The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1874-11-25

New YoRK, November, 90, 1874.
ONE SWEET CHARITY.

y ONE SWEET
The mild weather which holds so
late into the season is of great bene-
ft to the poor, who have some weeks
} logger to save the hard-earned dol
lars nee ssary for fuel and clothing.
I Relief societies are taking hold OF
the wsfkin time. Perhaps one OF
the ~p.easantest sights in the city, to
5 an eve which looks beyond the sur
face of things, is the meeting TO sew
for the poor, held every Thursday
: afternoon at the rooms of St. Johns
. Guild. which | have before mention
5 ed as one of the kindest, most active,
and truly Christian charities in the
, city. At these rooms, once a week,
ladies Of every circle in society meet
to make up clothes for winter, which
the poorest of the poor are Tot able
to make for themselves. For instance,
there are many women who support
small children by going out at days
work. aud who can barely pull togeth-
er enough TO keep a roof over their
heads and coarse food in their mouths
by shaving curly and late, and how
can such find time to make up clothes
as they could not afford to buy with
out literally going sleepless! Care
worn mothers vino find the sewing
and providing for their families an
overtask for hand and brain, may
consider what they would do if, in
addition to this, they were obliged to
earn all the groceries, the house-rent,
and candle ends from week to week.
Th.v will knew what a blessed help
is devised for the poor, when the
Roosevelts and the Livingstons come
down with their gold thimbles, IN
company with other unoccupled
Young ladies under sixty, of differ
ent parishes, who, half out of novelty /
and half from thorough good will,
desert the park and promenade to !
sew on gray flannel and, "%unbleach-
ed" and calico, in true norcas fashion.
Done by such careful hands, the sew
ing is of the neatest order, | assure
you, and young ladies who scorn
plain sewing for, their practising" !
and German lessons, might be put to |
blush by the exquisite neatness of the I
commonest work done by women I
whose wealth and position are such y
as never to require them to touch a /
needle for themselves. If there are a
women of leisure who, reading this, S
would like to help in such work, | c
would remind them that there may II
be cases close about them where such T
skill would not be undervalued. But P
if the sister-in-law with poor health, a
aud the minister's wife, and the neu- C
ralgic neighbor across the way are ?
provided for in this respect, nothing q
is easier than to make up plain, sub t
stantial clothing for children of differ a
eht ages, and send each garment, q
closely tied in paper, through the Q
mail, at an expense of not over TWEEN c
ty-fve cents a package. to any relief q
society in New York. c
THE MAIL PACKAGE BUSINESS. 7
By the way, this business Of sen. =
ding packages by mail instead of ex- J
press is coming rapidly into favor. \
The dealers in this city pay special q
attention to sending orders in this !
wav and A. 7. Stewart Il Co. tell b
this branch of their business o
sprang in . month to $4,000, and a
goes on with rapidity, which is sur t
prising and delightful. A silk dress a
pattern was sent from this city to !
San Francisco, by mail, for fifty cents, b
which would have cost FIVE dollars v
by EXPRESS. Families out West, Ii
Who long to avail themselves of the I
advantages of the city in shopping, u
should bear this in mind. The rate s
for sending packages exacted by our v
paternal government is only D cent r
for each two ounces, and the firm r
above named say they never yet lost n
ANYTHING sent in this way. | know D
of a lady who proposes to keep her L
friends out West supplied with fresh c
oranges and the best OF coffee by S
mail. II
There is something 10 this, as all a
who have tried to find nice groceries v
in small country places will bear wit II
ness. A great deal Of fun has been G.
made of Mr.. John Ruskin, the cele- U
brated English writer on Art, for set G
ting up a pensioner of his in a shop, .
and sending out advertisements Of it
with copies of his last new book TO
let the poor know where they can
get pure tea and coffee. | wish some \
Of our reformers and Missionaries had n
the sense to undertake anything as "
practically good. b
STRIKES. !"