Toronto by Gaslight: The Night Hawks of a Great City: As Seen by the Reporters of "The Toronto News" — John Shaqi
Toronto by Gaslight: The Night Hawks of a Great City: As Seen by the Reporters of "The Toronto News"Toronto News
History
Toronto by Gaslight: The Night Hawks of a Great City: As Seen by the Reporters of "The Toronto News"
Toronto News
Toronto (Ont.) -- Description and travel
is filled as if by magic and by all classes of citizens, from the devout
woman sitting patiently in front, who has come to listen and to pray,
down to the brazen-faced night hawk in the jockey cap and bangs, who has
come to see and be seen and to make a mash if she finds a victim. And how
many of such are here! Their cold, calculating, treacherous eyes watching
stealthily the crowds of
SMUG-FACED YOUTHS
that occupy the lower part of the hall. Still the crowd comes pouring in
until the place is packed to the doors, and then for the first time a
partial stillness falls upon the place. There is a slight commotion in
the front row of the elevated stage and then amid a crash of tamborines
and a roar of voices chanting a spirited chorus, a woman with a pale,
spirituelle face and fine, intelligent eyes, shaded by a plain black
straw bonnet bound with red ribbons, steps to the front, stands still as
a statue, and looks with a strangely pitiful expression over the vast
crowd before her. Even after the music ceases, she still stands there,
with fingers tightly clasped and lips moving in silent prayer, and then,
suddenly and unexpectedly, she flings herself down on her knees, her
whole body shaken with spasmodic sobs. The great crowd is thoroughly
stilled now. All eyes are bent upon her, some in alarm, some in pity,
while others burn with the kindling fire of religious fervor. She rises
slowly and, stretching out her trembling hands to the audience, cries in
a clear, bugle-like voice, “Oh, why will you die?” and then overcome by
her feelings, bursts into a torrent of tears again. A thrill runs through
the vast assemblage, all have caught the infection from her, and even the
brazen-faced female in the back seat lets fall her eyes with a guilty
look. Once more the electric woman on the platform begins to speak—at
first brokenly, and gathering strength as she goes on, bursts out in an
appeal to sinners, in which the terrors of a real old-fashioned up and up
fire and brimstone gehenna are painted with a vividness which would
DO CREDIT TO A TALMAGE
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account