New-York daily tribune., 1843-08-01

particle of small change IN my pocket, OF L be-
lievc should have given her something to have
/. sent her away. She first plead with me- and Of
course did not believe me when | told her had
no small money. She then folded her little arms
and prayed for me TO the Madonna, and all the
time running at the top of her speed Not sue
ceeding in this, she heaped on Inc all the titles of
nobility and epithets Of praise she could com
n,and. The fair trial Of each occupied some
time, and when they all failed and she was fairly
tired out, she stopped, and with most vlainous
look, called me Jluckguard.
A man always has change, and you would
smile to see me sometimes making change with
beggar. He will be sure to have not quite
enough to give YOU back what you demand-but
if begin l always insist on the last fraction ex-
cept the single penny promised. The first time
a beggar offered to make change for me amused
me exceedingly. / shall never forget a little
urchn | saw at Postum He was seven Or eight
years old, / should think, and had nothing on but
IN old ragged shirt, and still older brown hat,
/ that came down to. his shoulders and tapped its
broad brim around his neck. He had plump,
but sallow, sckly face, over which smile never
played. l told him had no small money, that
] had given it all away. he did not believe me,
AID logging my footsteps with an Importantly
had ,.;ver witnessed, plead in low, plaintivc
much lha' 1 finally turned upon him with my
cane and tod him | would fog hun if he did not
leave me. This only increased his distance from
me without rhecking his importantly. The car
rage not beng quite ready, thought would
walk on. The little scapcgracc followed me, and
when again | turned and told him had no grani,
he said he would go and change it for me, point
ing to group Of pcdars that had pitched their
tents like Arabs OH the plain, and were trading
with the people from the mountain, who thus
come down once week TO exchange their COM
modtics for others | dared not trust the fellow,
though from what l have since seen, am con-
vinced he would have brought me back the money.
vailed on, with the naked, shivcring child be-
hind me, till came to the outer wall of the CITY,
where few stones were still cltto tell its course,
and sat down to wait for the carriage. The little
fellow came on, and stopped as stopped. |
told me falschoods. He said no have no
father or mother. They arc both dead-thcy
died of the Malaria, and have nothing to cat"
Tired of standing, he found stone that fairly
faced me, and sitting down upon it, deliberately
crossed his bare legs, folded his arms, as if he
had no intention whatever Of leaving me, and
begged on This was regular sct-to, and |
looked on him with perfect astonishment. At
length the carriage drove up, and | asked my
friend for some coppcrs. He had none. Well,
said I, :" give him a caylinc." He tossed it to
him, but he never smiled, though he seized it like
"a hungry man food. He even forgot to thank
me till | asked him if he was not thankful, and
he said +" yes" with the same solemn, immovable
countenancc.
was once on an excursion with some friends
who were very anxious to impress on some dozen
bcggars or more who surrounded us at the hotel,
a good moral lesson. Among the ragged group
was little girl who o-ncver asked for aims, but
stood busily braidng straw. To this girl my
friends gave paul, but nothing 10 the others,
and then requested me TO tell them this was be-
cause she was industrious. did So and read
them quite lecture on the crime of idencss.-
They were astonished, and rose and told it to
their fellows, and one after another came and
looked on us in perfect amazemcnt. My friends
looked quite dignifed at the wholesome truth
they had nculcated by the very judicious distri-
button of their charities In the meantime [
had noticed the disappearance Of several of the
company, who now returned, one with stock
ing, which she was knitting most perseveringly,
another with bit of braided straw, all expecting
of course q reward for their industry. The les
son had taken effect quicker than my friends
expected, and they found it rather difficult to ex-
plain why they should not give as literally to the
latter as to the first | laughed heartily over the
experiment and turned away, convinced that
money was not the means through which truth
must be inculcatcd to beggar. And yet there
is an aspect in which these miserable creatures
deserve a tear rather than smile. False and
deceitful as most them are, they are not wholly
to blame. Their condition has made them what
they are, and others have made their condition
and kcepit SO. Robbed by faithless and selfish
government they are reduced to poverty and
then to bcggary. The shamccssness with which
they beg, shows how deep and almost hopeless is
their degradation. The language which they
use is often thrilling, and if spoken in good plain
English / never could resist. To have ragged
little girl come up to you and say in plaintive ac-
cents, 81 am miserable, am dying iorthe want
OF bread; oil, for the love of God, give me one
penny.m would unman you. But this is all said IN
Italian, and said so often, that you cease to no.
t;ea !. ,rhnrn iS no Gnnht that very many OF