Lights and Shadows of New York Life: or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great CityMcCabe, James Dabney
History
Lights and Shadows of New York Life: or, the Sights and Sensations of the Great City
McCabe, James Dabney
New York (N.Y.) -- Description and travel; New York (N.Y.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century
As a matter of course, this model station is in charge of one of the most
efficient, experienced, and reliable officers of the force. It is at
present commanded by Captain A. J. Allaire, whose personal and official
record fairly entitles him to the high and honorable position he holds in
the force.
The station houses are kept scrupulously clean. Neatness is required in
every department of the police service. The Inspector may enter them at
any hour, and he is almost sure to find them in perfect order.
[Picture: A WINTER NIGHT SCENE IN A POLICE STATION]
These stations afford a temporary shelter to the outdoor poor. In all of
them accommodations are provided for giving a night's lodging to the poor
wretches who seek it. When the snow lies white over the ground, or the
frosts have driven them out of the streets, these poor creatures come in
crowds to the station houses, and beg for a shelter for the night. You
may see them huddling eagerly around the stove, spreading their thin
hands to catch the warmth, or holding some half-frozen child to be thawed
by the heat, silent, submissive, and grateful, yet even half afraid that
the kind-hearted Sergeant, who tries to hide his sympathy for them by a
show of gruffness, will turn them into the freezing streets again. When
the rooms devoted to their use are all filled, others still come,
begging, ah, so piteously, to be taken in for the night. I think there
is no part of the Sergeant's duties so hard, so painful to him, as to be
forced to turn a deaf ear to these appeals. Let us thank God, however,
he does not do so often, and even at the risk of being "overhauled" for
exceeding his duty, the Sergeant finds, or makes, a place for those who
seek his assistance in this way. Many of those who seek shelter here are
constant tramps, who have nowhere else to go. Others are strangers in
the city--poor people who have come here in search of employment.
Failing to find it, and what little money they brought with them being
exhausted, they have only the alternative of the station house or the
pavement. Many who are simply unfortunate, suffer almost to perishing
before seeking the station house, mistakenly supposing that in so doing
they place themselves on a par with those who are brought there for
offences against the law. But at last the cold and the snow drive them
there, and they meet with kindness and consideration. I could not here
present a description of the quiet and practical way in which the members
of the "Force" relieve such sufferers. No record is kept of such good
deeds by the force, and the Sergeant's book is modestly silent on this
subject; but we may be sure it is written in letters of living light on
the great book that shall be opened at the last day.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account