For not merely were all
the benches filled with sleeping men, but the steps of the City Hall,
the grass, and even the hard asphalt pavement were besprinkled with a
dirty, ragged, hungry-looking lot of men, unlike those usually seen in
the streets of New York. When the regiment marched into the square, a
few of the stragglers rose from their recumbent attitudes, and looked at
it, without much love in their faces. As the regiment breakfasted, more
and more rose from their hard beds to their harder lives. They moved
about restlessly, as if waiting for something. Some gathered in little
groups and listened to men who talked and shrieked far louder than was
necessary in order that their listeners should hear. Some came to the
edge of the street and cursed and vituperated the breakfasting regiment.
Some sat on the ground and ate food which they produced from their
pockets or from paper bundles. It was not very tempting-looking food.
Yet there were men in the crowd who looked longingly at it, and a few
scuffles occurred in attempts to get some.
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