night like this
One sees very little begging. There
IS not much street begging here any
way-tbere's 20 use Begging: the peo-
pie are too Poo-- The nendicant fees
Canning Town for the weather. RESI-
dental quarters OF course the emil
dren besei one. The sidewalk artist -
sometimes found bat the Irn@: common
form OF appeal = from the ragged little
fellows. who turn handsprings o. Stand
On their hsads !o- y01 Taey really Dc