Perth Amboy evening news., 1910-12-09
THE NIGHT OF THE CHILDREN.
JAMES OPPENHEIM.
Author of "Dr. Rast'' and wild
Oats"


Author of "Dr. Rast'' and wild
Oats"
Christmas was in the air. The
FROSTY, starry night turned golden
IN the city avenues. Up and down
the pavement the crowds swept, talk
ing, jostIing-cheeks rudy with the
weather. eyes sparkling with the
lights. AS they moved, there I'M
rolled beside them the endless film
of brilliant window shops, crammed
with riches, and through the swing
ing doors eddies of people were suck
ed in and elected. At the curb the
toy pedlars shouted, the chestnut
stands sent up their smoke. 1t
| seemed as IL the millions of the city
had poured out to mingle in a street.
festival OF Joy and, brotherhood,
People laughed at one another, a
wine of good humor drenched the
air. 1t was as If on this night hate
| and strife and greed had been
sloughed off; as II the race said,
Come, let us hehappy with one an
other. We are all here together.
Let US meet and mingle in joy and
goodwill and peace!'
1t was the Night of the Children.
Far through the sleeping city the
| million children were in their beds
and it was for them that these peo-
pie met. For their children they
were sweeping the shops, that Christ
mas morning might dawn with the
candles of the pine, and hanging,
bulgy stockings and the mysterious
| new toys. And 1t was the thoughts
of the children, possibly. that made
these men and women SO light-foot-
FED, so bubbIingly joyous. SO limo
Gently happy. 1t made children of
| them, and they mingled with each
other, like laughing, rollieking, boys
and girls.
There was one vast department
| store, nearly o block square and six
stories high, which sucked in vast
masses of the crowd. Pendant from
its ceiling hung white moons of light,
and under these q density OF hui
manity slowly swirling about the
| sparkling laden counters. The air
was over warm with breathing, and
tingled with the excitement OF shut
| fling shoes, rattle of packages, and
a hive hum of talk and ordinations.
The place was electric with the push
OF many wills, the clash OF desires,
the impeded hurry, the drawing near
of closing time. 1880 a come
an dgone, and yet the crowd was an
satisfied; 1t h~ungered and strained
and .elamored and struggled to get
it's fill.
One counter especially was be-
| sieged. At this was sold little nve-
cent packages of snow" for Christ
| mas trees. Behind this counter stood
Mamie Riggs, seventeen years old,
thin, emaciated, b1oodless, her face
pale and drawn and wrinkied, her
eyes blood-shot, her lips trembling.
AS she made out checks, and re-
ceived and made change, and hand
led the envelopes her hands visibly
shook. Faces crowded near her,
! leaned close, arms lifted, fingers
jerked near her eyes.
'This snow?"
Eyes, ma'am."
"How much?"
] Give cents"
"Only n for fve?"
"OEly one" -.
"How much in a PACKAGE"
II don't know, ma'am."
Don't know" .
AT least Ave voices interrupted:
.see here, | want a half a dozen
of these" where's my changer
81 can't wait all night Isn't there
any one to wait on me?" Say, III
speak to the ioor-walker ii don't
get proper attention."
Mamie answered as best she could.
"Just a minute! You said FIVE?
Six?-Change hasn't come. l can't
help it, ma'am-Yes, it's I've a
packaget-Snowl Yes!-Ill wait on
you in q minute!"
She spoke evenly in monotone.
But she was doing her work mechan-
ieal1y. In fact, Mamie wasn't al
there" Her fingers, her lips kept
working, but the real Mamie seemed
in a trance. Sun-burst after sun
Eburst of faces shot the air before her,
Ia loud sea-noise of voices swept her
brain. and she felt deathly sick.
Every bone In her body aehed. II
seemed as IL her feet had broken and
were bleeding. She was horribly
nauseated and dizzy. She felt as
il she we're going to faint. BY shere
force of grit she chung to the count
eryasha kept upright, she moved, she
talked. worked. On and on 1T went,
minute by minute, and still the faces
crowded, the voices rang out. the
packages had to be delivered, the
change made, the checks written up.
Afterwards 1t seemed to her that
her whole year had been ushln
toward this Christmas climax. Most
of that year, she had worked IN a
cbeaner store-worked 9b hours
a day for $2.62h a week. AS TINS
was not enough to live on she a
boarded with an aunt in Hoboken'
paying S1.15 a week. But IL TOOK
her an hour and a quarter to get TO
work. and she ese early before
dawn to get to her counter at .
sharp. Carfare cost her $1.26,
which, with the board, left her
twenty cents a week. No recrea-
ton. no fresh air. And every few
nights she was up till midnight
laundering her clothes that she
might be neat appearing. This
work, she felt, was killing her-so
she left it and took a position in a
larger store for $500 a week.
But she had to figure close, She
slept neaby in a charity doFmitory
for six cents a night. She went with
out breakfast, lunch and supper een-
sisted of coffee and rolls for ten
cents, each laundry was twenty cents
a week. Close and extra came close
to $500. In this way she spent all
har uaoes-toffed from & a m To