The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-11-12

~ the Little Sisters of the Poor by Mar
gareS." 1.-The Strangers Tomb, Given
by Margaret" | suppose Margaret
spent more money for the city than the
richest man in the history of the state;
and of the sympathy and discernment Of
the needs of the poor the half could
never be told. She spent nothing on
herself. A clean. blue calico, stout
shoes, a black straw bonnet, a knitted
jacket or shoulder shawl, an iron bed
stead in a room without even a rocking
chair, and overlooking the bakeshop.
She had no time to enjoy luxuries, eve
had she possessed them. AS long as
there was a weeping child OF a friend
less woman in the city, what time had
she to fold her arms in a rocking chair?
While there were unburied, c~ofinless
forms, could she adorn her home of the
living? And SO it happened that to the
end of life Margaret spent neither time,
care MOI money on herself. She forgot
there was such q mortal as Margaret.
"And when, one day, the news went
around that Margaret was dead, the
great city arose and put on mourning;
the business houses were closed; all the
employments of the city stood still. The
day of the burial thousands of her little
orphans followed her bier as mourners;
every church sent delegations of honor
bearers; the public school children joined
in the throng; the houses were draped
along the line Of march; all the bells
in the city tolled; civic and military
Joined in the procession with ecclesias-
tics; there never was here a funeral like
Margaret's.
"Afterward it was found that her pos
sessions had been SO disposed that had
death come at any moment the affairs of
this life were well and intelligently
wound up. There were no personal eff
fects of value, but even her few gar
ments she left to the poor, and with the
proceeds of her wise investments her
charities are royalty endowed.
s'This statue is the gift Of the city, to
show in this public way the esteem in
which she is held. 1t is very like Mar
garet. The motherly figure, seated with
one arm encircling q standing child at
her side; the untrinsmed dress, coarse
shoes, the little crochetted shawl about
her shoulders are ho1nely, but who would
change them for finer clothing? The
smooth hair, withits ldfashioned French
parting; the strong chin, the pleasant
mouth, the serious eyes-is there not
something fascinating in the contradic-
tions of the face?
did you ever see such a head on a
woman's shoulders? Massive, wonder
ELI THAT 30 fha LDod ~ n ct,facYno :,
and fnancier, while its mouth, with its
pleasant smile, telling OF the tact and
natural suavity Of M~argaret's character,
proclaim the elements OF a born diplomat.
Yet, look again at the broad, massive
brow, and see the earnest, loving eye
that speaks Of q true womanhoed; look
once more at the coarse garments and
you will see that poverty added her load
to the ordinary burden Of womanhood,
while ignorance, bereavement, affection.
loneliness join hands with poverty against
this soul. But the massive brow con-
quered, the untaught brain triumphed,
and under the leadership of the sad, gen
tie eyes gave to the suffering what might,
had she been a man born in other cir
cumstances, have been the gain of nations
and the glitter of the trapping of diplo-
mat.
NWhen l consider what Margaret did
for one city under such desperate disad-
vantages, I wonder what she could have
done for the world if all the environ
ments had been right. I was thinking
of that as ! looked, in passing for the
hundredth time, at the strong, fascinat-
ing face this morning, when your ques-
ton met my ear.
eyes, it looks like her, and there will
never be another in marble like it to the
end of time. She was q grand character
tender, strong, original, pitiful, help
full, WISE"