Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-05-06
THE MADONNA OF THE TUBS.
ICoNTiNUEDl

uels and shoes, and a second hand overCcat
and nittcns, aud a black blanket shawls, |
should land ON tho door, with uour and cot. |
fee aud crackers, aud package of toa aud
sugar, aud rubbers for Sue and a turkey for
Christmas dinner, aud under all-sturkings.
Six pairs ot stockings--bruwn, red, blue,
green, gray, and white, each one filed to the
knee with Santa Claus knew what-trihes
tn the giNer, ecstacy To the child-all the
way down from Emma Eliza to the baby,
aud the other baby. All. well, such things
do happen, thank the blessed Christmas
spirit, In the homes OF the brave and self
helping poor they do not perhaps often
happen So gracefuliy-we might say 81 arts
tically.
ESQ pretty" cried Rafe-'so pretty in
her" For when tine romance of the OK.
pressman was followed Ivy the immensity
of smart Fairharhor hack rolling under
the leatiess willows to the very door, and
Rafe, pulling back the wash-beuch again.
let in with shower of bright snow, Miss
Helen Ritter, standing tall aud splendid
in her furs ot silver seal, il seemed quite
what was to he expected and not one of the
poor souls knew, which WAS the best OF it,
that the young lady had never done such a
thing before in all her llfe. She had done /.
now in her own "wayn-that whimsical Oh.
stinate, lavish way that sometimes was so
wrong and sometimes so right but this time
so sweet and true. Was it her heart that told
her how For her head was painfully uned
ucated in sociology. She had never been in
terested in books concerning their manage
ment, She was simply acquainted with her
wash woman, and had approached her as she
would any other acquaintance, according to
the circumstances OF the case twas a brave
self-helpful family; she knew them not a
drop of pauper blood rolled in the veins of
their sturdy bodies Ghastlv poverty had
got them but it any desolate woman and her
babes, thrust into their fate, could breast it
and not go under, these were they.
As human being to human beings Helen
Ritter had come; she had felt moved to treat
them as she would wish to be treated in their
place, and she did AS she was moved-that
was ALL II she made no blunder, il WAS GER
tainly owing To the rightness OF her instinct,
not to the wisdom of her views.
But VINO stopped to- think OF views or
instincts in the astounded cottage that
Christmas Eve2 Not Miss Ritter, STOPPING,
flushed and brilliant, drawn down bv child
rem IS fingers to her knees upon the kitchen
| floor among the Christmas litter. Not Rate,
| who put up his pale face and kissed Eer,
| saving not a word. Not Emma Eliza, who
meant to ask her TO play a Christmas carol on
| the instrument, thinking that would be po-
| lite. (The instrument by-the-way, was
| drearily seeking purchaser, poor thing
Not Sue, nor Tommy, nor the baby, nor the
other baby, pulling OFT the veil which had
shielded the feathers of their visitors dainty
bonnet from the snow. Not Mrs Salt, who
came up to take her fur-lined cloak with q
soft, " You'll be too warm, my dear" and so
showing all the stately, luxurious outlines OF
the finest figure she had ever "doue up" in
that sweet and humble attitude, kneeling on
the kitchen floor. Not Mrs. Salt, stealing
away by herself, silent, still, and changed,
and strange-she had scarcely spoken. What
allied her What would she where WAS she Z?
Helen Ritter, unintroduced to mortal sorrow,
hesitated before the bereavement of her wash
woman, but summoned heart at last and iOl-
lowed, slipping from the children's arms.
Ellen Jane Salt was i'll her chilly parlor,
49, a -.
bent over something, and when Miss Ritter
came up she was half shocked to see that il
was the black blanket shawl.
81 don't know what ever / was to do for
mournin' for him." The woman looked up,
breaking out thus sharply. "You've no
idea how they talk about us Fairharbor
widows we so poor, they say, and talkin'
charity TO spend it on our black-and reason,
maybe; but ask 'em if it's human natur tu
break your heart and mourn your dead in
colors Ask 'em II bein' poor puts out
human natur. Miss Ritter, | hadn't nothin'
to mourn for Henry in but this one old dress
/ dyed before my money went to Bran for
the rent, and my cloak was a tan-color season
before last, and trimmed with bugle
trimmin,' and my shawl was a striped shaw,
with red betwixL you know. And us with
out our coal in, me going mournin' tor my
husband half black, half colors, like a widow
that was half glad aud half sorry-enougb
OF en- be-my dear, 1t hurt me- And 70
tuilh SOh sboulu tiliiif. VI liltl, anu Ntuu
me of Christmas Eve oh, my dear,
haven't cried before, but it's the under
StdJldtB' me that breaks me up. oh, don't
notice me, don't mind me. 1 haven't cried
since he was drowned l haven't darst
oh, don't you touch me-oh yes, you may
How soft your arms arel oh, nobody has
held me since he Oh, my God my God
my God 4, I've got to cry"
"Come here" said Helen Ritter, sobbing
too" come here aud let me hold you, and
tell me all about it."
"How can ! tell you ~ moaned the
woman "Oh, it is such a dreadful thing to
tell Oh, my dear, it isn't his dying it
isn't that Henry is deGd. Ii that was all, I'd
be a blessed woman-ine widow, and them
fatherless, and so Poor--pd be a blessed
woman and God be thanked to mercy this
living night If 1t was only that my husband
had died Oh, how should you know :?
You never was married; you never had a
husband you never quarreed with man
you loved.'
"Hush hush hush." Inyoluntarily the
lady thrust her hand upon the other woman s
mouth then drew it of and patted her 81
lently, stroking her hair and shoulders with
exquisite loving motions, as women do to
women OF their own sort when sorrow is
upon them.
I'VE quarrelled," cried Ellen Jane Salt
throwing out her arms, and letting them
drop heavily at her sde-''we quarrelled
Miss Ritter, that very Sast night, that yery
last minute, him and me-us that loved each
other, man and wife, Tor seventeen years, and
him going to his death from out that door
'Oh,' he says, there's always something
wrong about this house y and he cursed IL +;
but he didn't mean it. poor fellow he never
meant it; for they must have treated him to
the wharves to make him say a thing like
that-you kRoW they must and i SAYS,
There's nothing wrong in this house but
him that's setting sail from IT, My God my
God my God l says those words to him at
the very last: and he"
"Marm, told HIM you was sorry" Rafe
pulled her by the dyed black sleeve The
little fellows face worked pathetically. He
did not know before that he could not bear 1t
to see his mother cry; ~ think, 1 believe,
I'm pretty sure" said Rafe, "that NV fa-
ther told me, 80 be T."
Helen Ritter drew the child into her free
arm, and so held him, sick at heart, for
in that supreme moment the widowed wife
seemed to have gone deaf and blind; she did
not notice even Rsfe
"Whats DEATH" cried Ellen Jane, lift
ing her wan face To heaven, and sin ing with
sickening, writhing motion to her knees
"whats death, II that was al, TO man and
wife that love each other I've been cold
since Henry died, and Pve gone hungry
don't let on To the children, for they don't
know-and I'd be cold and hungry; and II |
was To starye, what's that? And If / mourned
snd cried for him, US partin' kind, why
what IL thatY It's the words between us =
on, lts the words between us / dream 'em
IN my dreams, hear 'em in the wind 1
hear 'ein at the instrument when the child rem
sing-lts the words between us Him that
courted me and welded me, the baby's 4
iather-and we loved each other and we
come TO words that last, last minute him
Al ia haut -. , "