, 1844-02-03

III ~ ohNh~AA
in New York, is extracted from q
letter OF Mrs. Child TO the Boston
Courier:
A friend Of mine whe has no money
to spend for Jewels, or silks. or cvon
antique vases. has employed his
Christmas more wisely than this; and
in his action there is more angelic
music. than in those divine old stat
utes. He filled a large basket full Of
cakes, and went forth into our o
miserable streets, 10 distribute them
among hungry children. How little
dirty faces peeped after HIM. round
street corners, and laughed from be-
hind open gates! How their eyes
sparkIed as they led along some sllv-
ering b.re-footed u~rclin, and cried
out, "This little boy has had no cake.
sirr" Sometimes a greedy lad would
get two shares by false pTetences;
but this was no conclusive proof of
total depravi,v, in children who new
er ate a cake from Christmas TO Christ
mas. No wonder the stranger VITA
his basket excited 4 proiigIous ensa-
ton. Mothers came to see who il
was that had been 81 kind 10 their
little ones. Every n had a story
10 tell OF health ruined by hard work.
OF sickIv children. or drunken hus-
bands. 1t was 4 genuine outpourinE
of hearts. An honest son Of tie I'm
erald Isle stood by, rubbing his head.
and exclaimed, did my eyes ever
see The like o that? 4 gentleman
giving cakes TO folks he don't know,
and never taking I Bit o money for
the same
Alas. eighteen centuries ago that
chorus Of good will was sung, and
vet so simple an act Of sym~PatLising
kindness astoniShrS the Poor,
In the course Of his Christmas ram
hes my friend entered a house occu-
pied 10y fifteen families. In the cor
ner of enc room, on Il heap of rags lay
a woman with n babe three days old.
without food or fire. la another We
~ small apartment was an aged.
weather-bea;cn woman. She point
e 10 al old basket Of pins and tape.
as she sad. For sixteen years |
have carried thai basket on my arm
through the streets of New York, and
often have | come home with weary
feet, without money enough TO buy
nv supper. But we must always
pay our rent in advance, whether We
have a loaf Of bread TO eat or not"
Seeing her bed without clothing. her
visiter inquired how she slept. "Oh.
the house is very leaky. Tie wind
whistles through ard through. and
the rain ani snow come driving in.
When any of us are SICK. ar the
weather is extra cold, We lend our
bedding. and come nf u< sit up while
other. get = nap As size spoke, 4
ragged little gIti came in 10 s7y.-
"Mammy wants 10 know whether
Ven will lend her vour fork?" $40 he
snre. vii, doar," she replied, in tie
heartieSi to.e Imaginable. She
would have been less generous had
her fork been a silver =. Her Wis
tier smiled as he said, II suppose you
borrow yOurne'ghbor's knife in return
for yorr forkf' "Oh YES" she re-
piled; land she IS as willing to lend
as am. We poor folks must help
n another. II is all the comfort
we have" Tie kind hearted crea-
lure did not know, perhaps, that it
was precisely such comfort as the an
gels have in Heaven; only theirs is
without the drawback of physical
suffering and limited ear
| have said that these families.
owning a knife and fork between
them. and leaning their bedciothcs
after a day of toll. were always com
PEELED TO pay their rent in advance.
Upon adding together the sums paid
by each, for accommodations so
w~retched, it was found that the in
come from this diIapidated building,
in a filthy and crowded street, was
greater than the rent ofmanvaprince-
ly mansion in Broadway. This mode
Of expressing the poor is a crying sin
in u city. A benevolent rich man
could not make 4 better investment
of capital than to build tenements
for the laboring class, and let them on
reasonable terms.
Polly Bodine.-This woman's per-
sonal appearance is given in a New