Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1886-12-25

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are glad of an opportunity to do
something for the needy.
Doonville was small place, and
so very prosperous that 1 scarcely
knew where to go to hunt people so
poor that | dare intrude upon them
and tell their wants in my "valu-
able andiwIdely circulated paper.
Many of its citizens were very rich,
and none whom | personally knew
had fallen below decent and tolera-
BILE poverty. But down below Doon's
mills, on the river bank, were some
broken down houses about whose
doors | had sometimes seen very
ragged and very dirty children play
ing. | determined to go thither and
investigate.
had this thought in my mind as
l was going to Office one morning
just two days before Christmas. /
determined to go out that afternoon
and begin the search. | hadn't
gone far when | met Calamity +"
Parker. That was what / called
him when my speech was without
bride, for | held him in great con-
tempt.
He was a tall, thin, broken down
creature, who posed as a gentleman
and moved about with solemn, un-
healthful gait and distributed religi-
Gus tracts. He always seemed to
me frightful excrescence on socie-
ty, although he had the discretion to
to say but little. 1t fretted my pro-
gressive spirit to see him crawling
around thrusting his weak litera-
ture under more intelligent and bus
Ter peoples eyes. "The day and
generation are beyond tracts" | said
to myself, "and here is this thread
bare fraud keeping up this relic of
fogyism." despised him so heartily
could hardly speak decent good
morning as he passed me. / think
he felt that l disliked him; but he
had cultivated the unctuous affecta-
ton of goodness and an appearance
OF patience and sweetness under
Sights and taunts, and invariably
returned a smile for frown. That
very habit made him detestable to
me.
began to think about him as |
went along. He had only been in
Doonville couple of years, and |
had never heard of his doing any
thing but distribute tracts and
preach on the street corners down
by the mills. | concluded that it
was time he was abolished. Ac-
cordilngly my first work on reaching
the Office was to write a half column
editorial article on "religious frauds,' .
in which the practice of tract distri
buting received merited castigation.
l drew a picture of the typical tract
man, of which Parker was the model
which wasn't calculated to make his
path in Doonville any smoother
This incisive, and l may say "able,'
article, which was certainly a fam
ing sword of righteous wrath against
the tract fraternity, was to adocn
the Christmas number.
Then l started out in NY search
for poverty in self satisfied spirit
1t is delightful to do something that
wins ones own appreciation.
found the row of old house all
locked and tenantless save one, the
last one and the worst one. 1t was
in a state of dilapidation so hopeless
that it's owner hadn't even thought
it worth while to shut it up. The
result was that it was tenanted
without his permission having been
asked. A family OF dull Drained
sallow ski ned, chemically INDECENT
half dead creatures who had been
crawling westward in worn out
wagons drawn by dying horses, had
taken possession of iC by permission
of necessity. They had reached
Doonville just as their horses sue
cumbed to the memorable, and there
they we're sick, freezing, starving
and dying in state of destitntion
unspeakable.
| saw through the windows that
the house was inhabited, though the
only figure | could see moving about
was more ghostlike than. human
On pretense of borrowing match
knocked for admittance. A match,
such thing was far off, undream.
ed of luxury to the family within.
There was neither fire nor food in
the house, and the wind, the rain
and the snow came in at will through
the glassless windows. Haven't
you noticed that the very elements
conspire with proyerty to make his
victims wretched?
i A skeleton man sick unto death
lay on the floor, his head on a
bundle of dry leaves. Two famished
children. i'll and feeble, were on the