Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-06-11
THE POOR OF LONDON.
THE KINDNESS SHOWN TO ONE
ANOTHER IN MISFORTUNE.

ment-Adoptins Childrcn--A Sister iu
Misfortune A Dead Comrades rci.
Kindness to Animals.
II is not only in their perhaps thriftlcss
almsgiving that the poor show their sym
pathy with their own order. They show
1t In their practical helpin times of sick
ness and bereavement; they show It In
their readiness to share their scanty food
and shelter with the hungry and the homo.
less, they show 1t In the way in which
they take other peoples troubles Upon
their already overburdened backs; and N
the way they frequently sacrifice La'alr
time and their money in endeayoring to
put their poor brothers and sisters ~ao
! have been pushed down In tho battle Of
| life once more upon their legs.
The poor live so closely together that
| they know good deal of each others cir
cumstances. and naturally the ladies are
the first to find out each others business.
| So 1t comes that the poor woman living
with her husband and family in one room
knows that the people In tho next room
| are without food. She and her husband
GO short and send In half their loaf to
their starving neighbors. and she sends In
the teapot with the leaves left in It. and
she fills 1t mp with hot water. This. at
least, gives the recipient warm drink.
whatever the particular flavor Of 1t
| may be.
One remarkable way in which the poor
show their kindness Of heart is in adopt
ing children. 1t frequently happens IN
neighborhoods where the laboring and
criminal classes herd together that fam.
| lily of children may be suddenly left with
out father or mother Father gets put
away" and mother. in her grief and do.
spair. goes to drown her sorrow at the
public house. and sometimes ends by fall
ing herself into the clutches OF the law.
Such cases as this occur ever and over
again, and in five cases out of ten the
children are taken care of, washed and
dressed and fed by some poor mother liv-
ing in the same house, who herself has q
large family. All this Is done ungrudg-
ingly and as duty" If you ask such
woman what prompted her to burden her.
self with the maintenance OF another
| woman's family she viii tell you there
was nothing wonderful In the act. "She
supposes as some neighbor ud do the
same by her young 'uns If ever she was In
trouble"
A poor, unfortunate girl, living in a ten
ement house with others of her unhappy
class, fell seriously i'll. The landlord
wanted her sent to the workhouse. The
other girls said mo, not IL they knew
it +" These poor creatures. pawned oil the
clothes they could spare In order to pay
for clever doctor--for her case was q
complicated one-and they dubbed to-
gether and got her all the doctor ordered
her, They relieved each other at the sick
bed and took it In turns to nurse her day
and night. and they made her stop at
home when she was better for over six
weeks, as the doctor said there would still
be a risk in her going out. during all OF
which time they paid her rent and every
expense incurred by her illness, though to
do 1t they had to deny themselves not
only any comfort but almost any neces-
sary of life. Brave girls those and good
girls. How different would their lives
have been. perhaps, had they known In
their homes such love and devotion as
they showered upon their sisters in mis-
fortune.
The poor man who loses his wife finds
plenty of sympathy and practical help
among his poor neighbors. Some good
soul comes In at once and sees to the
young children for him If he has none old
enough to look after the others The
baby not infrequently finds a new mother
to take it to her breast, and even the
mans comfort Is not overlooked. Mrs.
Jones will run in for half an hour while
he Is away at work, and tidy up his place
for him and Mrs. Brown viii pop across
the road and get his tea ready for him
against he comes home. There are some
charming little idylls of the courts and
alleys which are waiting to be told-ten-
der prose poems, fragrant with the self
sacrifice and the heroisms of the poor and
the lowly; but they must be told from
the beginning to the end. To cut them
down into O bald narrative of Incidents
would be to rob them Of all their grace
and charm.
The sympathy of the poor shows itself
sometimes in q tender regard for some
thing which has been the pet of q dead
comrade or neighbor. Some little time
back, hawker in the East End lay dying.
He was o widowef and childless, but he
had one companion-a faithful, loving
little dog, who had lived with him for
many years. AS the poor fellow lay on
his death bed, the little dog stretched it,
self out beside him, and every now and
then licked the weak. thin hand that
rested lovingly upon It's little head. Tho
old hawker's mind was tortured rs to
what would be his faithful companions
fate after he had gone to his grave;
50 one day he sent for mate, and he
said to him: Jim, when I'm gone,
take my little Fan, and let her have
home with you till she dies, will
you. matei shall die happy If | know
as she'll have q friend to take care
of her after I'm dead" Jim, a street
hawker Of dolls, gripped his friends hand
and said: Yes. mate; I'll take her, and
promise you as she shall be as comfort
able as | can make her.
This kindness to animals Is by no means
rare trait among the poor / have seen
lean and hungry Lad many time shar-
ing his scanty meal of bread and butter
with stray eur In the slums, and know
one common lodging house cat, who died
In the kitchen amid the tears and sobs Of
the rough men and women, who clustered
around to see their pet breathe It's last
George r. Sims In Philadelphia Times.
Painting. Grainfag. Kolsomining an