The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-07-10

THE GODDESS.
Hiram Stillman came from the pine
woods back of New Brunswick to make
his fortune in New York. He had nc
very ambitious hopes of becoming q
Vanderbilt or an alderman, but knew
something about horses, and thought he
might get job as driver
The folks down on the farm were op'
posed to his going; they would have
preferred to have him marry the
youngest daughter of the Methodist
parson and settle down at home. His
father had even gone so far as to otfel
him two rooms on the second floor OF
the old farm house and third interest
in the farm, with 5000 down on the day
of his wedding, but Hiram wanted to see
the city, and his interest in the Metho.
dist parsons youngest daughter was
very slight.
He came to New York with just SIS
in his pocket and shiny paper mache
valise. As soon as he saw the long UNI
broken line of carts and drays on West
street he gave up all idea of becoming a
driver. He could drive a horse down
the furrow in front of a plow, and he
lcould steer the hay wagon along the
country roads, but this writhing puzzle
of heavy drays and trucks and the
swearing drivers dazed and terrified
him.
He wandered up Cortland street to the
City Hall Park, which struck him as the
pleasantest part of the city that he had
yet seen, and he sat down on bench
and looked around him wOnderingly,
with his valise shut IN between his
knees, for he knew what thieves and
sharpers there were prOwling about in
this big metropolis. He had a great
curiosity to see the Bowery, of which
his cousin Elijah had told him, and
when he was rested and little used to
the noise and rush, and felt a little more
confidence in himself, he asked one of
the "cOnstables' in gray where the
Bowery was.
He was much relieved to find it was so
near at hand, and plunged into the
stream that flowed up Park Row with
vivid interest, and yet with his senses
still alert for possible sharpers. He was
much pleased with the Cinnamon, and
observed them cautiously at first until
he saw they were used to being stared
at, then hel took his fill and stood for
half an hour on the corner of Mott
street gazing at them and listening with
puzzled interest to their queer chatter.
He was rather surprised to find that no
one else seemed to notice them. He was
also much pleased with the pawn
broker shops, the cheap clothing stores
and the cheaper lodging houses which
seemed to promise such rare accommo-
dations at such moderate rates. He went
into one of these where the rooms were
twenty-five cents day or 81 week and
paid for a week in advance. The man
in his shirt sleeves behind the desk gave
him big key with brass tag to it, and
he went up to the room and left his bag
there. He sauntered out with quite a
feeling of being somebody, for the
ownership of the room gave him a
sense of vested proprietary right in the
metropolis. He felt almost like citi-
zen, and rather wished the folks at
home could see him.
There was hidden hand organ play
ing inside of place, the front of which
was covered with colored canvas signs
| such as Hiram had seen billowing before
the side shows at the circus.
The pictures were very inviting, but
Hiram knew, from his experience at the
circus, that they were not to be relied
on. He stopped to look at them, though,
and then he moved out to the outer
edge of the crowd of men who stood
gazing in through pane of glass at a
young woman. Hiram thought she was
rather bold to sit there and be stared at
by so many men, and he thought it was
all the more pity because she was so
young and so comely. She had a red
silk bodice and very large gold chain
around her neck; also reddish hair and
the fair complexion that always goes
with red hair.
| Hiram thought her remarkably pretty.
She looked us if she was put out about
something or other, and she did not
meet the eyes of the men in front, but
stared up over their heads. Hiram
wondered what she could be doing and
crowded up nearer to see. What he saw
took his presence of mind completely
away, for when he came nearer he dis
covered that the girl was whole to the
waist and that the lower part of her body
was cut completely away.
Hiram had seen some dozen circuses
in his time and many curious human
freaks, as they are very well called, but
that woman who was so good to look
at should have been born in this way
filed him with sudden pity and dis.
gust.
Then he blushed and bowed his head
in anguish at his own ineXperience
when one of the men in front of hin
said: "a very pretty trick, very clever
deception. OF course it's done with the
lights and mirrors, but it's good, isn't
it?" And then the gentleman added
carelessly to his companion as he moved
away: "And the girls too-quite toe
pretty to be wasted in the slums."
Hiram followed thenaEas they turned
up the street. He recognized them as
belonging to a different class than that
of the men lOunging on the street arounC
him. Yet they seemed to be as strange
place as himself. He rather fancied h,
would like to get work from them, anC
asked them if they knew of n job for ;
young man who was strong and willing
to work
They answered him sharply in tn,
negative, but stopped as he turned ava!
at once with startled apology.
"Do you really want work?' one o
them asked, and then they told him ther'
were thousands like him and that onl,
one out of hundred ever got the wOrl
they came for, but stopped looking fo
it and went to the bad. They told hin
that it took very bright men indeed t.
5 get along in New York, and that h,
might better be big man on his owl
4 farm than slave for small man in New
York. They seemed to think the.
ought to soften this by some assistance
but Hiram told them sharply he didn'
want any money, and walked ava,
feeling very much hurt and discouraged
S though he wouldn't even own it to him
self.
L He walked up and down the Bower
! all the rest of the day, and venture'
into little cross streets and into big ware
n houses, where he asked for work of an,
; sort. He determined not to go back
the farm with nothing to show for hi
visit and have his people say "We toll
: you So" He felt very lonely and wishe
he had some one to talk to. He col
ciuded finally to go back and look at tn
girl in front of the dime museum. Sh
: was still there, and he took great dea
II of comfort in looking at her. Once O
twice he fancied she noticed him stand
ing at the back of the constantly chang
ing crowd, and he turned his eyes ava
o because he thought it enough to sham
II any girl to have man stare at her.
& When it grew dark and the electri
lights began to splutter overhead, HiraI
n felt himself conspicuous and turne
= away to get supper, which he purchase
for u cents in a restaurant. He wa
n very tired and the hard pavements hui
n his feet after the soft country roads; bI
before he went to his room he walked
\. few blocks out of his way to take a loo
I at the red-haired girl with the prett
complexion. She saw him this tim
surely, but she made no sign. whic
r rather pleased him than otherwise; h
would not have liked it at all if she ha
smiled at him.
One day followed another and no wor
came to Hiram and his money ran yer