Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-04-07
A SCRAP OF NEWSPAPER.


Mrs. Moses Miles heaved sigh of dreary dis.
content She had been reading a story on q
fragment Of newspaper which the dry-goods
clerk at the village store had wrapped about q
roll Of striped shirting that Moses had brought
home early in the evening, remarking, as he
tossed the bundle In her lap, that he hoped she
would "cut the cloth sayin', for times is hard,
Sary." But times were always hard with Moses.
| and the caution to 'cut savin,," 80 invariably
enforced by the scantness of the pattern pro-
vided, was scarcely needed In this instance by
Mrs. Moses. who, dropping the blue wooden sock
| of magical print which enyeloped the coarse
| fabric, while her provid ent spouse, produce
| from his breast-pocket short, discolore@ .tr-
Gus and odious clay pipe stuffed it AFT onately
| from the biackish brown conta- - yellow
| paper, and lighting it with F." splinter fired
for the purpose, sat dow IN grunt of salts
| faction. and with T. driOus air of ease began
| filling the dingy-roOm with sickening exhala-
| tions.
With corresponding care and tenderness of
! touch. Mrs Moses smoothed out the crumpled
| bit of paper which the economical store-keeper
| had prudently utilized, and held 1t mp to the
| light with thrill Of pleasure at the novelty of
the situation. and the prospect of an unexpected
and unusual, If somewhat slender feast. For
Mrs. Moses had not set eyes on newspaper in
many day. Moses could not afford to indulge
in any such extravaganza as subscribing for an
article so superf1uous and improbable as q
newspaper Certainly not, most unreasonable,
| unsatistied woman! A poor workingman with
family to provide for. and times so
hard! Moses waxed eloquent over a de-
mand so clearly outrageous. But. with the
curious consistency of the male animal of the
Moses Miles type, he continued weekly to buy
with the utmost cheerfuness, divers illsmeng
parcels with the blackish-brown contents afore-
| named. bringing them tenderly home to feed
the stumpy pipe, carried sacrediy in his breast
when not pressed between his lips and sitting
down benignly in the cloud of unholy incense
which he nightly kindled. as though smoking
his wife and children were religious duty that
the conscience In him would not suffer him to
neglect. Ii they did not appreciate the bless
ing. or sighed unreasOnaby for other enjoy
ments, 1t simply proved to his comprehensive
mind the selfish and irrational quality of their
natures, and he pulled sereneIy on.
SO 1t was that, in a land of intellectual plenty
Mrs. Moses seized with greedy hunger on this
bit of mental rubbish which had drifted tn her
way, devonring it with relish not easily con-
ceiyed by those whose cultured taste demand
finer satisfactiOns. 1t was a story of refined
cultivated life, Ohe opening paragraphs profane-
iy torn of, 1t is true but all the more piduant
mysterious and charming for that with glowing
pictures of home comforts and pleasures. with
thrilling giimpses of lovers pains and blsses
that softened the poor womans eyes and quick
ened the blood whose currents the hard, dreary
actuatltes OF her experience had curdled at her
heart,-for "all mankind love lover" SAYS
Emerson and the sorest driven soul has an in
tereSt in his fate. All, the dismal contrast be-
tween the ideal life Of the story and the bare
common places of her lot of poverty and TOLL
And yet in her maiden dreams had she not pic
tured life as fair. companionship as sweet
gracious, tender and ennobling as ever was por-
trayed in the pages of romance? Was this st0ia,
stupid man, with every faculty engrossed that
moment in the coarse enjoyment of sensual
selfish pleasure, the realization of her girlish
ideal: Was he the fulfiIlment even of the prom
lse oil his youth, and of the golden days when,
all IN his sunday best, with the smirk of the
sutton on, he blandly went a woong? But was
she herself the embodiment of her early aspira-
tions-the substantiati0n Of her youthful dream
of gracious and beautiful womanhcod? Alas
no. Alas, no! And perhaps this was q more
narrowing fact than all the rest viewed with
the misery of utter hopelessness. for she felt
In dreary, impoteut way that there
was nothing she could do now to gain the goal
she had missed One Of those women. YOU
know, who are nodded by the peculiar circnm-
stances OF their lOt.-who under favOrng infu-
ences and with generous support are capable of
becoming noble active and useful members of
the social body, but who, taking lust as easily
the impression OF lower conditions and more
ignobe surroundings sink into mere nonentities
and drag through life with a miserable, de-
jected, discouraged sense of everything gone
wrong, and of the utter useiessness of struggle
hope and ambition. With existence merged
absolutely IN that of a make-shft man, with no
aims or desires beyond state of simple animal
wants and pleasures it didn't appear to Mrs.
Moses that there was any use In striving with
fate, or In trying to assert the claims Of her
more aspiring nature; and she had slouched
along the thriftless, shftless WAYS her lord had
led, Outwardly submissive, but with inward dis
content, and sour, sullen dissatisfaction.
The impression OF these things was vaguely
felt on this evening while she sat reading and
regarding the fragment Of paper by the light OF
| the small kerosene lamp turned low to lessen
the cost OF Illumination The influence Of the
wonderful story was working mysteriously on
| her deadened brain, and she sat silent and alb
l sorhed IN the cloud OF reflections which this
| current from the outside world had blown up.
needing nothing about her until Moses, with q
| loud yawn stood up, knocked the ashes from
| his pipe. and laying it with tender care on the
shelf, told her she had "better go to bed. Tor
wood Is gettin' skurse Sary, an we can't afford
| to burn it out settin up for nothiu' these hard
| times"
he flung off his coat, unbuttoned his vest, cast
1t on his chair. and, loosenng his suspeniiers as
he went, turned into the little by 10 room at
\ hand and tumbled himself down to The sleep OF
! the soul content with its husks. Mrs Moses
looked after him with an expression that was
not Of hate, nor, most certainly, of love- 1t had
not the Intensity of either sentiment. 1t was
simply and purely disgust, which the man was
too happily constituted to feel.
Then a wild light flashed in her eyes. and.
with the movement OF a wild animal. She bent
| her head and left the imprint of her hard teeth
| deep on either hand. 1t was the action of in
sanity, but 1t brought kind OF relief to the
| overwrought mind. quickened and cleared the
processes Of her thought, and revealed to her
sight the brink OF doom on which she stood.
Should she let this wave of madness gather force
and sweep her out to sea afloat with the
wrecks Of misbegotten lives? Was there moth
Ing but meek submission to-, or insane revolt
from the unsatisfying utterly hopeless routine
OF life marked out by the man into whose hands
she had ignorantly given the reins? Must she
go On to the dreary end in this slack. shiftless.
siip-shod fashion, leaving to the children she
had borne. and to those she yet unwllingIy must
bear. the heritage Of Incompetence, inertia and
nameless discontentf
She rose to her feet, and with head clasped
| tightly between her hands. looked about her
with strange vacant eyes as though seeking
despairingly ray OF light, loop-hoie of es-
cape. Ah-if out Of the hopeless void a shin
| Ing hand would miraculously reach to lead
Overcome by the intensity OF her desire she
sank on her knees and all her soul uttered If.
self In longing, passionate worthless CRY which
| God, who knows the need Of souls so sorely