The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-02-25 00:00:00

A TOUCHING PICTURE.

The Special Correeponde-it of The Tuna, writing
from Pat to. ander date the 17th givos the fuL.
lowing painful eketel: :
Although tie butcher.' and chareuterie shops are now
abundantly supplied with prorl-ions, and there is nothing
tat luxury can suggest or wealth provide wh"ch may not at
thas momeat lie obtained in Paris, the misery is Inertial, g
rather than dimitilehbog, in a certain class 'writes 7he Times'
Carreeoandenta Though provisions may multiply, the amain
of buying them Is now lees from day to day- alocally, Pettis
may be said to be as much besieged as ever. All Walnuts Is
at a complete staudstill, and employment is not to be had.
The lower orders do not anger to murk peaty because
their wants are more easily supplied, and partly because, so
fur as the Geverement bounty is concerned they may
be called the privileged class." It is far otherwise with
the merchant clerks wh. se Melte' of busbies, are closed,
professional men and others dependent upon the constant
ebb and it), in the capital of the most wealthy
and fashionable classes of Europe generally. These
persona, to many of whom poverty has never before
been known, sod who have given the alma which
they imagined it impossible that they should ever be reduced
to ask, now fled that five months of fabulous prices, during
which they had to soma rt, perhaps, large families without
being In any way able to add to their incomes, have entirely
exhausted their stock of ready money, and after struggling
with attestation bra few days they are themselves red u oed
to make application for relief. I attended yesterday a meet.
bag of the Committee for the distribution of charity to the
distressed Englith who hal been compeled by e'renmetance
eon, mein in Paris during the siege. There was sornethhag
inexprestibly painful in the aspect of the careworn group of
applicants, high men and women, collected in tie
little antachama.er, waiting to go its by turn and tat
their tale of privation and rufferia g to the Committee.
Terre were lines of care and pain in the faces of same
that marked not merely want, but the nioral straights
which they had endured before they could come here to cone
fe-n P, and which brought tears to the eyes both if the
elvers end receivers. Toler such circumstances one
scarcely lakes even vaguely to allude to individual instances,
but the emotious cf a lady applicant whoso husband Is in
America at realleng that she was absolutely receiving money
like a beggar, and the est:dant reaction which the relief pro-
duced, was deeply touching. It had come too late to save her
baby, which was d3leg in the reurseta arms. In tome
Instances the position of the person relieved has been mach
as to make it desirable that the name should not linear amen
the books of the society. So damaging to a protessional
man, for instance, in a highly civilized state of 'tech
Is the fact that there was ever a moment in his life when
be hail not enough to eat. Al present 1,500 Prittch subjects
are beang kept from etarratian by this society, the appli-
cants being from 30 to 40 a day.

The Paris Crrrespon'eLt of the Daily Teigraph also
the notices the lady above referrtd to:—

IThis efternoon (Feb 718' I was present for two lieu-s at a
meeting of the Committee of the !latish Charitehle Fund,
comipoed of Mr Richaid Wallace, Mr. Alan llerbert, Dr.
Shrlmpton, lir Smythe, and Dr. Cormack The Fund has pro-
bably saved the lives of several hundreds of English people
th es September ; and Its members, c 'llectively and
Individually, deserve the highest praise which cm be
bout° wed on men who have thoroughly done their duty....
The Committee, convinced that there will be no more work
at present for Erglish people In ratio, wishes to send home
as many of Its destitute pensioners as It can frank ; but
there Ls not money eneugh to tie so Dr. Smythe It.. spent
all he yosseeses in the work. Mr. Wallace, betides his
morey gdts, has supplied the Fund with three ton/mita/since,
chocolate, and anger, besides arrowroot, sago, and potato
SAIL lie doss InCeed make a noble Use of be fortune; and
he Is not contett cliii giving—he con es to the Committee
and works there for hours at eves, sitting. I fel proud if
those flee nice, aint ot toy tile to call Mein my countrymen.
A proceaste n of applican.s passed before the Committee
while I was here; some, workmen without occupation, or
servants without places; some, seemingly governeues some,
beking like broken-down ladies and gentlemen, liut the
most striking of them all woe a pale, eistinguished-looking
young Frenchwoman, with wavy golden air. She was the
wise d an Englishman, who was In America when the war
broke out ; she has not onceiheard of her husbmd for six
months, end she hes gone threugh the weary siege-time alone
with her baby. She cams in with compreses d lips, withquieerieg
and reddened eyes, and au evatent effort to control herself stud
hide her humiliation. The members of the Committee rose,
and Dr. Sal the warmly proceed leer baud. She held nut her
food ticket for a renewal of sumslies, and then suddenly,
ith a halt eioked vie-hoe, rapidly said, "If I can get to
lielemm, with my child, I shall AM friends who will aid rote
can you pay the cost of in; journey I" This was a grave
question It Involved an expenditure of eigiity hems, and
tile funds In bend were too acuity to allow so large a gift to
one person. While the Committee were consulting
out the matter, the poor broken creators stood stilt,
looking at the fleor. Sbe was well Messed ; her
whole aspect spoke of haidte of ease, If not of hairy I
watched her with deep sympathy ; the muscles of her throat
were working Convulsively; her lips grew white with con-
traotion ; evidently she was undergoing the most desperate