, 1875-03-14

10 ed, and, mounting h,s seat. drove south on Gar
r. street. -
No doubt, We creatures in the bottom of Il
;. wagon presented cDnous specrao'o to toe ras
f. er-by, rs everybody we met tarred to look at U
n There WAS tho old woman sitting in froutr Al
gazing lmpe1turba'ty IN the distance the thr
men crowded togo; her in the back and on tt
OF them, over all he1p OF ragged bunalo fope
., showing only our hcaJs. No douos the spec1
= Gle waB ludicrons for people almost ingdr!ao
+ laughed. and sono Of them mads 1ocu!Ar =
u MARKS. One would say
4, - "A uice-!ooAing lot Of c'ttzena.
d Theu be would laugh. Another would Say:
,'1An ugly-looking ae:-"
0 Then Le, TOO, voull l,ugh.
i These criticisms, # will b remarked, we're to
t decidedly different effect, and yet both create
"A ApotLer @ pecuiiarity observed WAS, that thos
G who were 1oudest in their expressions OF scor
were the poorest clad. The commentary is ss'
. Ne }olted down Canal street as far as Adams
4 where ne turned west, and stopped at No. 70
| Tho driver coudescendcd to inform us that
=. ~$ "A s1CK WOMAN
sas there whom ne Nere to take on board. HI
theu got down from his perch, and, ascendi11}
| ihe steps, knocked at the door. House No. 7:
WAS patn flame two-story building, patnteo
brown, such as are very common on the Wes
Side. Its appearance was respectable, though
not elegant. The most skilled ii the physiogno-
my OF houses would pronounce its occupants
moderately we!l-to. o.do-certainly far above pov-
eTty. Tho question instantly arose in my mind !:
suoh pleasant surroundings as these to the Cook
County Poor-Houee2 Doubtless she is some
poor old creature to whom tue people OF tbs
house hare kin liz given sholter for few days,
but whom they canoot give permanent home.
Or. perhaps, che rs servant,-thoush It is not
likely that people would ool>sign faithful old
domestic to tho cold chart es OF q poor-house.
Ny reycrie waR broken III upon by tho voice Of
the driver, who appeared at the door, aud ssld ::
"come hore, two 1t you men, and help carry
] out tho tick woman- You youug feiler, you
| come !"
| Ws shook the robes of from us, and got out
! OF tue wagon. At tbs sano moment q stout
we1l-tfressed man, with q grizzly beard. came to
! the door and bccIoncd ua to come in. He was
! eyidentlv the master OF tho house. In tho hall
We found very large and very old woman,
weighing ut least 200 pounds, and aged about 80
years. She was seated in chair, and was ur1-
able to move. sho eEidenttv did not com2re-
bend what WIS going on. but sat with her head
bent forward, occasionally groaning in q very
weak aud sad voice.
Now, then. you youne feller, and you other
one, tale hold Of her ioet."
Wo did as directed. the driver and tho man
with tue grizzly beard lifted tbs chair and We
carried the poor old dying creature thus out to
the wagon 4 crowd of gaping schoolboys and
ne1ghboss stood around. One Of the boys look
ed at me- very Sharply and said:
IL DON'T believe you are sick You don't look
30 biz" Which shows that childten's nit ia
wiser than mnny mems penetration.
Arriving at toe wagon it was question how to
get cur burden into it,-she was so bulky, and
wlthal SO Bcx. Finally the dc1vcr climbed into
tie wagon, and said:
"Heave away, now, and we'll fetch her,
We heayea.-that is, the 2zlg-hearded man
anl We two paupers. In the immense muscular
oSertion pIoprieties could not ba observeI and
tue old lady's legs wore ruthlessy exposed to The
jeerinG crowd J: Meanwhile ncattY-dressed
lady stood near and carelezsiy looked on. At
last tbs old woman Was dragged noc4 and heels
into the wagon, where she lay an unconscious
heap. Tee ne ne1t1y-dressed lady then approached
and said, With m attempted kindness in her
tone:
WE'LL, doop-DYE MOTHER!
You'll find things al! nee aad comfortable cut
thero, and we'll come and sec you often. won't
we husoand ?"
''Oh Yes, OF course" replied tho grizzly
bearded man, impatiently. and added, "Good-
bye mother"
Then, without kiss or a pressure Of The band,
tho couple returaed to the house.
Good mother! Tha:'s right! Load her |
up and cart her of to the poor-House. Who |
wants 10 hsve = groanng, old mother sround, I
ing our sleep at night? What good il she. any
way? Can she earn money, or even wash dlshes |
No. Then pack hes of. Of coarse, us fast Ms |
possible, Il certainly is qneer how long some /
usefulness is past. Why can't they die at ouce
and DO done with it7 Como driver, sav, here
Is this old mo:her OF outn, who's had the paral-
ys!s nearly year. She's legitimate county
charge and re don't propose to have her on our
Sho's oser 80 years old. aud she can't trouble you
long, especially il you know how to diet her.
Ioad her np, say. What's love, WHAT'S long |.
life Of patient toll what's hoart full Of tender
aovoton2 Did she watch over our young lives,
nusslng us when i'll, soothing us when sad or.
t'1ed, kindly showing Us our failiugs aud teach
lug us the path O. 1ectitudes Wnat il she did ?
Slo can't do it now. aud hasn't done it for SO
many years that we've quito forgotten it. Come,
hurry up drivert Load her on vo7.r wagon and
cart her off anywhere. Goodbye mother!
The mir was gradually getting colder. and - Ho
eurned norahward on Halstod Street the breeze
struck us smartlv in tho face. THE very old
VINO can be ranked simply AZ ola)
lad been placed alongside Of the Old lady,. and
l. heinG the youngest, had been depntized to sit
with my hack to her 80 toat ahe might have
some lining to lean against. am inclined to
thiak that made
NOT THE LEAST ODD
Or the odd figures OF that lumber-wegon. Ny
feet ~ere Gro" ded under tho wagon-seat, pro-
ruding somswhat in flont. OF tbs latter fact
ne driver TOOK uodae advantage, and whlled |
lis great in vard satisfaction. The very old lady
sas SO very weak that she could not even brace
,erselt against my back, but lopred forward as
ar as Der corpulence *oufd permit
Before shoe store on Milwaukee avenue the /
lrlver stopped and descended from the wagon ,
lere1 was made happy by learning bis name, e
Ehici, WAS faniiarlv pronounced by bYstauder. E
7 was :. Mike" and very happily named was be. '
believe shall instiuctiyelY shrink from eyery c
nan uarued mike" whem may hereafte '
neot t, For tho TING being contented N: self :
y sohloQuiziug: |Mixe, you're rufiau Mike, T
ou're q Ecoundrel. Nike, you deserve to be a
ung." thinA repeated these words over a b
nndred times during our transit. afterwards n
ell to zhyming, and produced such rare exotics
8: |
Miks. you're ruman:
Nike you're tough 'umi Q
And various others equally ns snparb. G
Mike Kept us whiting n front Of tho shoe-ttore ,,
bout quarter Of an hour, when be emerged .
I'd dispersed the crowd Of small boys who lad /
altered about the wagon, after vhlcl, We pro- n
'eded- A few blocks furtner on We stopped at II
rooery Sore, where Mlse purchased =
A CAN OF OYSTERS. l
Can it be. nused, that ne are to haye oysters u
II supper? And then I dwelt NTH a 1ioserIne
gro1 unon the fair, fat bvalyes which are 81 y
-. Fyi.-S