Show CHRISTMAS EVE ON BOWER Once a Year The Old Street Recalls Its Youth Merry Christmas in the Tenements s the title of an article in the Deceml er Century written by Jacob A Riis1 author of How the Other Half Lives VIr Riis says The lights of the Bowery glow like a nyriad twinkling stars upon the ceasei ess flood of humanity that surges ever through the great highway of the homeless They shine upon long rows jf lodging houses in which hundreds of young men cast helpless upon the reef jf some strange city are learning their irst lessons of utter loneliness foi vhat desolation is there like that ol he careless crowd when all the world ejoices They shine upon the tempter jetting his snares there and upon hit missionary and the Salvation Army ass disputing his catch with him upon up-on the police detective going his roundt vith coldly observant eye upon the outcome of the contest upon the wreck hat is past hope and upon the youth pausing on the verge of the pit in > hich the other has long since ceased co struggle Sights and sounds ot Christmas there are in plenty in the Bowery Juniper and tamarack and fir stand in groves along the busy thor ougmare aim aananus 01 green ein oower mission and dive impartially Once a year the old street recalls its youth with an effort It is true that it is largely a commercial effort that the evergreen with an instinct that is riot oC Its native hills haunts saloon corners by preference but the smell of the pinewoods is in the air and Christmas is not too critical one Is grateful for the effort It varies with the opportunity At Beefsteak Johns it is content with artistically embalming embalm-ing crullers and mincepies in green cabbage under the window lamp Over yonder where the milepost of the old lane still stands in its unhonored old age become the vehicle of publishing the latent sure cure to the world a florist whose undenominational zeal for the holiday and trade outstrips alike distinction of creed and property has transformed the sidewalk and the ugly railroad structure into a veritable cower spanning it with a canopy of green under which dwell with him in neighborly good vll the Young liens Christian association and the gentile tailor next door In the next block a turkey shoot is In progress Crowds are trying their luck at breaking the glass balls that dance upon tiny jets of water in front of a marine view with the moon rising yellow and big out of a silver sea A manofwar with lights burning aloft labors under a rocky coast Groggy sailormen ori shore leave make unsteady attempts upon the dancing balls One mistakes the moon for the target but is discovered in season Dont shoot that says the man whc loads the guns theresa lamp behind it Three scared birds in the window recess try vainly to snatch a moments sleep between shots and the trains thai jgo roaring overhead on the elevated road Roused by the sharp crack ol the rifles they blink at he lights ir he street and peck moodily at a cruel 11 their bed of shavings The dimemuseum gong clatters o ts noisy warning that the lecture is shout to begin From a concert hall vhere men sit drinking beer in clouds If smoke comes the thin voice of a shortskirted singer warbling Do Fhey Think of Me at Home The young fellow who sits near the door abstractedly making figures in the wet track of the schooners buries something some-thing there with a sudden restless turn ind calls for another beer Out in the street a band strikes up A host with banners advances chanting an unfa JJ tniliar hymn In the ranks marches a cripple on crutches Newsboys follow gaping Under the illuminated clock of the Cooper Institute the procession halts and the leader turning his face to the sky offers a prayer The passing pass-ing crowds stop to listen A few bare their heads The devoted group the flapping banners and the changing torchlight on upturned faces make a strange weird picture Then the drums beat and the band files into its barracks bar-racks across the street A few of the listeners follow among them the lad from the concert hall who slinks shamefacedly in when he thinks no one is looking |