The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1889-01-17
HELEN or TROY


aela oi Troy bent over ions liable u
t.e rs,y o. her eaii,iiy aud iroDrd. irossd
il nsd. boar alter hour. sii day Ions. s
le .,iy pash M aside With red a1d suolisn
h,oa. the psli.bed .hi,s emf. ~lics
fousd lhsir "a, to every part Of the civil
ned ~oild
For the mo lern Helen ~as 'Tro,
Lsuudry Girl"
Had ron told her that the soik done by
her hands sss sciusliy ssni mol only Il
every part Of her osn lsrd. bnt 10 Eurcpt
aud the islands OF the see, she would hsvs
stared daily 81 you. without IN the less'
com prehendiug the scope ci her work.
For 10 the eurriculum oi the school 10
which her education bad been shaped ths
only geography known wss that Of the
streets.
The whole world outside Of Troy vas
labeled and set aside ~ "Upexplored
Territory"
The thcroughisrs on which stood the
lsnemspt in which she was born vas Of
that order common 10 our older oities. in
which the proportions had long since been
lost between the number OF inhsbitsnts.
human canine and feline. spd the visible
supply Of clothing and food --as had thst
also between the Christian graces spd the
degradation aud filth.
Dukes Alley WAS. in point Of fact, the
Five Points" Of thrifty. Christian. mod
ern Troy.
Helen WAS a child Of the alley. Twenty
years before our story opens she had been
born the child OF thief. the first offspring
Of marriage With feeble minded girl, ~
poor and degraded as herself.
Not . psrentage calculated to endow its
children with shining virtues by any
known laws Of iheredi,y.
For ten years she had fought and
scratched .nd sworn her way through
life In Dukes Alley snd SHIELD her own
with the best OF them" which interpreted
by the outer world have read. "the worst
Of them"
Iu the ten years, almost as many little
brothers and sisters had successfully come
walled out for shorter or longer pefiod
their feeble protests against the hard con
ditions OF their environment. and gone the
silent way.
Ouly one had survived the struggle
Rhods, four years younger than Helen.
The neigbbors had been known to say,
It's lucky Bills folks young 'uns dies
Of. for don't know how they'd ever
raise 'em. m they wouldn't be good for
nothing il they did raise 'em.
Bills folks. we're not held, in high
esteem even in Dukes Alley.
Don't let any on 'em lick ye. Nell Let
'em know ye're as good as any on EN-,
hsd benn the parental counsel.
Bills idea Of goodness" was not, per-
haps, that held by bis Christian and
fellow citizens in the broader
and less crowded streets near by.
To Bill it's metes and bounds we're grit
muscle.
In the society Of the alley. I'm - good
: man ~ he, freely translated would have
been. He can't lick me.
Helen's leanings toward goodness"
had been developed solely on this line.
Untaught. defiant. stupid. the one tender
spot in her heart WAS her love for Rhods.
Lay hand on Rboda, n I'll scratch
yer eyes out, waa an edict frequently issued
against her companions Of the alley, and
they knew that safety lay in obedience.
An epidemic swept over ihe city and
Dukes Alley was decimated.
When the health officers invaded Bills
iomicile and carried out its stricken in
mates. kind Mistress Murphy next door
look Nell and Rhoda into her own room
behind The saloon TO .tsy until their par
,nt.' could return.
But an adversary better" thsn Bill had
1t last tested strength with him, and be
was forced to yield.
What could be expected OF Bil,'s wife
but that she should do nov what she had
done through all her we'd.
ID life follow Bill7
So they never came back 10 the tene
ment in Dukes Alley.
Mistress Murphy told the orphans
their parents were dead.
To Nelfs dull ii tellect II mesnt lite
bey opd cessation Of kicks and blows
She bad not yet grsppled with the prob
lem of the food and clothing supply,
Misiress Murphy solved it for her.
Its here yen stay and yell help me in
he saloon for the bit Of bite and . sup
rell made; and ~ for Rhoda, Why. wbat'll
1spe one'll kspe two
But I'm thinkin' vhst'll do wid bcr Al
III to kspe her out Of the way. for IT'S no
ssrthly use she is for the work and she'll
DO in the way 10 the saloon.
Il's thinkin' / sm Ill list sind her
around TO the public school TO kspe her
,ut Of the way.
School Tor Rbodsl
Nell seized upon the idea greediy, -
which 10 dim mysterious man
Ter vas 10 diIerentiAte Rhods from the
lenizers Of the alley and give her place
Imong the children she had seen outside;
he children Who in her envy she hsd
a =. ,.i... Lux.s,