The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1893-11-28
LONDON By GASLIGHT
SATURDAY NIGHT STREET SCENES IN
THE CITY OF THE OOckERS.

Marks the Life Of the Telling 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 u troubled dream, for on this
last night of the week the great, hot
streets are filled with the pentup life Of
800 600 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 c%onjurer. while
the minimum is apparent at the stalls of
the grocer and butcher. Blu men, wom-
en- and children are out OF the streets,
and. whatever else il be. Saturday night
is something of a break in the fearful
dreariness that marks the life of the east
London toiling thousands.
The people love music. Their inter-
pretation OF music j. rather rough and
loud. The bass drum of every band that
parades in a labor demonstration of a
Sunday gets terribl punished before the
day is over, but it Commands IA great fol-
lowing, and on Sa friday night the street
musicians and sin -ers easily gather their
crowds and reap an abundant harvest.
The barrel organ is found everywhere.
and wherever It j. rafting out the ropu-
lar Daisy" or 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 = can dance. many
of them nave already appeared III public
at the cheap concert halls, and as or
watches them. hatless. dirty. but with
faces beamin- with delight. he does NOT
know whether IL he glad of their joy or
To pity their hollow present and hopeless
future the more. Otte, Il part i'll th'-e
street dances will be taken by tire older
girls. factory girls. a. they are ali called
in east London. who are out i'll 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 tiercely. They are in
tensely loyal To the customs and tradi-
ions of their own set. and forced as
they are to sul,sist on an income of 6 to
8 shillings per week they are ii veNing
problem to tire east London p%hilanthro-
pist and refnrmer.
Besides the barrel organs. there arr
~yiolins, accor,lion> and any number Of
a.l.,zt, ,,,,a L. :, i,L.p,
ment. Blind women. old men and the
poor wrecks of tins awful struggle for
existence here stand ut the curhstone
and III weak. thin voices sing their songs.
The restless crowd moves oil. save when
some one more curious or more kindly
thar the rest stands near to look or lis
ten. a bent woman. whose thin shawl
was thrown over her shoulders. was
feebly singing some old song III the
midst Of the ~josfling throng around IL
public house. | saw Il strong Young girl
of Il coine kindly toward her. DROP IA
penny IN the little box held by the feeble
hand and then hurry away out of sight.
Happy will the strong yoHng lass he If
the swirl of the turbii stream of east
London life does not bring her some time
IL ift !idt III III q bHieliF sliS'i. ~
deed there is no place that | have ever
seen where mirth and pathos, vice and
virtue, meet AMI mingle as on these
streets in IA night like this.
One sees very little begging. There is
not much street begging anyway
there's no Use begging: the people are
too poor. The mendicant fees Canning
town for the weather. residential quar-
tiers. OF course the children beset one
The sidewalk artist is sometimes found.
bnt 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 old mannish" in their
looks that it is hard to resist them. |
was hurrying through the crowds III
Victoria docks one night about 10 when
a boy of : came out and ran beside me.
relating some sort of verse, l thought.
Three fepetitions made it clear:
Ha'p'ny won't wit yer.
Penny won't break yer.
Tu'p'noe won't send yer t the work'us.
He was evidently working on a grad
uated scale of benevolence adapted to
the abilities of the donor" l 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 dellcacies
abound in the streets wher. marketing
goes on. TIE woman who sells cold
picked pigs feat i in fair demand. b
man who retail shrimns AT a Jenny &
BAG gets a good trad. bnt the couple
who preside al ife barrow hired with
s.cockles and wiakle-" have rhelr hands
fuU. The delecfabl@ mnllu-ks are DIS
played on little '.isHee a idfse : +1ndi-
vidual butt r." with a bit Of 2arnisinng
of parsley. and are eaten with vinegar I'll
the spot.
These larroy.s are found eEbe ialiE al