The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-03-02

and | can lend you pair of diamond car-drop'
If YOU want em, for the next hop-soilaires
handsome ones.
II lend diamonds very often to the ladies
here when they're away from home, and have
not brought theirs, or want TO shine Il little
They're willing to send 'cm back with five
or ten dollar note next day. for the privilege
Of wearing them, to see how it feels to wcai
diamonds, | suppose. I've picked these thing
up from time to time. It's pretty hard when
4 fellow comes up and tells you he's out o
money and away from home, and begS you t
give him five dollars to get away with on
pistol that's worth fifty, or asks for ten dollars
and leaves you Brcguet watch or cameo
locket-its hard to refuse, when you have Il
little money saved by you My triendS mostly
take 'cm off my hands. This one | haven't
had great while"
He broke of short, with his usual prudence
as if he had been in danger Of saying word
too much, and told us instead OF famous
game of billiards played by the envoy, lately
larrivcd, and who everybody knows is the best
billiard player not professional, in the whole
country.
People seldom know much about their
neighbOrs in hotels but | caught Il glimpse
now and then Of Il quietlOoking woman, with
one of those countryretined faces, AS refresh
ing in city streets rs a bunch of fresh meadow
sweet. Such visitors come and 60 seldom
lsaying more than week in town, and | was
surprised at the end of a month to find she
was still in the house the more that we never
saw her down stairs or at table. About twl.
light she would 90 out for II walk round the
square, and steal back, escaping rs much as
possible those slight womanly civlities with
which the ladies of the house would have IA
vored her. She was perfectly modest, unfash-
| iOnable in appearance, yet with that sad honest,
plain face, she was hardly interesting, to one
who preferred character TO all the coral and
cream beauty ever tied into bonnet strings.
| Still we never would have spoken but for Il
painful incident.
kept my room one day with heavy cold,
and had dinner sent to me, but couldn't eat it,
and set it out in the hall. Ten minutes after,
capricious appetite came back, and | stepped
out TO recover a few mOfsels if the waiter had
not taken it. The tray was there neatly cover
cd, and ilr roast chicken | meant to pick was
undiSurbcu, but the bread and butter was all
gone. 1t seemed queer, and | went back, lcav-
ing the door ajar A current of air brushed
my check, caused by the opening of the door
opposite, and mine swaycd too. | rose to shut
it, glanclng into the hall, and saw my neigh
Dor bending over the tray. Watching, | saw
her lift the napkin, hurricdly, take out two po-
lHt SulJ lHtO llcT manu-, anu nuI-
riedly return to her room.
OF course | shut my door in Il wink, and sat
down to think Putting this and that together
determined on rather bold step, from one
woman to another. 1t might not be well re
ccivcd, but the action | saw could have but one
cause either pcnuriousness or priyation, and
| would see which it was before | slept that
night ! crossed the hall IN my wrapper and
knocked Once in | told her in SO many
words that | was disturbed for fear she was
alone in the city, perhaps in trouble; if she
was not, ! would withdraw and hoped she
could overlook my intrusion for the sake Of its
motive; otherwise, we were two women, and
she must allow n stranger the privilege, etc.
OF course she didn't know how to take it, was
otlish and awkward, never having been in the
role of want before | cut it short by telling
her | had seen her take IL cold poaOc in the
hall, and | knew she would not do that under
any common circumstances. She turned pale,
and could not speak for Il moment, then she
said:
81 have lived of the trays in the hall for ten
days trying to look me square in the face,
and her face working As she turned away
you are out OF money, them" ! tried to say, |
in the judicial tone usually adopted
There was some due me, but il has been
sent where 1t came from, and never got the
letter, came here to collect it, hoping to find
TO do when it was gone. | hadn't
much, and that is gone, have had nothing
TO get food with Tor nearly two weeks"
Have you no triendsY
They are poorer than am. Ny brothers
family had so much sickness. | came here to
get that money to help them out and thought
would find work to help them besides"
couldn't they send for youg" putting all the
questions prudence dictated
"'Thcy were doing without meat when | L
came away, because it was too dear, and ! Is
don't know where they could get ten dollars
from to take me back"
Her brother was Il teacher in % little country II
town, keeping his wife and her mother on his |;
salary of $50 a month. Her husband was IA {
fellow, off specializing most of the
time, never providing for her at all She had Il
skill us tintcr of photographs, finishing them
with exquisite touch, besides being well fitted Ii
for teacher But there were n dozen teachers
10 every school in their region, and she ianCicd
in or near the city she could find something to
To- Her husband had assigned her a claim of
a hundred and some odd dollars, which he
worthless and she had written to the
lcbtor such appeals that he had been moved To I
)iler payment and, tired of waiting for him to {
keep his word, she came on. Id
frightened her, between the eXtravagant Fifth i
avenue houses and the disrcputabe looking !
heap ones advertised in the papers, and she 1
ound herself soon unable to leave She de
posted her ring, the only valuable she had,
Except the gold watch that had been her moth {
RS, rs security for the room at the hotel and
VAS expecting any moment the clerk might
urn her out. Hopes of situation were held
)ut by the teacher of girls school, which |,
Kept her in town, but arrangements went on L
slowly, and the time came when her little
money was gone. She tasted till she could II
hardly crawl, then, in desperation, To sustain {
strength, she fell upon the trays in the hall, Il
aklng Jumps Of sugar, bread, anything except i
he best She could not take my chicken, Il
hough She was 50 hungry; she said the pota- ,
ocS were delightful food
| hope YOU don't need to be told how We Id
certified her story, and found her place IN d
seminary near town. where she is happy as Il
iic j. long ON her board and $50 a wear, IA