The Portland daily press., 1866-03-20
Miscellany.
Can and Gould.

Can and Gould. ..II Il
Once upon time, Could went out to take
walk on wintry morning; ne was very
much out of spirits, and he was made more SO
By the necessity under which ne iound MN
self to be frequently repeating his own name.
sob, if 1 could" and ION that were rich
and great. for then could do so and So" fS
About the tenth time that he had said this,
Can opened the door of her small house and
set ont on an erranl. She went down back
street ard through poor neighborhood; she
was not at all a grand parsonage, not nearly
SO well dressed, or lodged, or educated as
Could; and, in fact, was altogether more hum
, BILE, both in her own esteem and that of 9TH
ers. She opened her door and weIt down the
street, neither sluntering moi looking about
her, for she was in hurry. 1900
An ON sudden, however, this busy little
Can stopped and picked up piece of orange
peel "a dangerous trick" she observed, "to
throw orange peel about, particularly in frosty
weather, and in such a crowded thorough
iare;" and she hustled on till she overlook
tribe OF little children who were scattering it
very freely; they had been been bargaining
Tor oranges at an open fruit stall, and wee
eating them as they went along.
u" Wen. it's little enough that have In my
power" thought Can, "but 1 certainly can
speak to these children, and try to persuade
them to leave off strewing orange peel"
Can stopped, "Thats a pretty baby that
you have in your arms" she SAID TO one OF
them, "how old il hep -ile
"Ha's fourteen months DID," answered the
small nurse, "and he begins to walk; teach
him, he's my brother" .5e
.Poor little fellow" said Can, 81 hope YOU
are kind to him; you know if you were to let
him tail he might never be able to walk any
more"
II never let him Drop" replied the child, 81
always take care of my baby.o
And so do l !" "And SO do II repeated
other shrill voices, and two more babies were
thrust up for Cans inspection. tse sFi
3 Dut II you were to slip down yourselves
on this hard pavement, you would be hurt,
ana the baby would be hurt in your arms
Loo1l how can you be so careless as to throw
al TINS peel about; don't you know how slip
perry it is2"
@ e :ws always fling ii down." said one. 4 76
And never slipped down but once on a
piece" remarked another.
"But was not that once too often?"
,"Yes; grazed my arm very badly, and
broke cup was carrying"
swell, now suppose you pick up all the peel
yon can find; and tnen go down the streets
round about and see how much you can get
and to the one who fnds most, when come
back shall give penny" $3.50 ,.i-i-f. III
So, after making the children promise they
would never commit this fault again, Can
went on; and it is remarkable circumstance,
that Just at that very moment, as Could was
walking in quite different part Of London,
he also came 10 piece of orange peel which
was lying across his path. 80. - ~
WHAT shamep he said, as he passed on;
what a disgrace it Is to the city authorities
that this practice of sowing seed, which
springs up into broken benes cannot be made
punishable offence; there Is never a winter
that one or more accidents does not arise
from it'll Ii could only put it down, how
glad should bel II, for instance, could Of
fer bride to people to abstain from it; or ii 1
cou,d warn or punish; or If could be placed
In position to legislate for the suppression
of this and similar habits. But alas! my
wishes rise far above my powers; my philan-
thropic aspirations can lind no" s1iflol3
By your leave" said a tall, strong man,
with heavy coal sack on his shoulders.
Could, stepping aside, permitted the coal
porter to pass him. eyes," he Continued. tax
ing up his soliloquy where it had been inter
rupted, "it is strange that so many anxious
wishes for the welfare of his species should be
implanted in the breast of man, who has no
means of gratifying them" .',...-o nm
The noise OF a laundering fall, and the
rushing down as of great shower of stones,
made Could turn hastily round. Several peo-
pie were running together, They stopped over
something on the ground it was the porter;
he had fallen on the pavement, and the coal
lay in heaps about his head; some people
were clearing them away, others were trying
to raise him. Could advanced and saw that
the man was stunned, for he looked about
him with bewildered expression, and talked
incoherently. Could also observed that
piece of orange peel was adhering to the sole
Of bis shoe. -, ~. ~ /
SLOW sad p'i said Could; now. here is the
bitter result of this abuse. If had been in
authority could nave prevented this; how it
clafes the spirit to perceive and be powerless. i
Poor fellow! he is evidently stunned, and has
broken limb-he 10 famed, perhaps, for life.
I'd People are certainty very active and kind on
these occasions; they seem preparing to take
nim to the hospital. Such an accident as
this Is enough to make man wish he could
be king or lawgiver. WHAT the poet says
may be true enough: -
"Of all the ills that human kind endure, /
. Small is that part which laws can curse or cure.n
And yet think / could have framed such
law that this poor fellow might now have been
going about his work, instead Of being carried
to iangulsh for weeks on a sick-bed, while his
poor family are half-starved, and must receive
him at last, peevish, broken-spiritcd cripple.
burden for life, instead of support; and ali
because OF pitiful piece OF scattered orange
peel b. s-ai..a- esaa III III II IL
got into an omnibus, and soon found himself |
drawing near one of the suburbs of London. |
turning and winding among rows of new
houses with heaps of bricks before them. and |
the smell OF mortar In their neighborhoon !
then among railway excavations and emoadk- |
mentS, and at last among neat villas and cot |
taseS standing in gardens, with here and there |
fied behind them. Presently they passed |
large building, and Could read upon its front |
"Ipmn0rafU for ID.
ticnts." IAN excellent institution" he thought |
10 himself; here poor woman can have a |
few weeks of good air, good nursing, good |
food, and the best things possible ( or setting |
them up, at least for time. have often |
thou yht that these remedial institutions do |
more good, on the whole, than mere hospitals;
and III Icoild afford it, would ratherbe the |
founder of them than of places with more
ambitious aims and names. 1t is sad to think
how much consumption Is on the increase
among the poor; bad air, and the heated
places where SO many work, give these wintry
blasts terrible power over them. But it is
my lot to sigh over their troubles without be-
ing able to soften them. A small competence.
q liked income, which does no more than pro-
vide for my wants, and procure those simple
comforts and relaxations which are necessary
to me, is of all things least favorable for the
realizing of my aspirations. cannot CRAFTY
my benevolent wishes, though their constant
presence shows how willingly would if I
could. ~. /
The omnibus stopped, and a man, in clean
working clothes, inquired whether there was
an inside place. -44e ~ s1aI
NO, there is not one" said the conductor,
ana ne looked in; most of the passengers were
would any gentleman like to 60 outside ?"
Like! tnought Could, with laugh awho |
Would iKe IN such wind as this, so searching
and wild? Thank Heaven, 1 never take cold:
put don't want blast like this to air the
lining OF my paletot, make myself acouainted
with the pattern of my handkerchief and
chill the very shillings in my waistcoat mock
ct" pooA-