Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-06-07
THE POOR OF LONDON.
THE KINDNESS SHOWN TO ONE
ANOTHER IN MISFORTUNE.
Practical Help in Sickness and Bereave-
ment-Adoptins ChildreD-A Sister in
Kindness to Animals.

i@S.A@aA hcip IL blckness AAu DoFeSSe'
housekeeping ChiidreD-A Sister il
MisfortUne-A Dead Comrades Pet
Kindness to Animals,
1t is not only in their perhaps thriftless
Rlmsgiving that the poor show their sym
pathy with their own order. They show
II in their practical help-in times of sick
ness and bereavement: they show it IN
their readiness to share their seanty food
and shelter with the hungry and the home
less; they show 1t in the way in which
they take other peoples troubles upon
thei- already overburdened backs, and in
the way they frequently sacrifice their
time and their money in eDdeavoring to
put their poor brothers and sisters who
have been pushed down in the 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 it comes that the poor woman living
with her husband and family in one room
knows that the people in the 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 it up with hot water. This, at
least. gives the recipient warm drink,
whatever the particular favor Of it
may be.
One remarkable way in which the poor
show their kindness of heart is in adopt
ing children It 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 de-
Spalr. 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 over and over
again, and in five cases out of ten the
children are takens care of. washed and
dressed and fed by some poor mother hv
ing in the same house, who herself has a
large family. All this is done ungrudg
jngly and as duty" If you ask such a
woman what prompted her &c burden her
self with the maintenance of another
woman's family she will tell you there
vas nothing wonderful in the act. ''She
Supposes as some neighbor nd do the
same by her young 'uns il ever she was In
trouble.
A poor. unfortunate girl living In a ten
enent house with others of her unhappy
class, fell seriously i'll The landlord
wanted her sent to the workhouse. The
other girls said No, not if they knew
it " These poor creatures pawned all the
sothes they could spare in order to pay
FOR g clever doctor-for her case was
COMPLICATED one-and they dubbed to
gether and got her all the doctor ordered
ler They relieved each other at the sick
Jed and took it in turns to nurse her day
and night, and they made her stop at
nome 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 it 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 Deighbors Some good
Young children for him if he has none old
enough to look aftsr the others. The
baby not infrequently finds 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 mp his place
Cor him, and Mrs. Brown viii pop across
the road and get his tea ready for him
net ba bnyao T'horo oraS
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 bald narrative of incidents
would be to rob them of all their grace
and charm.
The sympathy of the poor shows itself
sometimes III tender regard for some
thing which has been the pet Of dead
conlrade or neighbor. Some little time
sack, hawker in the East End lay dying
lie was widower and childless, but ne
had one companion-a faithful, loving
little dog. who had lived with him for
many years. as the poor fellow lay on
bis death bed, the little deg stretched it
SCH OIt OtSiOS uIlIl, hlO every uoW oiit.
then licked the weak thin hand that
rested lovingly upon its little head The
old hawker's mind was tortured as to
what would be his faithful companions
fate after he had gone to his grave;
so one day he sent for a mate. and he
said to him: Jim, when I'm gone.
take my little Fan. and let her have
a homo with you till she dies. will
you, mate? shall die happy If | know
as she'll have q friend to take care
of her after I'm dead" Jim, street
hawker of dolls, gripped his friends HAND
and said: Yes. mate; III take her. and
promise you as she shall be as comfort
able as can make her"
This kindness to animals Is by no means
a rare trait among the poor. have seen
a lean and hungry lad many time shar
ing his scanty meal Of bread and butter
with stray cur in the Sums, and | know
one common lodging house cat. who died
in the kitchen amid the tears and sobs Of
the rough raen and women, who clustered
around to see their pet breathe its last
George r Sims in Philadelphia Times