The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1848-10-26
DAILY CRESCENT.
.ITbe Blind Beggar of Charities sueet.o

THE Blind Beggar of Charities Street"
A rare old mendicantis the blind heggar OF Char
tres There is a romance in his history and SER
mon in his very aspect. He has outhyed the lease
of life allotted to man, and from indications, Is
struggling to hold over another term. With ms
long white hair streaming in the wind, he looks the
resurrection of a forgotten age. He has survived his
generation and as new born child, he lives and
moves with community OF strangers. a nohu-
ment of past age, the representative OF a lapsed
antiquity-hs summer-day friends have fallen from
him. as falls the leaves from riven and blasted oak
Aged decriped blind, forgotten of Fortune, and
forsaken of his fellows, he speeds onward to the
tomb; a very hermit in a social solitude.
You may see him on any fine sunny morning, on
the corner of Chartres and CuStomhouse streets,
and spectacle he is TO move the most callous heart
Totterng under the weight Of eighty winters, and
bowed down I1v the manifold crosses that ailllct
humanity, what better recipient than he for the
OverilOWings of a generous phllanthrophy! gu
may know him by the above partial description, by
his dmunitive size, his squallid Indebtedness OF
aspect, and small tin cup which he holds IN his
extended hand to receive the little gIdtuItes dOled
out by the cold hand of charity
A rare old mendicant is this blind beggar motion
less as a statue and mute as the grave he appeals
to your generosity not by signs or gestures, or heart
moving accents, but with the vOiCeless eloquence
of woe. Nor pleads he altogether in vain, the bhnd
old man. The hearts of the passeTs-by are melted,
and they contribute to the store OF the sorrow
stricken one, and with no nggard charity The
small peCes Of silver are prOtuselV bestowed, and
YOU may know by the light that flashes across his
| wan visage, that the rattle of the coin Is most
! eloquent music " TO the sightess old mendcant
Anon, wag who is no stranger to the dlsconsoate
| one. strOlls past and asks hlm for the loan oil
| fye," or drops a button, a qmd OF tobacco, or
| cigar stump into the cupof the seeker of aims. The
old man thinks it perhaps another addition to his
| hoard of small coin, peradVenture bank noie,
! bestowed by some g good Samaritan more tender
hearted than wise He seiZes the expected treasure
! with a cOnVulsiVe grasp flash OF eXtauc Joy
lights up his furrowed and marble features, and he
g grins horribly CHASTITY smile close scrutiny
with his sensitive digiIs deVeiOpes the fraud, and
the sunshine of delight passes from his face; but as
4" suffering is the badge OF his tribe, he makes no
complaint low moan is the only rebuke he passes
! on the hearess deception, and he resumes his
| w0nted immObllity of feature And the Wag stroIls
on triumphant rejoicing in the trick. But not alto
gefher heartless nor void Of humanity IS the trick
! PLAYING wag. He knows the blind beggar Of Char-
! tres that he is a rare old mendIcant! lie mas
watched his steps for months past; and with
sagaciOus forecast of the reality, has threaded the
devious track TO his abiding place. and unravelled
the cherished secrets Of his mysterious dwelling.
But what has this to do with the iOrlOrn conditioner
the old mendican! He is not the less old nor pity
moving in his aspect, maugre the knowledge or the
pryng curiosity Of the tricky nquisitIve wag. The
| scene changes As the sun wheels past the zenith,
the old mendicant's strength will no longer sustain
him. and as sinks the sun III the west, so SINKS Inc
| vitality of the weak old man, and he must seek ms
repose With slow and devious pace he drags him
! self hOmeward and many word o. pity and con;
doleuCe greeIs him as he passes on ms way arrived
at Bourbon street. he turns the corner, and Suddenly
! as if by the touch of some mysterious, healing
agency his step acquires au unwonted quIckness
and elasticity he seems reluvenated and refreshed,
and he bounds forward with the snews OF youth.
His football is soon lost to the listening ear, and he
is soon beyond the reach of surveillance.
The shifting scene conducts us TO a gloomy and
antique dwelling in the g Faubourg IRENE" 1t is
a singular structure its massive and mOss-covered
walls, its tiled roof, and narrow and grated WIN
dows, discourse of bye-gOne times, and betoken It's
ancient origin. Within that blackened structure,
in its damp vaults and gloomy chambers, the eye OF
the curious finds much to dwell upon, and the lover
of antiquity may CLEAN, for his pastime, leaflets Of
memory from the hoary past There Is room IN
that old tenement furnished and fashioned alter an
antique mode. On the walls are quaint pictures
in the style and costume of forgotten tlmes-they
are the progenitOrs of the now incumbent-the
q" counterfeit presentment of defunct ancestry
| At a table covered with pr0fusion OF smoking
dishes and rosy wines, sits well-dressed Old man
| and near him a woman. His long white locks and
| wrnkled yisage betOkened him of past genera
ton. But time has dealt gently with him, and he
combines the ripeness of age with the appetite ane
| yjgor of youth. The rich Viands before him minis
ter to his appetite, and the red wine flows qnspar
ngly. A happy pair are they, that grey old maj
| and the woman by his side-and rich in worldly
GEAR. thew hask in the sunlight of fortune.
q We will weep no more today" saith the ol'
man 4" this nigh we devote to bachanalian revels
the tears we shed the morn must be wiped away
and in their stead we will shed the joyous blood 0
tbe vine Our vitality has been wasted and Ou
youth withered by the fiery cup letus drink, then
to safety tonight, and steep our souls in Lethe
Let the fiery cup restore for time the wasted vital
ty and withered youth Of the weak and old. AM
the hoary old man qnafls his rosy wine--the tear
of the morn are wiped away, and the blood OF tn
vine is profusely shed and who is The mysteriou
old man and his nameless mate The woman /
the welded mistress Of the bleak old mansion, an
the hoarv male with the rich viands and the spark
ling wine before him, is the blind beggar of Charities
NelD Orleans Sun Of Temperance.