The San Antonio light. (San Antonio, Tex.) 1883-1886, 1885-03-11

Nilt WI ulNlkilA III lNAE VII W NNlltNilNN
and died before noon Yesterday. When
asked what was to be done with her
effects. and whether she had any final
instructions to give, she desired that
the three half-pence might he handed TO
the nurse, who had been kind to heri
The organ was To he returned to GER
tain address in the City. for. as IL
transpired, it was only hired from an
Italian. who made his living hy letting
out these Instruments of public torture
at so much per week or month";
"Ah, sad enough, for the Onlookers
ut any rate, no doubt!n observed Sir
Jasper gruily; Notwithstanding which,
my dear llollingshead. you must per-
init me to doubt whether the deceased
is after all so greatly to be pitied. She
is ut rest. her troubles are over; she has
laid her burthen downfall burthen
which. after all, may have been no whit
heavier fitted to her back than that
which most of us. in some form or an
other are destined to bear to the end.
The troubles of this world, in my opin-
ion. are meted out less unevenly than
might at first appear-each human unit
has its share to carry, young or old,
rich or poor. Fill your glass. Holdings
head, and pass the decanter ON to
Dick!'
II can't altogether agree with you,
Jasper. there returned the Doctor,
complying with his hosts iniunctons.
"I'his woman was mt most forty years
of age; she had been In all probability
Woodworking and industrious. accord
ing TO her lights, for three parts of her
life. yet ultimately she dies like dog
in u gutter. and possibly none of her
own kith aud kin will ever learn her
precise fateYN
"lIad she husband. family, Or"
"Ah. I}y-the-bye, you remind me of
perhaps the saddest phase in the whole
history; directly consciousness was re-
stored she made anxious enquiries
about q child. girl. who should have
been alongside her, she declared, when
she stumbled and tainted in Picca-
dilly.'
Dick. who had so far manifested but
feeble interest in the conversation, as
ne sat slipping his sherry, nursing one
leg and gazing hxedly into the flames,
started Involuntary, his wandering at
tention mesmericaliy riveted as this
last sentence escaped the doctors lips.
"hnd IL was comical-even whilst
trapical.n the good doctor continued
with n pitiful smile, ito note the work
ings of the ruling passion strong in
death When Informed that no child
had been noticed in her vicinity, the
poor creature fell to eXhausting her re-
manning modicum of breath in vituper-
alton and violent abuse of this missing
'varmntl a regular gOOd-fur-noth-
ing, idle, gaping mink. that $ wot She
WlIrl' the doomed wretch averred, and
il seemed even at that crucial moment
an aggravation of her personal suffer
ings to picture 'Grrta, as she called
her-the name struck me as at once eu-
phonious and peculiar-slaring round
eyed and open-mOuthed in ut 'cook-Snop
winders. as though there wur nothing
else / tn world L dOn Was anything
at once so ludicrOus and pathetic ever
heardYn questioned the doctor, turning
to his auditors, who both remained
speechless, unaccountably enough.
1t was the barOnet who first broke ST.
lence.
"This-this child, was she the-the
woman's daughter. do you sayp and
and what age may she have beenI DIG
thus much happen to transpire-thougl
really" he added suddenly, with 9
strange forced laugh, II hardly know
by what rhyme or reason enquire!'
She did not know the child's age eX
actly," returned the doctor, "but
guessed it would be about nine or ter
years old-for it was of course necessa
| ~ she should furnish the police with
full description. that the girl might b'
traced if possible, and taken IN charge
under the Nagrancy act. The chic
was not hers, she distinctly stated
she had loaned it, as she expressed it
from some other woman, in order tina
it might 90 on the tramp with her It
collect the coin, and play the tambou
rine. Quite usual proceeding til
woman inferred, and the police say thi
lending and hiring out of children is
distinct branch of business, and a
everyday transaction among tn
wretched deniZens of the City slums.
And the child-Greta-ha anythin
been heard of her?n asked the barone
irrelevantly. Dick glanced curiously q
him. Surely it was singular he shoul
have caught the name so precisely, an
dweit upon the matter as though
were one in which he was PERSONAL
concerned.
mot up to the time of the woman
death, yesterday morning" returne
the doctor; land the police say it is in
probable they will come across her nov
She will probably pick up as the
term il, with some other itinerant mi
sician-having already served her al
| o'NiiiAikil' w VIZ
sion-the happy possessor of dancir
monkey, or Punch and Judy shoy
and is possibly miles away from Il
town ere this, journeying towards son
country fair. The woman professe
strangely enough, to be bound for Win
bedon, via Barnes Common, and spoil
quite Familiarity of various haltin
places in that locality. She pr0bab
belonged to this part of the cOuntr
therefore, and, for ought we can tell
the contrary, overttNed her streng
putting on a final slurt in hopes
reaching home in time to eat h
Christmas dinner not twenty mil
from our own door"
"She-she was common woman,
+ supposep You are sure of thatI" Z
baronet questioned strangely, prefacil
the remark with short rasping laug
land her name-we might make enqi
ries, You know. Did her name happ
to transpireH"
"Yes and no, singularly enough. +
she gave her name simply as Mango
/, and declared she had 'niver lad no OF
err as she'd ever heerd tell ON WAS
, Dicks fancy. or did the baronet hea
q low unconscious sigh of infinite
. liefp--"'or if she had'-we made !
> admit at last-'it was so long sin !
, christening that t'other 'aarf had 81
: ped her mim'ry,' and to this stateme
! She doggedly adhered to the end. {
= she was common enough. poor wrett
: no doubt on that point. She was ign
a rant Of her own age, and hardly und
. stood signing some necessary dOcumt
4 with her mark. However, peace
= her names. Bahl il makes me shud,
= at this moment to recall the poor or
:, lures final agonies. Let us talk
something else.n