The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-02-28
TIE BABY AT o'GRADY,s.
An Everyday Story from the Simple Annals
of the Poor.

An Everyday Story from the Simple Annals
of the Poor.
Pittsburg Chronicle Telegraph.
Somewhere back Of Wylie street, in narrow
court known sometimes as kellys Place. there
is a little. smoke grimcd house. with broken
step and blistered door. and windows that rattle
forever in the wind. They call it "O'Grady's."
Not that O'Grady lives there Oh. no. But ira
dition has it that Mr.. O'Grady lived there
years ago, and they called it O'Grady's ever
afterwards. The man who lives there now is
named OBren, and the little house with the
broken step sheters--or did shelter--a faded.
sad eyed woman. and wee tot, that drabbled
calendar hid away somewhere, says are his wife
and child
Further down there is an alley opening into
the court The alley leads far back to regions
unknown to the outer world, but at the anglo
there is a bit Of saloon, with a swinging sign
that sings song Of revelry all day long.
The saloon is kept by little German with a
long nose and piercing eyes, and morning and
night stream of customers keep him the
60 1t is here that O'Brien spends his days, and
what he can of the nights. The coal was out in
the little house week ago, and there's bill at
the grocery that won't get paid, but all through
the hungry days and the bitter nights the sad
eyed woman, with Baby at her feet bore i'll ST.
lence the cruel neglect.
The neghbors were kind. They were poor
themselves but many piece found its way into
the little house. and the lonely woman, for the
sake of Baby, thanked them for the crusts.
Poor Baby! Things changed when the tot
came down into the narrow court. To be sure,
the court was full of babies-you could stumble
on them right and left-but there was only one
tot and that tot was Baby.
Baby never walked. 1t was full four years
ago when the people of Kelly's court looked up
at O'Grady's and saw the chubby face against
the smoky pane. The months had flown by and
the patient mother. filled with an unawed hope,
tried to teach the little one to climb against the
chairs and toddle across the floor.
Then the truth came Babys legs were weak
the tendons were shriveled-she would never
walk 1t was a cruel blow. Silently the moth
wept for the child, but the court folks loved
baby better for her helPlessness.
So it happened that everybody petted and
courted baby-when they could And some
times when times were good and O'Staughnes
sy's next door, had some thing better than COM
mon they borrowed Baby and shared their good
things with the tot. And no laugh was louder
and no eyes were brighter-when she wasn't
hungry-than Babys
'She has the spirit of an angel, they said,
and they blessed the fortune that sent her.
But hush fell on Kelly's court this morning.
and the neighbers stood in little groups whis
pering among themselves.
little house and the broken step, and the
feathery fakes, fitting through the broken
panes, fell upon the floor of the room where
Baby lay-dead.
oOi lazy! Ia ZIG COIu duu udfhueSS, WDlle
the snow fell softly on the stoop where in sum
mer days, she sat and watched the children play
In the narrow court-her puny life had ebbed
away to the great beyond.
And the hush grew. and spread far around
through the alleys and the courts, and whenever
she was known it was whispered that Baby was
dead.
Friday they will bury her. and all that is left
of Baby will be put under the snow
But the sign at the corner groggery still sings
its song of revery. aud in the back room-on a
broken bench-with leer on his face, and a
stencil in his heavy breath is Babys father
unconscious and insensible.