Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-04-20

that q needle-woman's hard labor from sunrise
to midnight can procure her only so many
cents day Is certain shock: but never hav-
ing felt the bitter punishment of the pay that
Is inst enough TO make neyer-ceasing toll i'm
peratlve and possible. you can never under
stand It. 1ou can never understand even the
fuil meaning of toil-the constant squirting of
the jaded frame; the impossibiiity, from cradle
TO grave. of ever knowing a fair rest or recuper-
alton; the deathly mental disgust at the daily
recurring strain. You know of all this about
as much as the bird that has wings to skim the
ocean knows of the sufferings of the poor ship
wrecked creatures who. lacking such wings,
struggle. shrek and go down in the black
! waters"
Miss Bryce bent her head and watched him.
with a half-scared mtentness. from under her
brows.
Yes" he continued ION the smooth faces of
your class there is no trace of the pinching of
want. OF the hardening of toll. the unrest of
| temptation, the deformity of guilt; and when
You try to help the poor, the straying, the
fallen, they shrink away, because there is no
| voice of klnship in the appeal"
How have you learned so well, then?" said
Miss Bryce, very softly, Ito talk to these
people?"
kilbraith for moment turned his head
| away; then. clinching hand over the little
chair that stood near. he looked rich, dainty,
lovely Miss Bryce straight in the face and an
swered:
Il learned through struggling up. one of
eight fatheress youngsters; through seeing my
widowed mothers hands hard from toll;
| through graphing, God knows how, an educa-
tlon; through working at trades. arts-any-
thing that would bring pay; through dreaming.
day and night, of some field in which to exer-
else literary facility OF which | had become
conscious: through fighting my way to a great
center and there being rebuffed at every turn;
lastly. through walking the streets of New
lork starving. Yes. Miss Bryce, | remember
this house well. l have often walked, SILVER
ing half-clad, literally starving creature, by
your very door"
Kathleen had listened without moving, but
her bent face had grown pale. When Kilbraith
sprang up as If with the change of attitude to
| change the conversation. she made OBTAINING
gesture. Where are your family"
| Oh answered Kilbraith. lightly, "my
mother is in Texas l look after her as / best
can, and after the brothers and sisters who are
| at schools or at work. We are scattered all over
the west. Some of the emigrating generation
starved to death, believe. here in the east, for
/ / never heard of a kiibraith that was reasona-
bly, sure of his next weeks dinners The most
promising of the tribe to-day is but lately eman-
cNated from common newspaper reporting,
now journalist of some small promise, and a
budding magaznist He is gaunt and sandy,
Ike ms elan. thirty Years old. by name Ken
meth Esme Kilbraith. very much at your serv-
ice. Now something too much of this Where
shall order the plants for the guild?'
Miss Bryce rose and said III go with you. y
1 anu III Il lew minutes tneE were walking down
Fifth avenue together. At a certain florist s on
Broadway she gave reckless orders for growing
plants. and then, pointing at a bunch of dark
blue violets in the window. she dictated to the
obsequlous man who was writing out her di-
rectiOns: Ten thousand violets like those.
made into punches of twenty-five. Have them
ready Easter morning early. -Four hundred
punches, each with spray of iii y-of-the- valley
and a touch of green" She seemed inclined to
talk rather fast, and since she had left home
had hardly glanced at Kibraith Ii he had
not known too fatally well every change in her
gentle tell-tale face he might have believed il
almost naughty. As it was, he felt rather puz-
Zled by strange rigidity and pallor Pres
emily, as they still stood i'll the shop, there APP
peared in the doorway the quaint and grotesuue
figure of an old woman-thin, tall and much
bent \ long cloak of some stuff that had
lost all namable color and texture tapped
about her, and she clutched at the rents to hold
it together; her battered black bonnet bore a
! wretched ensign of veil that was slapped
| sharply across her face by the brisk wind. She
hobbled to the window i'll which the bunch of
| viOlets was displayed. and, pointing at them.
asked in a thin treble, broken by a hollow
cough, How much are they?"
oh" answered the impatient florist "a good
deal--three dollars"
What" she exclaimed $50 muchr' Then.
coughing frightfully the while, she stood star
! ing at the flowers.
Come, you don't want Them" the man re-
minded her, brishy
YES. do want EN-" came the answer as the
cough raciled her miserable frame once more.
'Oh, | do want 'em! How much for few-onlv
so many-ten?' and she spread out her claws
of fingers
For temp" said the shopman. Five cents. -
| rive cents. she quayered, and dived down
into the folds of her dress. Then apparently
having reached pocket, she took out some
pennies. turned her back. looked at them care
fully, muttered: "Five-fve cents. That's a
great deal-oh, a great deal" she muttered
once more, her thin old lips trembling. II
| can't can't" Then she shuffied to the door
again, and, like an old bundle of rags, she was
taken up by the wind and driven from side to
side on the walk as she tried to steer her I'M
certain steps
Kiibraith turned to speak to Miss Bryce. who
had been standing by his side, but she had
sprung forward and snatched up the whole
great handful of violets Two tears were chas-
lug down her cheeks. and she said, hurriediy
thrusting the flowers into his hands: ''Go-foi-
low her; give her these. Find ont where she
lives. Tell her I'll send her more-I'll send her
everything. Oh. to be so i'll. old, so wretched.
SO poor! Think of it!'' The two tears fell and
more gathered in the lovely eyes, Find out
/ where she llves-her name-everything Oh,
won't you go!"
kilbralth, by process swifter than reason
ing. knew that this emotion was partly vent
Tor the feeling that she had been suppressing
with all her might, and hiding behind a mask
but what the nature of that feeling might be
| he refused to name even to himself. Still.
school himself as he would. he was only mortal
man, and there stood the woman he loved all
tears and pleading. What if the pleading was
only to follow old woman? TO follow that
| old woman became the dearest object in life
He clutched the flowers darted out. and guided
by that ensign of a tattered veil caught up with
| the old creature, and tapped her on the
shoulder. She stopped, looked up at him with a
pair of wonderfully bright eyes, and now see
| ing her face, she seemed more broken by
deprivatiOns than by years. Having looked up
she drew back as if i'll terror; then ventured
one more glance, recOiled again, Rugged her
tatters closer, and hurried away.
| Here" klbraith called out. kindly: "stop
won't you? A lady has sent you these violets. -
She paused, took them eagerly laid them in a
sort OF rapture against her face, grooming and
muttering; then, seeming overcome with fright
again, dropped them on the sidewalk exclaim-
ing, I'm very poor, can't pay for EN-" she
hurried on as before.
''Oh, do stop"' cried Kilbraith, out of pa
thence, and overtaking her once more.
Cant you understand? She gives them to
YOU
"Gives them?" She grabbed them again
eagerly.
YES; and where do you live? Do Won need
anything-any help! doctor for that cough
eh! And money-money for a good cup of
tea-eh?'
As he spoke the woman seemed to grow only
still more terrified, and again letting the flow
ers drop, she made desperate efforts to get
away very fast. She even tried to run. and
stumbled and swayed along with surprising