News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-03-05
\ \ HEROIC WOMAN.

saw her first one glorious June day,
when l had been seeking my dress
maker, who was dilatory in the matter
of summer fnery. She lived in tall,
narrow tenement-h house, and found her
sick, so I resigned my hopes of appear
ing in bewitching organdie and gren-
adine she had in charge; and leaving
what comfort could, promising to call
again, 1 went to the narrow landing
heading the steep staircase. Toiling
slowly up toward me came my heroine.
Not in silken attire, as heroine should
be; not even in the exquisite simplicity
OF poverty between book-covers. q
never saw it anywhere else.)
She wore O short dress of faded
wooden, small, ragged shawl, an old
straw bonnet; every article of her attire
shabby in the extreme. Upon her back
was strapped hand-organ, and under
its weight she stopped and staggered,
until, just as she reached my landing,
she reeled toward me and quietly tainted
away.
I think she would have suffocated,
falling in the position she did, had I not
been there to loosen the straps of her
cumbersome load. As it was, l freed
her, put her down upon the floor and
put my vinaigrette to her nostrils. 1t
did not occur to me to think her intoxi-
Gated, but her asby-white face terrified
me.
Pretty soon she revived and sat up,
pointing to the flight of stairs still fur
ther skyward and gasping
eff the kind lady will call, Lisette
will come"
So raised my voice and called: a
"Lisette Lisette p
A door above us was opened; and
pretty soon there came down stairs a
tall, strong woman, with the vacant face
of an imbeciIe. She hurried to the wo-
man whose head still rested upon my
arm, moaning pitifully:
'Mammy hurted Nanny hurted ?"
"No, Lisette. 1 only want you to
carry the organ"
So the cumbersome instrument was
lifted, and the woman struggled to her
feet. j would not allow her to climb |
the steer. stains s.lo,ae, thouch she rro-
tested against my being troubled; so we
went together.
At the next landing Lisette threw
open the door of large, barely fur
rished room, and then there occurred
the oldest experience of my life, the
very strangest scene I ever witnessed.
Let me describe the room. There was
40 carpet, but in four corners were mat
tresses upon the floor, made into neat
but poor beds. A cooking-stove stood
before the fireplace, bureau, table and
some chairs were against the wall. At
one window a crippled boy, with a
crutch beside him, was making paper
boxes; at another, a humpbacked girl
was twisting artificial flowers. On the
floor two children, both deformed, were
cutting strips of gay paper for the box
maker. All this photographed itself
upon my memory in a second. For as
the door opened, Lsette marched in the
center of the room, put the organ upon
a table there, and turned the handle.
Like a flash, down went the scissors
of the children, the flower makers
pretty work, the cripple's brush and
paste. The first three began a wild
dance round the imbecile woman, while
the crippled boy clapped his hands and
swayed his body to and fro, as if dancing
with his arms instead of his legs.
The woman, still leaning upon me,
whispered family:
"Please excuse them, ma'aml None
of them is quite like other folks!'
And looking keenly L saw that all the
faces bore the marks of weak minds ex-
cept the cripple's.
''Your children?" I asked, above the
din of the organ and shuffiing feet.
ooh, no, ma'am. No kin to me
Lisette is older than I am"
| l looked at Lisette, fresh-complex-
ioned, dark-haired and strong; perhaps
thirty, certainly not older. Then l
looked at the wasted face, the thin hair,
gray streaked, the sunken eyes of the
speaker. I should have thought her
fifty.
"I am not thirty yet" she said, smiI-
ing family, "but got old fast Lisette,
that will do for tonight. I am not
WELL"
1t was touching to see them all crowd
reund her then, looking curiously at
me, while they took off the ragged bon
net and shawl, patted the wasted hands
and kissed the wan face. But wanted
to know more.
"Lisette," said, "can you buy some
cakes and milk? ?"
"Yes, yes p she said, eagerly, 'Lisette
knows p
gave her some money, and she Went
out, all the others trooping after her ex'
cept the crippled boy, the flower-makel
only STOPPING to take tin pail from the
closet.
I looked again at the boy, and saw
that there was not the same vacant ex
preston upon his face the others wore
though there was no real brightness
there, only hopeless resignation, nov
that the little excitement of music wa
over.
The woman had risen, and / was feel
ing my presence an intrusion when th'
bov beckOned to me.
sis nanny sick?" he asked. "Sh'
is so white y
"She is not well" answered; eth
organ Is too heavy for woman"
Don't worry, Johnnie" said the VIC
man. ''The lady does not know hoV
strong I am. Don't You scare hin
ma'am, please don't"