New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-06-13
SHADOWS OF OUR SOCIAL SYSTEM. II
THE LITTLE CANDY-GIRL.


Of one Of the worst streets in the City.
she smiled and nodded under her little, faded
hood, and then breathed a very faint " Yes am"
from two Of the prettiest Of red lips.
But does not your mother help you"
"Sometimes"
g. ell. how much is this stick OF candy"
a cent"
"And this -"
1.-TWO cents"
"And this apple ?"
"Two cents"
How many cents viii that be, little one :"
She counted them over on her small fingers
Give cents ma am" she answered at last with a
glorious smile, and quick, pleased nod that said,
~ know I'm right"
"You are nice little csndy-merchant," l said;
but she seemed greatly to appreciate the compl-
ment. Her face shrank away into the shadow.
sometimes it rains out here, she answered sim
ply, shivering as she spoke.
"1Een you feel cold, suppose ~
One more nod of the head, and faint twinkle of
rogush eye. The child puzzled me. | was half
afraid she acting; for she drew her scanty shawl
about her, and sank down on the pavement-!ooking
SO weary and patient and thoughtful How it freezes
up the heart to feel suspicious of those about u.s.
and especially to inistrust little child like this yet
did mistrust her-id try TO look through those blue
eyes to see if oil sincere within The eyes fell be-
meath this searching gaze and the child stood up
again at the applc-stand with kind of offended,
womanly dignity.
There is q miserable old woman here in New-YOrk
who lives by teaching cunning and duphcity to little
girls like this, and thrves wonderfully upon the
profits of their thefts and beggaries. 1t is new
version of the Artful Dodger, his infamous master
the old Jew and his pickpockets, translated
into the feminine, but no. at all improved by the pro-
cess This old woman sends her girls to the schools;
and, when they find bright, smart children just fit
for her purpose they coa1ed to play ruant, and
invited to her house, taught to steal adroty, and
initiated into the mysteries of villany in general
A quiet nice-looking child is sent into the cars
lust before the train leaves the depot. She takes
seat by a lady, aud acts prettily and pleasantly
enough to gain confdence-adaptlng herself nicely
TO the shades of character with which she has to
deal Her short dress is thrown care!essly over the
ladys the little hand is slipped gently under it into
the lady pocket the portemonnaie is shed up skill
fully from the depths below-so, ALSO it may be,
pocket-handkerchief and sundry etceeras-and trans
ferred easily to her own. Then the child springs up,
perhaps with some childish excuse for running out OF
the cars or else in the modest genteel manner OF
little lady she tiptoes quietly into the depot, then
rushes out and lost in the melee of persons in the
street When the conductor comes round, the lady
finds she has lost her portemonnaie.
So these little girl-thieves are in our own stages,
on our sidewalks and everywhere among the people,
with their light fingers ready to beg or borrow as
the case demands Could this little apple-gir be one
of these No; would not, will not believe it, but
had suspected her. and she felt it, so talked till the
| kaol, har "a md veal Dok
up trustingy into mine.
God keen us from searching after evil in every hu-
| man heart Better cover it up charitaby, and let
the good grow it till it is smothered IN Its con-
cealnent Violets and daisies and blue forgetme-
nots spring up often from the very Seart OF decay
but if you let them bloom there, they will scatter
seed enough to spread rich covering OF beauty over
everything around them. So it is in human life
find few who are all good and any who are al
bad.
On the opposite corner of the street an apple
| woman crouchng upon the pavement, waiting Tor
customers greeted me with smile as passed.. She
had seen me talking with the child; and there were
thanks and CLEAN of motherly pride in her eye as
il glanced across the street. So | went my way,
building nice romance out of this little incident
The woman was the child mother; she had an in
valid husband too i'll 10 work, and older girl who
minded the baby and took care Of her sick father
while their little one was brought here t. be under
the eve of her mother and help earn bresdfor siIe
loved ones at home" Many passer-by would stop
and buy something from the stand because of that
sweet childs face
AT any rate it was o pleasant fancy, and quite az
likely to be true anything else - am bound to
believe it as long as live.
| Not only now, when the sun shines chcerily upon
the Spring buds but weeks ago, when tho wind bit
enerly, like the serpent and the lingering cold, as II
| determined upon being omniprosent AMI insatate,
stung every wayfarer Ike spitefu adder-the candy
merchants made a distinct feature of New-fork life.
In this department Of the mercantile profession,
women are ever the successful competitors Of men,
and when ladies tenderly wrapped in cloaks aud
furs and old roaen shriveled tOoless and dm-eyei,
sat collapsed on Sidewalks great muscular danes,
with faces wreatsed in smiles Of acid and NORWOOD,
crouched down upon their numb feet to give Thorn
warmth: pale matrons thin and sorrowful staring
piteously with their big eyes at every passer-by,
perched shiyeringly upon boxes; and stout young
girls with fat red faces set up fonts and booths Of old
crates and dowdyish shawls to hide in away from the
wind; every one of them, because cOarsey or thnly
clad. lecitimately entitled to stand in the public
streets Of this great metropolis Of the Western World
So womanhood is ideali-ed into the third heaven Of
Fifth-avenue parlors as super-mascune and angelic
and acua=ed here on earth and the stone pavements
of dirty streets our most prosperous and patron
lied "out-of-doors' merchants " Lndy-pnerchGRts"
out on the sidewalks rent free They even do bust
ness in Walst. and nobody complains that It liz I'M
feminine
Our poor little candy-yir-f her future is hung