Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-02-05
be slip. but the hunger was true enough

bit OF brioche, IA apple, ana some cold
chestnutS
"y'la, Anton" she said, "pop those
in your mouth. When We get home we
will have supper together. l have bread
and milk nj home. And we will buy two
hot potatoes from the man by the Made
leine."
ate the unsatisfying morsels rave
nously. Ninette watching me with an ap-
proving nod the while. When they were
finished the weather was little better,
and Ninette said We might go now. she
slunG the organ over her shoulder-it wes
n small organ, though heavy for child,
but she was used it, and trudged along
under its weight like awoman. With her
free hand she caught hold of me and led
me along the wet streets proudly home.
Ninette's home Poor little Ninette
II was colder and barer than these rooms
OF mine now; il had no grand piano ana
no thick carpets and in the place OF PIC
tures and bibelots its walls were only
wreathed in cohwebs. Still 1t was drler
than the streets of Paris. and II II had
been palace it could not have been more
welcome than it was that night.
Poor Ninette, her mcRdgc was q
strange one There was a tumble'down
deserted house in the Montparnasse dis
trict. 1t stood apart in an overgrown,
weedy garden, and has long ego been
pulled down. II was uninhablted /; no
one but a Partisan gamin could have
lived in it, and Ninetto had long occu-
pied it. unmolested save by the rats.
Through the broken palings in the gar
den she had no difficulty in passing, and
MS It's back door had fallen 10 plecesthere
was nothing to bar her further entry.
In one of the few rooms which had It's
window intact, right at the top OF the
house, a mere attic, Ninette had installed
herself and her scanty goods, and
henceiorward this became my home
also.
1t has struck me since as strange that
the childs presence should not have
been resented by the owner. But l
fancy the house had some story con-
nected with it. 1t was, | believe, the
property of an old and intirm miscr,
who in his reluctance to part with any OF
his money in repairs had overreached
himself and let his property become
valuciess. lie could not let it, and he
would not pull it down. 1t remained,
therefore, an eyesore to the neigh
borhood until bis death put it in the
possession of q less avariclous succeS'
sor. The proprietor never came near
the place, and with the neigh
bors it had a bad repute, and they
avoided it as much as possible. 1t stood
rs / have said, alone, and in Its OWL
garden, and Ninotte's occupation OF II
may have passed unnoticed, while ever
if any one of the poor people living
around had known of her, it was, after
all, nObodys business to interfere.
When | was last in Paris | went tC
/ look for the house, but all traces OF i
had vanished, and over the site, so far Is
/ could fix it. narrow street of poor
houses hourishet.
Ninette introduced me TO her domain
with proud air of ownership. She had
n little store of charcoal, with which she
proceeded to light a fire i'll the CRATE
/ and 10y its fitful light prepared our com.
mon supper-bread and radishes, washed
down by a pennyworth of milk-o
which, [ have no doubt, | received the
/ lions share. As dessert we munched
with much relish, the steaming potatoes
that Ninette had bought from n stall IL
the street and had kept warm in the
pocket of her apron.
And so, as Ninette said, we made
mcnaqo together. How that old organ
brings it all back. Ny fiddle was use
less after the hard usage it received thai
dav, Ninette and | went out on Oul
rounds together, but for the present
was a sleeping partner in the firm, and
all | could do was to grind occasionally
when Ninette's arm ached or pickup the
sous that were thrown rs. Ninette WAS
as rule, fairly successful. Since hel
mother had died, year before, leaving
her the organ as her sole legacy, she hsc
/ lived mainly by that instrument
/ although she often increased her income
in the evenings, when Organ-grlndlne
was more than ever at discount, by
selling lunches of violets and othel
flowers as button-holes.
With her organ she had regular bea
and distinct clientele. Children play
/ ing with their BONES in the gardens O
the Tuileries and the Luxembourg were
her most productive patrons. OF coursC
we had bad days as well as good, and IL
winter it was especially bad but as {
rule we. managed fairly to make boil
ends meet. Sometimes we carried hom'
as much as five francs as the result OF th'
1 days campaign, but this, of course. wa
unusual.
Ninette was not a pretty child exactly
but she had a very bright face and won
derful gray eyes. When she smiled
which was often. her face became very
taking and a good many people were in
duced to throw o sou for the smile which
they would have assuredly grudged tc
the music.
Though we were about the same age
the position which it might have beer
expected we should occupy was reversed
1t was Ninette who petted and protected
mel who chung to her.
was very fond of Ninette, certainly.
| should have died in those DAYS if 1t haC
not been for her, and sometimes l an
surprised at the tenacity of my tender
ness for her. As much as | ever cRreC
for anything except my art, | cared To-
Ninette. But still she was never tn,
first with me. as | must have been witt
her. | was often fretful and discomfort
ed, sometimes, l fear, ready to reproacl
her for not taking more pains to ale
viate our misery, but sll the time 0
our partnership Ninette never gave me (
cross word. There was something ma
ternal about her affections which with
stood all ungratefulness. She was Away
ready to console me when l was misera
be, and throw her arms around M
and kissed me when / was cold; ans
many times. am sure, when the day
earnings had been scanty, the little cir
must have gone to sleep hungry that
might not be stinted in my supper.
One of my grievances, and that the
sorest Of all. was the loss of my beloved
fiddle. This, for all her goodwill
Niuette was powerless to allay.
"Dear Anton" she said, edo no
mind about it. l earn enough for boil
with my organ, and some day We shall
save enough to buy thee a new fiddle
When We are together and have got fooC
and charcoal what does it matter abou