The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21
WHEN THE CITY IS ASLEEP
Cheering Spots of Light That Greet
the Night Workers.
The Italian Fruit stands and Their
Proprietors - Regular Customers
and What They Buy-A Scrub
woman Who Is Fond of Candy.


People who have to so home through
the streets late at night long after the
shops have closed, and all the lights IN
their windows have been put out have
the remembrance of various little spots
| of brightness that have guided them on
their way and given them cheer These
| fiecks of light are usually at street cor
ners. They are very rarely in the mid
die of the block, and are usually asso-
ciated with piles of boxes loaded down
with red and yellow fruit, buckets and
cases filled with vari-colored candies, with
| a wonderful mass of dirty wrapping pa
per Strewn about.
The. center of the light is as rule
a gasoline burner, emitting fiaring and
smoky light, that illumines al area of
perhaps a hundred feet. with a Pickering
glare. that sets the outlines of houses,
and unshuttered windows in the d serted
| business buildings to dancing a sort of
! shadow dance. The gasoline lamp Kisses
| and often there is another sound, that of
| a soft whistling that seems to be a part
| Of the silence, and only becomes audible
after the rattle of the night CAP with
! its shambling horse has broken the mid
| night silence. fades into the distance. The
| whistle is attached to a peanut rooster,
| run by a machine sometimes. and the
| steam that passes through it brightens
for a moment in little ghostlike clouds,
the dark background of the night
This scene. with all its accomplishments,
| is deeply impressed on the mind of any
night worker and has become as a rule
| so much a part of his night landscape
that he accepts the comforting glow with
out much thought, and passes through its
to wonder-at its significance. He sees the
fruit booth occupying a corner, or, if the
| owner is more prosperous, a ram
shackle' building in the middle of a block.
and re accepts it as natural that it
| should be open, while all other institu-
| lions except that of the Chinese laundry
| man, which has no rest interval, have
| long since been closed.
| II is rare that he ever stops to reflect
| over the reason for keeping these lights
| burning, and for the existence of these
| boxes and buckets on the sidewalk
whether it be rainy or whether 1t be dry
| at such hour Whence comes the
| trade that makes it worth while for all
these sons of toll to lengthen their day
| through the night and into the beginning
of the next day, and to stand, with up
| turned coat collar and stamping feet in
| the cold waiting for a customer? 1t was
| with interest one night that person with
curiosity Joined in conversation with one
joyial son of Italy who had a stand on a
prominent corner. Turning up an empty
bucket for seat, the curious one pre-
! pared himself for a few hours stay. The
hour was near midnight and business did
not seem brisk. Down the street the
| lights of a similar booth glared, and still
| further down glow upon the sidewalk
| showed The location of a third
nRa.a 10 lid ~
| business street were darkened the clerks
| in the drug stores closed the doors and
| walked away. The whole business of the
| city, barring that done by few all-night
| drug stores, and lunch rooms, was en-
compassed by the fruit booths
Angelo-that was the classic name of
| the proprietor of the bOoth-explained in
| picturesque English, not translatable into
| letters:
IAN day we sit and wait. People come
to buy just little-children for candy n
| an orange a few nuts or some ehec-ing
| gum: but it is not much
There Is too much competition en-
| quired the curious one.
AT night II is not SO. 1t is too far to go
| to the lunchroOm, and the man who is in
! a hurry to catch his car-he wants ba
/ mana. He pays me for it-perhaps two
and an orangS. if his is long a-coming.
| The streets are full-lots of people pass
| every night, and they all see my lights,
| and then they want to buy something.
| And usually they do-some candy, some
peanuts, or some chewing gum to eat on
| the car going home
1t was not long before the truth of An
| gelo's remarks began to be evident.
! Shutting down the srteet, her head COW
| cred with old fascinator. and her fray
| ed skirts muddy and bedraggled, trailing
| behind her, came bent old Irish woman.
| who stopped at the booth. She fumbled
| at her dress. and FINALLY brought out
| purse. In rich brogue she asked for 10
| cents worth of mixed candy, which was
| done up in paper and given to her.
] customer. remarked Angelo.
| with a contented smile, as he pocketed the
dime. Come every night. She scrub
| floors in big building over there from l
| o'clock until 4. eats candy.
Business soon became brisk. In couple
| of minutes a well-dressed young man
| stepped into the circle Of light, threw
| down a nickel and took up two oranges.
| Angelo was playing Cicerone and seemed
| to take pleasure in explaining the Gus
| toners as they came:
| Hes a telegraph man down town-goes
| down at O'Clock, and bays two oranges
| of me; then buys two oranges when he
| comes back In the morning; nice fellow;
| he make money"
| The next person TO appear was not so
well conditioned. 1t was a ragged little
urchln with homeless look as TO clothes
and face. he seemed hungry, and gazed
| at the fruit and candy exposed with a
| furnished eye. First on one foot and then
| on the other he stood, not making any
move toward a purchase until Angelo
stepped toward him. He seemed TO be
| debating between running away and stay
| ing, and finally decided upon the latter.
Gould you give feller somethin' to
| cate" he stammered out looking In a
| frightened sort of way at the Italian. II
got stuck on papers this evening and I
| had to skip dinner but I'm gettin' hun
| cry now.
Angelo went back OF the boxes and took
| out couple of bananas, brown and
| wrinkled. which he passed over TO the ur-
| chin. They were received with giee, and
| quickly disposed of.
He called me Dago,' commented An
| gelo, as he concluded his charitable act
- sell lots to them newspaper kids at
| night This, too, proved true, for they
! seemed to come out of the darkness every
| few minutes, in groups or singly, to buy
| some small thing and then slide away
| Later in the evening, jehu drew his
| Gathering team up at the sidewalk and
| demanded mess of dates, figs, and an
| orange, which were done up and passed
| to him as he sat on the box. He was the
| first of many of his kind.
| With their letter pouches on their backs,
| gray uniformed letter carriers came to
| buy. and Angelo vouchsafed the informa-
| ton that they were regular customers to
| the extent of about % cents night. Fol-
| lowing the grey, came blue coat of the
policeman who levied the usual tribute
| of an orange, and passed on-dropping
| few words of kindly greeting TO the ltal-
| ian. A conductor and a motorman from a
| car stopped for few moments to buy
| banana and then the nights trade seemed
| to be about at an end The light of the
| other two ESTABLISHMENTS down the street
| had disappeared, but a few moments,
when Angelo began to make preparations
| to move. With wonderful quickness he
| slowed away boxes under boxes and into
| boxes and packed everything under COW
err Lids of wood We're placed over the
stand, and padlocks brought into use.
1t took but a few moments to put every
thing away so that no one would ever
ha.... cd ant fpt En a ri ma