Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1907-09-06
.LONDON'S EAST SIDE,
Fearful Picture OF Poverty and
Dissipation.
A SATURDAY NIGHT SCENE.
The Awful Spectacle That a Bitterly
Cold Evening In wintee Disclosed to
the wayfarer In the Ssreets-Ths
tiueksters and Their Customers.

Cold Evening In Wintea Disclosed 10
the wayfarer In the streets-Ths
Hueksters and Their Customers.
Let me show you something which IA
more terrible than tragedy and more
hideous than vice. II II close wcdgcd
procession Of thousands Of happy but
shabby men and women and children
passing at a crawl between shop win
aows and costcrmongcrs' barrows on
Saturday night In winter In south
east London. The wind from the
Thames blows hithcr and thither the
flames and n1phtha lamps and makes
them tug and hiss at the greasy burn
ers. II II bitterly cold. Women draw
their gray Shawls closer over their
heads. men turn M their coat collars.
hump their shoulders and thrust their
hards deeper In their pockets, ANA the
blue faced children. squeezed between
the legs of the crawling multitude.
shivcr and shuttle Us they creep so
slowly forward with chattering teeth
and purple lips. which twlich anu
shudder. half from cold ana hair from
hunger
Look NJ some of the faces. The
women have Their hair dragged back
from their forcfcads The eyes are
hardly visible. The noses arc short and
broad The h'uhbcr lips reach across
their swollen faces. The men have
shlfty eyes Their undcrjaws project
There Is nothing IN their faces which
suggests dignity or Kindness. ON all
the races You read satisfaction and
content. Even the starving children
peep about with excitement,
ON the top rail Of stall, stuck upon
hooks and just high enough 10 grin
above the multitude. are the heads Of
two sucking pigs The eyes are hau
open aud wear a CLASSY smile Round
the rim of the ears and az the edge 81
the open grinning lips Is a line Of
blood They seem Ia hang there like
the presiding deltles 90 the market. the
gods al this sordld festival.
Butchers stand before their op,u
windows. calling loudly anu hr'si,ly
for customers aud reaching down Joints
Of meat from steel hooks, which they
fling 20 man inside 10 be weighed.
children harchcndcd and iu rags,
thrust themselves among tie crowd.
Offering beet roots on pieces OF dirty
newspaper The street II hllcl wiih
cries. There Is u smell Of ilsh aud
fusty garments. Into our faces as we
90 forward foul. TAT women with
hoarsc voices shove handfuls Of animal
matter things ell bloody and dreadful
and tell Us that the cost Is only two
pence. At another barrow an old wo-
man aud her three daughters are sell
Ing Tor pennies. twopcnccs, three.
pcuces and fourpcnccs the loathsomc
oddmcnts from their rag shop. Blouscs.
stays. pcttiCoatS. nlghtdrcsscs, trou-
serS, wais;colis aud caps all II them
50 Soddcn and musty that We doubt "
they would huru-arc snatchcd M from
the wide stall. ilourishcd In the light
OF the naphtha lamps and nuug across
10 the highest bidder Tor n few coppcrs.
Aud. while this marketing is going cn
and while tho air Is ilcl with the
hoarsc shouts Of the hrckstcrS. out
from the public house,, Ike bees dis
lodged from swarm. drop men aud
women. many al them carrying babies
In their arms. aud Sinrch away into
the darkness OF spiu' ncighburing
court The Gin shops arr crammcd-
crammcl with men. women and chill
dren. TIE more ,lrc.ul housewives
are hnLrr.r. BITS of meat scarce &c for
dogs and haunting The H.Hlls till they
have collected cung.h Tor sundays
dinner hut when his is d'uc ;h'y. too.
fight their way iu,n the Gin shops and
drink I'LL closing time. l'i and out of
the pawnhrpScr> shop, pu's the moill-
crs who wish - rescue their hes;
clothes for the sunday. The money
lenders doors are never still And the
crowd In the street grows dcnscr and
holster. The smell 81 II lills the soul
with nausea.
\ young man. with child or two In
his arms. comes out of a public house.
IIls wife and a girl friend follow after
him. hooking him for going home so
early. The wife carries u baby of three
or four months In her arms. In the
middle NJ the road the girls begin to
dance and sing. The husband turns
round aud laughs The child in his
arms. with dazcd eyes. watches her
mother singing AMI dancing. Tho dirty
linen cap on the hahy's head slips on
"a the mother whirls about, AMI we
see the poor l.it'c bald head gain:
round and round In the glare ot the
naphtha. How that tiny brain must
swim, How Il must wonder NJ the
shrll laughter II its Swayinc mother
The baby Is no larger thaa skinned
rabbit. Round and round. round aud
round. 10 thc Shrickcd tune Of sally.
Sally. Was In the Rallct." while the
husband stands grlnpiug and the girl
friend suddenly reels AMI goes down
behind barrow. chuckling and ours
lng-Dctrolt News.
ITO the lamppost."