The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-05-13
LOST IN NEW YORK.
BEHAVIOR OF THe POLICEMAN, THE
coy AND THE SPECTATORS.

came the Indifference OF Crowds In tn
! streets Effect Of Little stray UpoI
Women shopping.
AS general thing. said the western
/ woman. II would cross the street rathe
? than Tass ore Of your New York crowds
| mean those crowds that seem To gathel
a. If hy magic W hen there is an accident
or fight. or a horse down, or an arrest
or any one of dozen things which are al
ways happening here.
"Somehow IL always makes me miscr
able | think about Oshkosh, and of how
we have neighbors ont there and care what
happens TO each other. Did you ever look
at the-people in these groupss They are as
unmoved as the old granite blocks with
which you pave your streets. They make
me Shiyer, those men and boys pushing
and gaping in curious circle at some one
who has lust been mangled by cable car
They are as coldl, ohservant as if they
were secondhand dealers sizing up your
old furniture. II there is good deal Of
blood. their eyes shine. II it's Just a case
Of heart disease. or a simple illness, they
go on, as apathotic az ever. Generally they
make a grim joke and then forget the
| whole affair
A fight produces different sort of
! crowd. But don like il any better. The
men are more attentive then. They smile
roo. Laugh if things get hot enough; are
! visibly sorry when the policeman arrives,
and then-go on, as apathetic rs ever.
The women, too, haunt me. They
don't always stop and join the crowd, but
pass with look of Indifferent curiosity,
too accustomed TO such things TO be inn
pressed. hate them" said the western
woman vigorously.
But the other day, she went on, her
expression softening, Il saw different
crowd, and | suppose it was as typically
New York one as any of the Others. 1t
was at the corner of Fifth avenue and
Fourteenth street. saw this gathering of
people as l came down the avenue, and my
first impulse was to cross the street and
avoid it, But, do you know, there was
something queer about that
impressed me when ] was almost block
awayg
1T wasn't a compact crowd, such as
you generally see. 1t was more indecisiye
ard wavering. People would go a few
steps, then turn TO look back. Sometimes
they went fully 20 feet and then went back
again. AS / got nearer l saw that most %
guished it from the ordinary crowd. Peo
pie were looking down toward the side
walk, and at first l thought that the at
traction was merely some amusing me
chanical toy. But when saw the faces,
knew ! was wrong. Many of them were
smiling, but not with amusement Ten.
derness, pity, gentleness, reinsurance, that
was what ! read i'm the faces, and it puz
zled me tremendously until saw police.
man standing in the center Of the crowd
'Ihen it dawned on me in flash
There was lost child. That explained ev.
crything-the consideration of the crowd
which forbore TO press too closely about
the frightened little stray: the sympathy
which dragged them back TO it as if by
strong undercurrent; the smiles, halt
tender and half reassuring, with which
some OF them had spoken to it encourag
ingly. l watched the faces i'm the crowd
and for once found human nature til:
same as j have known 10 whore you doni
have to scrape of the vGrnish of indiifer
ence III order TO see what is underneath
Inc eyes OF the women softened. Some ct
them pushed their hands up under THEN
spotted wells and brushed the tears away
Their mouths, those tired, irritated. un-
loving and ENJOYABLE mouths, which i cali
the shopping district mouth, relaxed and
curved into softer lines. Their whole face
seemed TO be romolded by the force of some
inner feeling, and "a different soul than
that of the bargain hunter looked out OF
their eyes.
81 don't think that half of them saw
the child who really stood there. his little
grimy hand in the polccmans protecting
palm. That child wore blue and white
sailor suit, and his hair was red. But |
looked into the women g eyes and | saw
far different things | saw toddiine
2-year old in u sheer white muslin frock
and its hair wasn't red, but golden. And
L saw sturdy little chap in trousers
such tight trousers and such fat little legs
and his hair was soft and brown. / saw
a curly head lying OH pillow and two
tiny hands crossed on the little breast, and
they were strangely STILL But then ]
looked into that woman eyes only through:
tho tears which blinded her
"Well, said the western woman, with
an apparent mental shake, "you see how
different it was. l hadn't happened to see
lost child before, and il was u revelation
to me. The little fellow himself made my
heart big with admiration. He was so
plucky, so reserved in his trouble, so dig
nified under the most trying scrutiny He
did not wall as most children would have
done. / don't think he ever shed n tear
He kept his little lips pressed grimly to.
gether and said never a word except when
some one spoke to him. Then he answered
briefly, and his eyes pathetically searched
the face before him for ray of hope.
When they gave him candy instead of
hope, he accepted it with grave Thank
your but he did not eat it, and he showed
that he found the denouement disappoint.
ing.
1.-THE policeman was not the least inter
esting person in the group. have always
found the New York policemen kind
enough, but in blase and cynical fashion
II / were Analysing their character, take
it on the average, | shouldn't think of in
Guiding sympathy among their predomi-
nant qualities. They accept most events
with the stolidity of long custom They are
as little affected by any ordinary accident
as a hard drinker would be by a thimble
full of beer. And that is the reason why
this policeman interested me almost as
much as the crowd did. He was gentle.
serious, sympathetic. He did not say much
to the child, and that showed his renetra.