The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-08-01

L turned, IN surprise, anu COLI
fronted our grocer, on whose steps 1
had sought shelter from the crowd,
which, at such n moment, could not
be expected to think much Of the
safety of woman.
Our grocer was Il portly man, with
a shining bald head, fringed bya ring
of white hair, like the tonsure of
Roman Catholic priest, and wearing,
at the moment, a Holland apron and
a short blue jachet.
"Ycs'm." he Nent 1on, s'I really
hope the miserable, starved-looling
crea1ufa get off,
: %, you don't believe he picked
i 80 gentleman pocket" said 1.
"I'm afraid its only too certain that
he did, ma'am, said the man, shak-
ing his head ''He looked straight at
me, as he passed, and he had hungry,
desperate eyes that looked like theft,
and murder, too, for that matter"
'tAnd yet, you wish him to escape,
when he has broken tho laws Of the
land, and will probably do so again?"
Good forbid that I should help to
break the laws" said the old grocer.
''Good men made them, and they
are right; but there are other laws
that l read in my old Bible Sunday
nights. that seem to be as binding.
One Of them is-'Do unto others as
you would that others should do unto
you;' and another, Love thy neigh
bor as thyself. When I remember
these words, I think that you may be
too hard with poor, sinful fellow
being, and not go beyond the limits
of the law either.
''That rich .rentleman who had his
pockets picked, will go home to q fine
dinner and bottle of wine, no
doubt, and the wretch of thief may
have crust of bread and q glass of
burning gin, if he can sell OF pawn
what he stole for enough to get them.
Somehow, if could, l wouldn't have
hunted him down tonight vow T
wouldn't
''Still, I don't blame those young
fellows; I'd have been as furious in
the chase as any of 'em years ago;
but I learnt lesson once that Inever
have forgotten, and hope 1 never
may. l was young man, and a
poor one then, and had hard strug-
gle to make my little shop keep my
little family. It was only by pinch
ing and saving, and keeping sharp
lookout for every bargain, that ma
naged it at all.
eve lived in a shabby street, and
had only very poor customers. A
loaf of bread, q quarter of pound of
butter, and two ounces Of black tea
was quite an order, and most of those
who came wanted trust
GAS for laying in fine fruit or vcge-
tables, I never thought of such folly.
Diamonds would have been rs saleable
in that part Of the city, where washer
women and the poorest men were the
aristocracy
''Now and then, when foreign
ship came to port with load Of
ruined pine-apples or decayed
oranges, [ bought lot of these, and
charging next to nothing, sold them
easily enough. Although, I own my
wife use to say the miserable babies,
who rolled about the cutters, died off
faster after every stock of damaged
foreign fruit I sold in the old shop,
and L am afraid that she was right.
Well, rs I told you, I struggled along
us best I might, and after q while
things began to improve, and Legan
to have visions of n clean store, on
good street, when laid down to rest
ut night.
$50, one day when I had been to
market, brought home half dozen
hams, and hung them up about the
door, more for show than anything
else, for ham was grand holiday dim
ncr in those regions, and not an every
day affair, can tell you. They went
off slowly, as thought they would.
Now and then some one would come
in for pound, and once / sold half
of the smallest one to 4 woman who
wanted it for her Sunday dinner.
She was to pay me on Monday morn
ing, but she never did, for on Sunday
night her husband killed her with
rum bottle, and they took her body
past my shop with its poor head
beaten out of shape and bloody.
s'And so the hams hung there
through the summer and through the
fall, and quite on into the winter.
''lt was just as the December
nights began to grow long and dark
and cold, that noticed new police
man on our beat-a young, hand
some C-lOOking fellow. with yery brirht