Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-07-25
GENTEEL POVERTY.
HOW SOME WOMEN KEEP UP Ap-
peARAMces ON NRv uTTtE

ward The desk of my chief - II sccussnmed
70 rooms with long distance Hsr who's ar
indicated culture.
She vas evidently veil acquainted with
the secretary. and ohserved that b treated
her with more than even his usual courtesy
To my surprise shs asked for empaoymsnf-
for writing Of any kind Hsr general air
Of maxnidcence, combinsd With hsr eager
ness for enploymsnf. % excited my eurios
ity that aftsr she bad sAilsd away with
charming old fashioned co0ftesy-one quar-
Ter Of which was bestowed upon ms-I aid
70 my chief: who b shsr
..Shs is \ niece Of -" mentioning .
former grand potentats Of New York city,
.whAti' | exclaimed '.Shs Vas h@
uncles adopted daughter; Why did not hs
leave her some money!
when her uncle died." replied the secre
sary, lit was found that he was not -
wealthy many supposed, and she was left
with % znan an income that it Just keeps
her from starving. l am told
LADIES, ALL THE SAM
Before this incident occurred bad often
been brought into contact with genteel pow
erty, and since then many are the facts
which have gathered through observation,
and because Of a sympathetic temperament
which makes me the recipient Of humanitys
joys and sorrows TO . larger degree than
falls to the lot Of most women
Having often heard remarks-not always
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES genteel poverty a
represented by poor women, l have jotted
down the following facts and impressions:
The first thing this class Of women gener
ally consider is their personality. From
bonnet to shoe their constant endeavor Is to
t.av Ia Ia vrii hayv with IA h6ny
net which for the sake Of economy they
must make, though it may turn out As ugly a.
sin-yet, really lovely are many OF their fab
relations A bit of lace, a piece Of silk that
was laid carefully away in view Of an emer
gency rose subtracted from box Of ar
tifcial flowers that have seen much service.
Silk, lace and rose deity put together. and
there appears a bonnet that Is often an object
OF envy to more fortunate women.
These are the women who not only watch
the stores for bargains, but need to, and they
soon learn with the keen intuitions Of woman
hood to make n dollar go Il great ways They
find here and there few yards Of brocade or
silk sellinr far below the usual price; this, put
with some carefully renewed material, often
makes pretty gown that surprises both be-
holder and possessor.
but there is always failure somewhere"
plaintively remarked a friend; IL can manage
the dress and bonnet, but my shoes and gloves
are never what they should be" she pouted,
as she thrust out a tiny foot clad in well
fitted but very cheap shoes. And then she
put out for inspection little hand covered,
alas, with IA cotton glovel MY mothers
creed cannot follow" she poutingly con-
tinues; "she used to say that lady could al
ways be told by the quality Of her shoes and
gloves OF course | am no longer = lady &C
cording to that creed"
But, after all, it is the question Of getting
comfortably lodged for the smallest rent pos
sible which most sorely puzzles these women
And the ''hall bedroom becomes an i'm
portant factor Landladies have learned not
to be surprised when finely attired lady
rents her third or fourth story hall room.
But the dreary little room is often 50 trans
formed that it becomes a very pretty boudoir.
The bed is replaced by sofa, cot or folding
bed A screen hides the "washstand." From
her trunk she brings forth treasures-gener-
ally old, but, after all, valuable as bric-a-brac
and soon the landlady stands gazing with ad-
miration amidst all their luxury She has
such tiny income that will not mention it.
But, when rent, etc, are subtracted, there Is
but morsel left for the stomach, % that her
food becomes the least substantial Of all ef-
forts for gentility.
THE LITTLE OIL STOVE
We must not forget the 'oil stove" What
these women would do without the oil stove
really cannot imagine What wonderful
buildings, stews, soups, etc, are cooked upon
stoves often as small as the owners income,
and the recipes of many Of these connections
are not to be found in any cook book.
~
door" to two lovely ladies, who did their
small cooking over the gas, though that, Of
course, was forbidden. How they ever man
aged to evade that landlady do not under
stand, because she was a hard, sharp woman,
not easily deceived by womankind. 1t was,
perhaps, not quite moral in me to wink at %
much wickedness, but the wiles Of those two
women to evade that cross, rich ola landlady
were a source Of enjoyment which abides
with me still
But the dainty women who will not learn
to cook because they cannot endure the odors
in their small rooms have the hardest times.
knew once one of these helpless gentlewo-
men who had drifted to us from foreign
shores Beautiful as n dream with manner
half proud and appealing, she made my heart
ache sometimes
do not suppose that any one, excepting
myself, ever knew how hungry she often
was, because Of her spirited manner. can
imagine that she was sometimes almost hun
gry enough to have eaten one Of her beauti-
full white hands She would live a whole
week upon bread and tea" and when she
could stand it no longer she would subtract
quarter from her savings, then go to some
clean. cheap restaurant TO eat the nearest ap
proach to a dinner that she could afford.
Again and again another quarter would be
used until her hunger was satisfied. Had she
used her oil stove for cooking she could have
lived much better at less cost.
ludicrous remembrance is that have Of
two ladies' who were ''chums,' but were
blessed with such small incomes that they
had to account for even the pennies. Ex-
ceedingly intimate, yet they rarely visited
each other, though separated but BY q few
blocks; because, when together, they were
spendthrifts, while separate theJ could reach
the end Of the month without becoming
financial wrecks
Let them once yield to the fascination Of .
day in each others society and the stores
and restaurants soon exhausted their united
resources Like the drunkard with his lone
glass more they were vndone, and when
night came they would mournfully consider
their empty pocketbooks and broken vowa-
Emma s. Allen in New York News