He began to know his active fellow-citizens.  Here and there among them he found a leisurely, kind soul, a relic of the old period of neighborliness, “pioneer stock,” usually; and there were men —­particularly among the merchants and manufacturers—­“so honest they leaned backward”; reputations sometimes attested by stories of heroic sacrifices to honor; nor were there lacking some instances of generosity even nobler.  Here and there, too, were book-men, in their little leisure; and, among the Germans, music-men.  And these, with the others, worshiped Bigness and the growth, each man serving for his own sake and for what he could get out of it, but all united in their faith in the beneficence and glory of their god.

To almost all alike that service stood as the most important thing in life, except on occasion of some such vital, brief interregnum as the dangerous illness of a wife or child.  In the way of “relaxation” some of the servers took golf; some took fishing; some took “shows” —­a mixture of infantile and negroid humor, stockings, and tin music; some took an occasional debauch; some took trips; some took cards; and some took nothing.  The high priests were vigilant to watch that no “relaxation” should affect the service.  When a man attended to anything outside his business, eyes were upon him; his credit was in danger—­that is, his life was in danger.  And the old priests were as ardent as the young ones; the million was as eager to be bigger as the thousand; seventy was as busy as seventeen.  They strove mightily against one another, and the old priests were the most wary, the most plausible, and the most dangerous.  Bibbs learned he must walk charily among these—­he must wear a thousand eyes and beware of spiders indeed!

And outside the temple itself were the pretenders, the swarming thieves and sharpers and fleecers, the sly rascals and the open rascals; but these were feeble folk, not dangerous once he knew them, and he had a good guide to point them out to him.  They were useful sometimes, he learned, and many of them served as go-betweens in matters where business must touch politics.  He learned also how breweries and “traction” companies and banks and other institutions fought one another for the political control of the city.  The newspapers, he discovered, had lost their ancient political influence, especially with the knowing, who looked upon them with a skeptical humor, believing the journals either to be retained partisans, like lawyers, or else striving to forward the personal ambitions of their owners.  The control of the city lay not with them, but was usually obtained by giving the hordes of negroes gin-money, and by other largesses.  The revenues of the people were then distributed as fairly as possible among a great number of men who had assisted the winning side.  Names and titles of offices went with many of the prizes, and most of these title-holders were expected to present a busy appearance at times; and, indeed, some among them did work honestly and faithfully.