The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1894-01-20
LONDON BY'GASLIGHT
SATURDAY NIGHT STREET SCENES IN
THE CITY OF THE DOCKERs.

Marks the Life Of the Toiling 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 troubled dream, for on this |
last night of the week the great, hot |
streets are filled will, the pentup life of |
SOC, 900 houses lone 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 iberality 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 cut on the streets,
and, whatever else it be, Saturday night
is 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 labor demonstration of a
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 rafting out the popu-
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 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 partin 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 iercely. 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 6 to
8 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 instru-
ment. Blind women, old men and the
poor wrecks of this awful. struggle for
existence here stand at the curbstone
and in weak, thin voices sing their songs.
The restless crowd moves on, save when
some one more curious or more kindly
than 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 in the
> midst of the jostling throng around a
public house. l saw strong young girl
of IA come kindly toward her, drop a
: penny in the little box held by the feeble
hand and then hurry away out of sight.
Happy will the strong young lass be If
: the swirl of the turbid stream Of east
London life does not bring her some time
to the place of the curbstone singer. In
deed there is no place that have ever
4 seen where mirth and pathos, vice and
; virtue, meet and mingle as on these
l streets in 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 Can ming
i town for the wealthier residential quar-
s tiers. Of course the children beset one
Y The sidewalk artist is sometimes found
!. but the most common form of appeal il
Q from the ragged little fellows who turn
= handsprings or stand on their heads fo1
: you. They really do their athletics
i very nicely. and there is something &C
t appealing and "old mannish'' in theil
looks that it is hard to resist them.
i was hurrying through the crowds il
y Victoria docks one night about 10 wher
: boy of came out and ran beside me
: relating some sort of verse. thought
J. Three repetitions made it clear:
g Ha'p'ny won't wi, yer.
Penny won't break yer,
= Tu'p'nce won't send yer t. the work 'us
h He was evidently working on a grad
mated scale of benevolence adapted t.
/. the abilities of the donor" believe b.
"a the emphasis laid on the last item tina
j. he estimated me from my gold bowe
r spectacles at tu'pence.
y The barrows of east London delicacie
:. abound in the streets where marketin
r. goes on. The woman who sells col
picked pigs feet is in fair demand. Th
v man who retails shrimps at a penny
- bag gets good trade. but the coupl
who preside at the barrow filled wit
e cookies and wrinkles" have their HAND
f. full. The delectable nlollusks are d!
- played on little dishes as large as lind
"a vidual buffers" with bit of garnishin
/. of parsley. and are eaten with vinegar .
b the spot.
's These harrows are found especially {
4 the entrance OF Victoria Docks road.
;s great marketing place in Canning tow
- - ON Saturday night. Clothing very chea
= and shoddy and called '.slops'). littl
!, tools for household use, cheap laces, Il
. berts. red bandanna" handkerchief
:. and horn combs are some Of the man
= articles sold from barrows ia the stree,
outside the regular shops for meat. frui
and fish, On the whole. trade is cnrrie
, on with great briskness. but more qui
) city than in market streets at hons
Z The butchers are the most noisy, The.
J. . delight ID yearing tall hats and scream
!, ing odd calls ut the fnll OF their lungs
"A penny IS the standard unit here \
Canning town. The buyers are poor
q and thing that can be called 'st ''l 4 !.