One walks in black attire , with a measured step and a heavy brow and his thoughtful eyes bent down , while the gay little girl trips lightly along as if she were forced to keep hold of my hand lest her feet should dance away from the earth . Yet there is sympathy between us . If I pride myself on anything , it is because I have a smile that children love ; and , on the other hand , there are few grown ladies that could entice me from the side of little Annie , for I delight to let my mind go hand in hand with the mind of a sinless child . So come , Annie ; but if I moralize as we go , do not listen to me : only look about you and be merry . Now we turn the corner . Here are hacks with two horses and stage-coaches with four thundering to meet each other , and trucks and carts moving at a slower pace , being heavily laden with barrels from the wharves ; and here are rattling gigs which perhaps will be smashed to pieces before our eyes . Hitherward , also , comes a man trundling a wheelbarrow along the pavement . Is not little Annie afraid of such a tumult ? No ; she does not even shrink closer to my side , but passes on with fearless confidence , a happy child amidst a great throng of grown people who pay the same reverence to her infancy that they would to extreme old age . Nobody jostles her : all turn aside to make way for little Annie ; and , what is most singular , she appears conscious of her claim to such respect . Now her eyes brighten with pleasure . A street-musician has seated himself on the steps of yonder church and pours forth his strains to the busy town -- a melody that has gone astray among the tramp of footsteps , the buzz of voices and the war of passing wheels . Who heeds the poor organ-grinder ? None but myself and little Annie , whose feet begin to move in unison with the lively tune , as if she were loth that music should be wasted without a dance . But where would Annie find a partner ? Some have the gout in their toes or the rheumatism in their joints ; some are stiff with age , some feeble with disease ; some are so lean that their bones would rattle , and others of such ponderous size that their agility would crack the flagstones ; but many , many have leaden feet because their hearts are far heavier than lead . It is a sad thought that I have chanced upon . What a company of dancers should we be ! For I too am a gentleman of sober footsteps , and therefore , little Annie , let us walk sedately on . It is a question with me whether this giddy child or my sage self have most pleasure in looking at the shop-windows .
We love the silks of sunny hue that glow within the darkened premises of the spruce dry-goods men ; we are pleasantly dazzled by the burnished silver and the chased gold , the rings of wedlock and the costly love-ornaments , glistening at the window of the jeweller ; but Annie , more XXXXX I , seeks for a glimpse of her passing figure in the dusty looking-glasses at the hardware-stores .
If at for on than that to whether while with