Democratic messenger., 1889-11-16
POOR SAL.

arc born into misery, who never know
anything save misery, and who can.
not possibly bc rescued from misery.
The sight Of them used to lacerate my
heart, and now, when ! can consider
most things with composure, it seems
queer when fortunate phrasemonger
tells me that q few millions Of miser.
ables moro or less do not matter.
have known joy. Ahi God, have !
notl Through the splendid hush Of
the night l have walked on and on,
because ] could not sleep for the de-
light OF living; and the pouring Of
tho moOnbcams quickened my blood
like wine. But those pretty sensations
can only DO felt by people who have
food inside them, and shelter to stay
in when their rapturcs slacken. Do
any Of tho kindly optimistic people
bleak lifei One wild morning. about
1 o'clock. when powdery snow was
dancing in wreathcs over the iron
ground, found a poor chap squatting
in recess out Kings cross way, and
he coughed with hacking click that
was ugly. He wore the remains of q
summer overcoat; lse had no shirt,
and he was dying Of consumption,
dying OH that cruel road, with q wind
blowing enough to cut you in two.
did not ask his opinions on tho joys
OF life.
Then take the case Of Sal Fleming.
Sal was married TO good fellow, who
had a laborer's job in timber yard,
and tho people in the long tumble
down street thought that the couple
were rather well off, for Jerry Flem-
ing had IL shillings and sometimes 12
shillings per week; and Sal could
have u turn at wood chopping almost
whenever she liked 10 ask for il. So
when the neighbors came to borrow q
spoonful Of tea or the iron saucepan.
they would say. Its well TO be you,
and then they would give details con.
the street Of eighty-four houses, there
was only one clock, and that stood on
Jerry's mantlepiece; it could not al.
ways DO depended upon TO 60, but il
had never been in pawn, and that fact
balanced every flaw in its character.
Then there was q crib and u stool and
two chairs and a bed, which had orig
inally been oblong, and some crock
cry. No wonder the women thought
Of Sails house as q desirable establish
ment. Il was said that the back room
contained chest OF drawers, and that
in these drawers there were tablecloths
and sheets, but it Is unwise TO receive
extravagant rumors. Sal was not
good looking. but her rude face. with
its dull. kind eyes, was not unpleasant
TO see. She cared very little FOR talk
ing, rs she never Joined the line OF
matrons who stood at their doors,
skirling like gulls ON fine evenings.
Nor did she like the public houses at
either end Of the street. One was q
flaring place where the landlady wore
black satin, the landlord talked about
his trap and the barman wore q white
shirt; the other was a recking hole
kept by a beetle browed person. who
looked oily and corpulent (you never
see an i'll fed publican in those quar-
ters more than you do elsewhere).
Sal went once week to the beetle
browed mans establishment, and that
was on Sunday at midday, and Jim
went on Saturday night; the amount
which they paid weekly TO the beetle
browed ono was fourpencc. so you
could not call them incorporate. Now,
there was slow, dull sort OF happiness
in all this, and, il one had asked Sal
how she Jared, she would have said,
Il can't complain. We get our grub
and piece OF meat Sundays, and we
can put u shilling or two away.
There's many would swop with us.
To give the optimists pleasure, !
may say that from 3 TO 10:15 on Sat
urday night was good time for Sal.
and she sometimes came very near
smiling. Sho and Jerry walked out
into tho great, broad, main street +;
Jerry lit his clay and cooked his hat
with most rakish air; Sal wore her
gray shawl, aud some Of the neigh
bors said they were tolls. The oil
lamps stank and iluttered; the hawk
ers bawled hoarsely; the awful mu-
sic Of thousands Of voices being in the
air like suppressed thunder, and the
brooding haze from many breaths
whirled into weird shapes that formed
and undulated in the blurred glim-
merings of the lights. Sal had q trifle
Of tho gamblers excitement while
choosing the meat for next day, and
Jerry felt all the dignity Of a connois-
seur rs lac called his silent partners
attention 10 various things. "You,
Sal, when you turns round. just SEQ
this show yere. Ain't that show o.
meatl Sec him. Now he'll swaller that
there poker in arf a minute" and so
on; aud Sal thought Jerry was artful,
because hc could tell the meaning Of
everything. On Sundays Jerry had
nothing to do. and he steeped himself
in tho pleasure Of casing his muscles
81 an extent which might damage my
theory-if ! had nothing more 70 say.