The Winslow mail., 1914-09-19


the thronging gayer parts of
n u London in which year or so
ago he had been numbered
among the spenders.
London, under the visible smoke law,
by which any production Of visible
smoke with or without excuse was
punishable by a fine, had already
ceased to be the sOmber smoke dark
ened city of the Victorian time; it had
been, and indeed was, constantly be
ing rebuilt. and its main streets were
already beginning to take on those
characteristics that distinguished them
throughout the latter half of the
twentieth century. The insanitary
horse and the pebeian bicycle had
been banished from the roadway,
which was now Of a resilient glasslike
surface. spotlessly clean; and the foot
passenger was restricted to narrow
vestige of the ancient footpath on
either side of the track and forbidden,
Mt the risk of fine, if he survived, to
cross the roadway People descended
from their automobiles upon this pave
ment and went through the lower
shops to the lifts and stairs to the new
ways for pedestrians, the rows that
ran along the front Of the houses at
the level Of the first story and, being
joined by frequent bridges, gave the
newer parts of London a curiously
Venetian appearance, In some streets
there were upper and even third story
rows For most of the day and all
night the shop windows were lit by
electric light, and many establishments
had made as it We're, canals of public
footpaths through their premises in
order to increase their window space
Barnet made his way along this night
scene rather apprehensively, since the
police had power to challenge and de
mand the labor card Of any INDECENT
looking person, and if the record failed
to show he was in employment dismiss
him to the traffic pavement below.
But there was still enough of his for
mer gentility about Barnets appear
ance and bearing to protect him from
this: the police, too. had other things
to think of that night and he was per
mitted to reach the galleries about
Leicester square-that great focus of
London life and pleasure.
He gives a vivid description of the
scene that evening. In the center was
garden raised on arches lit by fes
toOnS Of lights and connected with the
rows BE- eight graceful bridges, be
meath which hummed the interlacing
streams of motor traffic, pulsating as
the current aternated between east
and west and north and south. Above
rose great frontages of intricate rather
than beautiful REINFORCED porcelain,
studded with lights, barred by bold. IL
Illuminated advertisements and glowing
with reflections. There were the two
historical music halls Of this place, the
Shakespeare Memorial theater, in
which the municipal players reyolved
perpetually through the cycle of Shake
speare's plays, and four other great
houses of refreshment and entertain
ment. whose pinnacles streamed up
into the blue obscurity Of the night
The south side Of the square was in
dark contrast to the others; it was still
surmounted by the frozen gestures of
mOnstrous cranes rose over the exca-
waited sites of vanished Victorian build
ings.
This framework attracted Barnet's
attention for a time to the exclusion of
other interests, 1t was absolutely still;
it had a dead rigidity, a stricken mac
ton; no one was at work upon it and
all its machinery was quiet, but the
contractors globes of vacuum light fill
ed its every interstce with quivering
green moonshine and showed alert but
motionless- sentinels.
He asked a passing stroller and was
told that the men had struck that day
against the use of an automatic riveter
that would have doubled the individual
efficiency and halved the number of
steel workers
Shouldn't wonder if they didn't get
chucking bombs" said Baruet's in
formant, who lowered for a moment
and then went on his way to the Al
hambra Music hall
Barnet became aware of an excite
ment in the newspaper kiOsks at the
corners of the square Something very
sensational had been flashed upon the
transparencies. Forgetting for a mo-
ment his Denniless condition. he made