The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-11-16
A MoRALIsT IN MADISON SQUARE.
An Escapade in the Metropolis Wherein
the Carnival Crowd Reianed Supreme.

An Escapade in the Metropolis Wherein
the Carnival Crowd Reianed Supreme.
Il happened to be In Madison Square
Tuesday night. said to me a friend, a
foreigner by birth. Il need not apologize
for being there, for the spectacle was very
interesting and significant.
Il suppose my motives in standing on
the edge OF the sidewalk and looking at
the packed yet surging crowd OF we'll
dressed, younglooking people were not dif-
ferent from those Of the other thousands
who were there. We all came from curl
osity.
Il was not, however. watching the ere.
works, not far away, as most Of those
thousands, even while moving along,
were, but watching the people themselves.
was divided between an emotion OF ad.
miration at the vastuoss and very respecta.
BILE outward appearance Of the crowd so
utterly Indifferent to the real Significance
OF the day and the occasion, and so thor.
oughiy absorbed In the mere whirl and
pour OF the mad human mass that ali
helped to compose, They were for the
most part Ike crazy people Yet what
were they crazed Overt Not politics. Poll
tics seemed to be the last thing that they
thought about
Hundreds OF girls we're there, blowing
horns In strange mems faces-deceat girls
they seemed to be, all apparently belonging
70 the average class which you Americans
win not suffer 20 be called middle class,
but which Is that, Just the same. Thou.
sands OF boys. who knew no more about
politics than they know about prosody or
biology. hitted, glided wrlggled and ran
here and there, their minds wide open TO
anything strange or bad that they could
pick m.
In short, II was carnival crowd,
nothing more. II was Interesting to me
TO sec proof that Washington, Frank.
lin, Jefferson. Emerson and all the rest OF
your philosophers. economists and states.
! men have not been able to remod humanity
on this continent and make Il different
from what II is in Europe or South Ameri.
ca. even though they have made It more
prosperous. pondered on this charae.
| teristic, which seemed to me TO be uni
yersal, and then on the more special char
| acteristic Of their hunger for shocks, for
the queer and the bizarre. which your sur
I prislng journalism seems 70 be developing.
suddenly, as my mind rnu IN this chr.
| ANaFt ANaN AuNhNl Nhdu saw OF hearO. n
quirerirg shock that sent passing sen.
sation Of slckrsss ell over me. The air
Itself seemed to split just before me and
let knife down through II. can moi
otherwise describe that strange shock-was
IL In the afr or within my body (which
seemed 10 precede what IN the next instant
saw and then heard-a fierce rush up
ward md outward OF a mass OF white IRE
and the pounding, sharp.rlnglng rendius
crash 81 great explosion That nGrc6
light dazzled my eyes for an instant
though recollect seeing in the midst OF Il
the great crowd more sharply and clearly
than ever; and then pail OF smoke swal
lowed Up the spot, little way or. whence
the white fash had come
II was aware that some great accident
had occurred. Yet my thoughts stii
turned most euriously 20 the crowd, 10 Sc,
how they would take It. Strangely enough
they did not seem to take It at all. TheugI