The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1875-01-13

WEDNESDAY. JAN. Is. 1875.
OUR SATURDAY NIGHT.


4VulSnt the colo WIND fairly
howled in anger as it whirled,
danced and rushed through the
streets, around corners, into the
alleys, and searching into all the
sly little hooks and hiding places
where shivering humanity might
be tempted to take refuge from
the frost laden blasts. Can it be
that wintry winds have spite
against the poor? Else why do
they punish them more than the
rich?
Passing out from the Office to
hasten home to the comforts there
in waiting, we walked along behind
a middle aged man, who seemed in
hurry to reach his destination.
He was comfortably but not richly
clad. His coat was drawn and
buttoned tightly about the body,
while . slouched hat was pulled
well down over his forehead, to
shelter his face from the cutting,
piercing wind of late December.
Turning into a street from
Broadway, not far from The City
Hall, the men who preceded us was
approached by q poor, pale, ragged,
shivering little boy, whose form
shivered and teeth ratified like
castanets, as he asked
please sir, will you buy one of
these paperss I am SO cold and
hungry"
The little fellow did not ask for
aims. His manly department in
extreme suffering slammed regi-
ment of great big, whining men,
who go about begging for food,
clothes and drink to appease their
infamed appetites. The man with
a slouched hat stopded at once, and
we listened to the following con-
versation:
"Have you sold no papers to-
day."
mo, sir
why notf'
II do not know, sir, unless it's
because there is no news"
"You have but two lefta"
THAT is all I had, sir. I got
these of little girl who was sell
ling, and I am to pay for them
when I sell them"
How much are they"
Give cents each, sir. I am so
cold and hungry. Please buy one,
SO I can go and get cup of tea
Then I will sell the other and pay
the girl"
Here is ten cents for the two
papers. Keep the papers and sell
them again; but first come with
me to restaurant and have some
thing to eat
The man and the boy, not more
than eight years of age, trudged
along together till they soon came
to a restaurant where many tempting
pieces of meat, quail, chickens and
fat turkeys were displayed in the
window. Here the boy was given
a good supper by the man who
invited him, and who thus sent q
portion of his Saturday Night pay
direct to God, or for investment
with the One who on earth said,
Suffer little children to come unto
Me" and was full of living sym
pathy for the poor.
It was a picture of life-of life
in a city-and we were interested.
The man evidently was one who
labors for his living, but there
was look on his face, a magnetic
flow from his heart, a delicacy of
suggestion and utterance of kind
words that told us that his spring
was fed with the water of life. He
chatted with the poor orphan-for
such he was He babe him cheer
up, and told of a change soon to
come, when the air will resound
with the music of birds, and when
the cold winter will have sped on
its way to lay the frozen souls it
has picked up, on the other shore
of the river which runs in the
sunshine by the edge of the beau
tiful gardens where all the lost and
the abused ones of earth are wash
ed, dressed, fed, taught and cared
for by the followers of the Lamb.
After supper the man and the
boy went out on the street together
to find the newsboys lodging house,
and We walked on. thinking of what
we had heard and witnessed.
For three hours this little mer-
chant had stood on the cold streets,
or run hither and yon, endeavoring
to sell two afternoon newspapers,
that from the penny profits of the
sale he might make a start and buy
rather than beg food. He had
been pushed and jostled this way
and that, but had not despaired,
although nearly frozen. OF the
thousands and thousands who had
passed, not one had thought of or
spoken kindly to the brave little
boy, till there came along the
workingman in his slouched hat, on
whose heart hearth the embers of
sympathy for the distressed were
blazing warm and grateful Those
who had fastened by, in all prob
ability, thought not of the poor
little boy with freezing hands and
feet. He was such little lad.
His voice was not loud-he was
weak in all save that wondrous
courage which is born of God, but
we'll nigh discouraged, as all his
we'll spoken appeals we're unnoticed
or not responded to. OF those
who passed him by, some we're rich
and some were poor. Some OF
them could have given dollars and
not felt the loss-Others were in