The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1890-04-18
VPOOR SAL.

l keep on thinking of those who
are born into misery, who mover know
anything save misery, and who can
not possibly be 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 a few millions of mlser-
ables more or less do not matter. |
have known JOY. All God, have /!
not2 Through the splendid hush OF
the night / have walked on and on,
because I could not sleep for the de.
light of living; and the pouring of
the moonbeams quickepcd my blood
like wine. But those pretty sensations
can only be felt by people who have
food inside them, and q shelter to stay
in when their raptures slacken. Do
any of the kindly optimistic people
ever try to imagine the course of a
bleak life9 One wild morning, about
4 o'clock, when powdery snow was
dancing in wreathes over the iron
ground, I found poor chap squatting
in a recess out Kings cross way, and
he coughed with hacking click that
was ugly. He wore the remains of
summer overcoat; he had no shirt,
and he was dying of consumption,
dying ON that cruel road, with wind
blowing enough to cut you in two. l
did not ask his opinions on the joys
of life.
Then take the case oi Sal Fleming.
Sal was married to a good fellow, who
had laborer's job in timber yard,
and the people in the long tumble
down street thought that the couple
were rather well off, for Jerry Elem
ing had IL shillings and sometimes IL
shillings per week; and Sal could
have turn at wood chopping almost
whenever she liked to ask for it. So
when the neighbors came to borrow
spoonful of tea or the iron saucepan.
they would say. Its well to be you,"
and then they would give details con-
corning their own mems i'll luck. In
the street of eighty-four houses, there
was only one clock, and that stood on
Jerry's mantlepiece; it could not al
ways be depended upon to go, but it
had never been in pawn, and that fact
balanced every flaw in its character.
Then there was crib and 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 desirable establish
ment. 1t 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, as 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 stree,. One was a
faring place where the landlady wore
black satin, the landlord talked about
his trap and the barman wore white
shirt; the other was rocking hole
kept by 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).
Eel went once a 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 one was fourpence, so you
could not call them incorporate. Now,
there was slow, dull sort of happiness
in all this, and, if one had asked Sal
how she Jared, she would have said,
II can't complain. We get our grub
and piece of meat Sundays, and we
can put shilling or two away.
There's many would swop with U.S."
To give the optimists pleasure,
may say that from 8 to 1915 on Sat
urday night was a good time for Sal,
and she sometimes came very near
smiling She and Jerry walked out
into the, 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 toffs. The oil
lamps stank and huttered; the hawk
ers bawied hosrsely; 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 trifle
of the gamblers excitement while
choosing the meat for next day, and
Jerry felt all the dignity of connois-
sour as he called his silent partners
attention to various things "You,
Sal, when you turns round. Just sec
this show we're. Amt that show o.
meat2 See him. Now he'll swaller that
there poker in arr minute" and SO
on; and Sal thought Jerry was artful,
because he could tell the meaning of
everything. On Sundays Jerry had
nothing TO do, and he stepped himself
in the pleasure of easing his muscles
to am extent which might damage my
theory--if had nothing more to say.
lie could not read. and he could not