* * * * * * *
Then the splendour of Broadway, the great White Way, "calling moths from leagues, from hundreds of leagues," as O. Henry wrote. What a city of enchantment and wonder New York must seem to the traveller from some dreary Russian or Siberian town, if seen aright. It is a thrilling spectacle. Now that I have looked at it I say to myself, "Fancy any man having lived and died in this era without having seen it!" Five hundred years ago the island was dark and empty, with the serene stars shining over it; but now the creatures of the earth have found it and built this city on it, lit by a myriad lights. Thousands of years hence it will be dark again belike, and empty, and uninhabited, and once more the serene stars will shine over the island.
APPLE ORCHARDS IN BLOSSOM ON THE SPURS OF THE CATSKILLS.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] In Russia the average wage of the shop-girl is 12 roubles a month (i.e., 1½ dollars, or 6s. a week), but then she is a humble creature and lives simply.