New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-11-29
A WHITE ONE.

gtrpHUInV TWIOWgH
But the laundry.girs were used to these ln ,r
yeniences and thought nothing or them. ihey
chartered continuously over their work, hot ne
cause they were happy or because Ihey n' had dS no
conception of the dignity OF silence. Inc con
versation was, perhaps not oil the most ediiy,ms
description, and the language employee ,eo fy waS
forcble, garnished by slang and not Tree from
superiuous explosives, for these girls were not OF
the highest type. There was curious tawdrihesS
or rather gaudiness about their, for the most par
ragged dresses they had big heavy frlnges, winch
the steam had taken out OF curl, so tnat III
nearly every instance they struggled INTO the
bold eyes beneath them; their faces 700, Were
i'm "a striking contrast to their hands in the matter
of cleanliness, for it was not compulsory TO put
them in the water in order to earn llVellboS2u,
but they were better in this respect than they
would he nearer the end OF the week, lOr o-uay
was only Tuesday.
The only exception TO the universal
untidincss was manifested in the person OF
one whom the girls called Liza 1.-THE being
pronounced az if it was the diPhtnos az ;vos ms
variably dropped by her acquaintance, was
hunchback, and her face, though 1t possessed lne
merit of cleanliness, was almost repulslVeiy ugly
The complexion sallow. the mouth DadiS
shaped, the eyebrows obtrusively dark and heavy ;
very sad were the eyes beneath them, had there
been anyone to note their wistfgl look but 'Llza
did not encourage scrutiny, and, indeed the DrOWh
eyes were not remarkable in themselves, ana were
moreover half hidden by the dropping lids, IRON
which she glanced in sideways half-slnlster man
Liza was not very popular among Hci com-
panions, partly because she chose to be exclusive.
and partly because she could on occasion say UNI
pleasantly sharp things. But there was one per-
son whom she loved, and that was Miss Calender
BY and by the ringing of bell created a d.
version among the workers. Almost sImultane-
ously eight pairs Of red soapy arms were drawn OUT
of the wash-tubs, eight pairs OF red, crlnK i
hands were wiped on some portion of convenient
apparel, and eight pairs Of ill-shod feet tramped
into an adjoining room.
At a table in this stood young lady.
very sweet in appearance and prettlly dressed
She nodded in a friendly way to the girls, and
shook hands with each as they passed. She
had their interest at heart and made it her duty
TO come two or three times week and provide
them with dinner. This dinner consisted usually,
as on this occasion, of plate of soup and large
slice of pudding, for which they paid penny
a second helping of either could be had ior
farthing, so the payment was merely nominal
but the girls were exempt from the feeling that
they were the recipients Of charity
The copperS were daDbed' down Oh
the table in little pile, and Miss Calender
ladled out the soup, which was quickly and
i nosiiy V consumed The young lady watched the
their roughness did not seem TO repel her
Girls" she said presently, in her quiet, clear
voice, Il am going to give party in the Mission
There was a chorus of delighted assent, accom-
panied by general Gathering of spoons on the
almost empty plates.
"Oh, friendly said Miss Calender Music,
and plenty 10 eat, and-you may bring your
sweethearts'
This caused a prolonged gggling.
Might we bring more than one?' inquired
Polly Baines who enjoyed the distinction of being
the prettiest of the girls.
Miss Calender shook her head disapprovngly.
You oughtn't to have more than one" she
said. smiling.
oh. as for that, Miss, ! don't want any. I'm
sure but there, the more you draws off, the more
they comes on. That's how it is with men, and
that's why them as don't want 'em, always has
the most admirers
And Polly. conscious OF fascinating
retrousse nose and dimpled chin, tossed her head
in the air.
Whereupon all the girls, not to be outdone, and
by no means reticent on the subject of their love
affairs, fell TO talking about them, finding the
topic eminenty congcnial, and treating 1t IN
manner which displayed nofnore vulgarty of heart
than is concealed by certain ladies. Miss Callen-
der rather encouraged than checked them; she
liked them to be perfectly natural before her, and
into their lives and characters -
Two there were who kept silence; one little
newly married woman to whom love was too sacred
for common speech and Liza
The pudding she had begun to attack seemed
to stick in LlZas throat, and she mad great dlil-
Guilty in gulping it down, for the other hunger of
which she was often conscious, the hunger of the
heart now so asserted itself as to make her
oblivious of bodily needs. Something there was,
too, of bitterness in her mind as she listened to the
talk of thee others Perhaps Polly's words did
more to cause il than anything else Them as
don't want 'em always has the most admirers"
Looking she suddenly met the eyes OF TINS girl
To her morbid imagination they expressed pity,
perhaps scorn. She crinsOned.
There was a momentary lull, so that they all
heard her when she said in peculiarly loud,
harsh, defiant voice
Mine isn't Twin; mine isn't"
Yours? Did you have sweetheart once ?'
asked the married woman, not urgently, though
there was the slightest perceptible accent on the
prOnOun.
And why not? ?" asked Liza, and her voice was
louder than before. 1t isn't only pretty girls as
has people, caring for em. There's other things
besides looks"
ominously. Goodness is worth much more to a
What was his name, Liza" asked Polly
Blaines
Polly was conceitcd, and Liza, representative,
scented patronage.
Il amt going to tell YER" she said. Then
with swift contradiction his first name was
WAS he handsomc?" asked Polly. pinching
her neighbOr under the table, that the latter,
hgh-cOored, coarsc-looking girl, gave little
Il never see anybody better looking, said
Liza, with prompttude. " He wasn't any of
happened to be fair =" lie was dark, and his
nose wss straight like gcntlemans, and his
teeth was white and" eliza warmed TO her sub
ject and he used to wear rcd silk tie, with a
pin in il. And" she went on. he always gave
me lots of presents-ots, and he loved me so, as
he couldn't bear me out of his sight. Oh, she
cried eNeltcuN, ne ulu love me- ana we was so
happy keepin' company, and he was a-goin to
marry me-" She paused abruptly. Indeed her
shrl voice had got almost beyond her control.
What did he die OFF" asked one of the girls
with genuine compassion in her tones
Liza looked at r-gasped-hcsitatcd mo-
ment-then rose, and pushed back her chair
That don't matter 10 no one, she said in a
hard voice, that yet had catah in it. He's
dead, and that's enough; and you needn't any Of
you ever talk TO me about him. So there 3"
And she went back into the laundry.
There was q moments silence Miss Calender
sat looking thoughtful then she rose, and fol-
lowed Liza into the next room, closing the door.
The other girls regarded one another with some
surprise Liza was usually silent, and was con-
kind to her in their rough way though she was
certainly not q favOrite among them. But now
that they realized that she had a romance IN her
life, the love of sentiment, which is in every
| LIZ. LIN.