The Whig standard. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1843-1844, 1844-01-24
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NUMBER 6s

among hungry children. How litle dirty faces
peeped after him, round street corners, and
laughed from behind open gates! How yhe1Y
eyes sparkled as they led along aone lshiaering
harefooted ufchin, and cried OUT, = This little
boy has bad no cake, six y Sometimes = greedy.
lad would get two shares by false pretences but
this was no conclusive proof Of total dspravity,
to Christmas. No wonder the stranger tithi his
basket excited . prodicious sensation. Mothers
came to see who it was that had been 20 kind 70
their little ones. Every one had story 70 tell
Of health ruined by hard work, Of sicky children
or drunken husbands. r. was genuine Outpotr-
ing Of hearts, An honest son Of the 6Emsraid
Isle stood by rubbing his head, and exclaimed,
" Did my eyes ever see the like @ that! gen,
tleman giving cake to folks he don't know, anu
never taking bit O money for the same !"
Alas, eighteen centuries ago, that ch0fds sof
good will was sung, and yet 80 simple an xetsof
sympathizing kindness astonishes the poor Il
In the course of his Christmas rambIes my
friend entered a house occupied BY fifteen hfhi.
lies. In the corner Of one room, on 'heaP of
rags, lay woman with baby three days old
without food or fire. In another very small aRaSt-
ment was an aged, weather beaten woman: She
pointed to an old basket Of pins and tape, as
She She said, !. For sixteen years I have carried
that basket on my arm through the stTeets of
New York; and often have come home with
weary feet, without money enough to. buy my
supper. But we must always pay our rent 10
advance, whether we have a loaf Of bread to est
or not.n Seeing the bed without clothing, her
visitor inquired how she slept. !" Oh, the house
is very leaky. The wind whistles through and
through, and the rain and snow come driving IN.
When any Of US are sick, or the weather n extra
cold, we lend our bedding, and some OF u sit up
while others get nap a4i ao a5 bsiiesl s5sa
As she spoke, ragged little girl came IN t to
say, 9 Nanny wants to know whether You Will
lend her your fork 90 !" To be sure, will,
she replied, in the heartiest tone Imaginable. She
would have been less generous had her fork been
silver one. Her visitor smiled a she SAID
suppose you borrow your neighbor,S Knife, 10 r.
turn for your fork I" IN yes, ~ repkias
g and she is as willing 70 lend - / am Wa tOor'
folks must help one another. II i Al tn epmfrt
we have" The kind-hearted creature did not
know, perhaps, that il was precisely such conf
fort az the angels have in Heaven: only THEREIN
without the drawback Of physical suffering and
limited means 5t;,Iaf III las s5snsg
have said that these families, owning knife
and fork between them, and loaning their. bed
clothes after day Of toll, were always compelled
to pay their rent in advance. Upon sSdlSe to-
gether the sums paid by each. for accommodations
SO wretched, it was found that the income from
this dilapdated building, ia filthy and crowded
street, was greater than the rent Of many aptnce
ly mansion in Broadway. This mode ofcppsess-
ing the poor is crying sin in our city.o henev-t
client rich man could not make q better invest.
ment of capital than to build tenements for the
laboring clase, and let them on reasonable terms.