American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-01-02

Il
1 of place in such aristOcratic company.
| I" It's too bad, Mary, but | haven't any
| change at all. paid my last dollar for tea
rose buds. You might wait till papa comes
| in, or if You'll run around in the morning I'll
| have it ready, and you can have a basket OF
pieces for the children"
''In watt" said Mary, going back to the
| kitchen, where she sat for a dreadful half
| hour her heart aching for those lonesome
babies watching cold and hungry in the dark
| ness
I Pretty Alice remembered her when papa
had made tour of the parlors and admired
| all the work OF her hands.
"Oh, papa, there's poor woman waiting
for the pay; hadn't any change, and dare
| say she needs the money. She seems to be
one of the improvident kind that live from
| hand to mouth"
How much, Alice?" said papa
"a dollar and a half; or, papa, make it two
dollars, for Christmas, you know, and I've kept
So Mary had two dollars and hurried away
only stoppingto buy loaf of bread and an,
apron full of coal before she climbed the stairs
to her empty little room. Empty indeed.
The old rat whisked back through the hole
in the wall she lighted match and looked
in terror toward the straw bed with its ragged
cover. Nothing there. Not even the little
heap of white bones which Mrs. Malopey had
assured her she would find there some day
when the rats got hungry. What could she
do? In the room below, with their extra sup
per and drop of something to warm their
| hearts, they were getting quite merry, but
just as Pat Donoho was in the midst Of his
finest song pale, frightened face looked in
| at the door.
"Have you seen the children, Biddy Ma
| loney?
sorra bit" said Biddy; and are they
| missing the nightW
But the mother did not STAY to answer. She
rushed away on her frantic search, and was
just coming home, weary and discouraged,
| when a hack drove up the dirty street, and
| the minister himself came to bring the chill
dren back. The minister looked around the
comfortless room well as he could by the
light of the smoky little candle, while the
| mother Rugged her babies and laughed and
| cried over them, very much as your mother
would if you had been lost on a cold Christ
mas Eve.
| starve?" asked the minister, severely though
he was feeling for his handkerchief all the
time.
"What could do, sir? There's them that's
poorer than /, and would never stop from
stealing the cover from the bed, let alone the
Now Mistress Maloney having dismissed
| her boarders, and sitting snug and happy
| over the fire, wanted nothing but a bit of a
row to make her entirely comfortable. SO,
| hearing the noise and the strange voice, she
made up her mind to put in an appearance.
| Its one of thin beggarly agents afther the
| rint, shurc; and it's mesilfl sit him down the
| stairs"
So, as the poor mother finished her meek
appeal, big, red face glowed over the min
ister's shoulder, and high key voice de-
handed:
1.-THE sthraw from the bid, and the shmall
| bit of cover is it, yc'd be takin' away from the
| childer, We thafe O. the worldg'
| "My good woman" began the minister.
| "Hould yer barney, and git along wild ye;
its mesilf'll detind the wildly and the father
| less"
Couldn't you pick up something to make
a fire :" asked the minister, turning away from
| Biddy
"Pick up, is it ? An where wad she find bit
| of firm the size of hin's tooth? Pick up is
it.? And when We get yer desarts yell lind
| things isn't to be had for the pickin' up"
| Biddy came nearer, and looked SO very big
| and stout that the minister took step to-
ward the door as he asked:
| Are you often away SO late%
| "Not often, sir, but the days are short, and
| people like to get their moneys worth, and
then sometimes they haven't the change by
them these hard times"
The more shame to 'em, /" burst in Biddy.
% mind how it is, since l was gurri and
worked out for me Twin. It's a savin' wild
wan hand and spindin' wild the other. An
didn't the mishtress come into me kitchen,
coot down yer wages, count of hard times,
and everything's SO dare An says 1, very
well, mum, thin :! gives ye R R4tice on
must SHAY yer wake out An says 1, sD' ye
think I'll SHAY to be trimpled on be
little jiggetty thing widout the makii'
of lady in yeT An says she, Biad 1 lt,s
take character from ye: Faith an wad |
have dacent folks know I'd been sthoppin'
wild We at ahl' An whilst we was consooltin,'
nmse sSe saSs up nf
he. And oop she whit"
Here the minister succeeded in making him.
self heard:
AZ must go now, but here is my address on
this card. If you will come to the house
tomorrow 1 will see what can be done for
you" But he spoke he sighed to think
how many more were just as badly Off
God bless you," said the children's
mother, land all the rest who have been SO
good to u.s."
Shy little Molly, hugging her precious doll
in one arm, looked lovingly into the minis
ter's face, and Ted frowned threateningly at
Get along with you, blagardin' the
praste"
AN is it praste ye are, hiritic prasteT'
said Biddy, suddenly overcome; 81 ak yer
riverence's pardon, but made sure ye were
afther the rint"
All down the black staircase she followed
him with her blessings, and the last he heard
as he gained the sidewalk bark from
Towser, quickly changed into yelp as his
mistress kicked him from the step, saying:
Bad luck to We, We ill-mannered haste, to
bark at his reverence behind his back"
Now if this were a fairy story, what beau
tiful ending we could give it! The minister
should 20 home and send out the ringers to
ring the great bells, and the trumpeters to
blow the trumpets, and call the people
together. And when they crowded wonder
tears in his eyes, and burning words upon his
lips, to tell them of the strange and dread
full thing. That right there, among the
splendid marts of business, and in sight of
their comfortable homes, two fearful ogres,
called cold and hunger, were prOwling about,
and devOuring alive scores OF men and
women and helpless little children.
And he would call upon them for the love
of God to come without an instants delay to
fight these cruel beasts and drive them out
of the land. And all the people should shud-
der to hear OF such a horror, and they should
leave their songs and their dances and their
merry making and bring their gold and their
silver and their costly garments and give
them all to buy weapons to fight the ogres.
The rich should bring of their abundance, and
even those who had very little should find
they could spare something give up some
thing, and so an immense army, with
a dozen Great Hearts to lead, should
go out and drive the ogres away beyond
the north pole into the land of Nord-
| leichshein where the people are only shad-
| ows and live on icicles and hoar frost. And
the good genii should wave their magic
wands over the rickety old houses and bare,
dirty wards, and the loveliest little homes
should spring up, full OF warmth and happi-
ness, where not even the naughtiest children
ever heard of the ogres shuddered lest they
| should fall into their dreadful clutches.
But ah me! this isn't fairy story, and cold
and hunger are still abroad in the land, and
| people eat and drink and make merry and
| take little thought about it. Neither you nor
I can bring cheer and comfort to all these
desolate homes, but We can each do little,
| and that is the way the sunbeams brighten
| all the world. And if the bells do not ring or
| tha tr,Iunats sound or the heralds proclaim Il