Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1891-06-25
THE WIDOW SMITH.
what "A Careful Study of RrookIyn's City
Directory Reveals About Her.

What IA Careful Study of RrookIyn's City
Directory Reveals About Her.
The Widow Smith is "A most interesting
individual. She is young and old, placid
and irritable, rich and poor, lean and fat,
tall and short, dark aud light, beautiful
and plain, blessed with many children, des-
titute of any, deyout church member, n
noR-charchg oeF, devoted to bread making
and unable to cook ut all. She is fond OF
dress, and she takes no heed of her clothes.
She is gay and sad at once, sick and well,
tired and overlooking with buoyant spirits,
wise in the learning Of the ancients and
unable to write her name. She cherishes
the most contradictory hopes, fears, preju-
dces, beliefs, opinions, loves, hates, ten
denotes. She has a passion for candy and
pickles, tragedy and comedy, Booths
Hamlet and Hoyt's Tin Soldier"
The Widow Smith lives in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn is indeed the paradise of widows.
1t would be an interesting subject for in
vestigation why the City of Churches
should be so fatal, apparently, to married
men. Or is it that its quieter streets form
calm eddies in the rushing currents Of
metropolitan life unto which those ship
wrecked of hope steer their shattered
banks for sheltered sailing on narrower
waters, or for peaceful anchorage, await
ing the final dissolution? Brooklyn is an
immense harbor full Of such disabled yes
sells.
Some Of these banks bend new sails TO
their masts, and make brave shift against
the winds and tides Brooklyn widows
are found, to drop the metaphor earning
their bread at dressmaking millinery and
minor arts and crafts Of thousand de-
scriptions. They keep candy and station
cry stores, they sell hardware, two of them
are undertakcrs and one runs a fish mar
ket. They peddle milk and fruit and but
Ter about the streets, they preserve fruits
and experiment with home bakeries. They
engage in large ventures ouce in a while.
One of them carried on for years an i'm
portant dry goods business and retired
with an ample fortune a couple of seasons
ago Her masculine successor, who tried
to improve upon her methods on the same
site, became bankrupt with astonishing
promptitude. II is widow who runs,
over a masculine name, a well known
mems clothing store.
The Widow Smith-who though lost in
generalities must not be forgOtten--is able
to cherish suct a variety Of tastes and eX.
hibit such Inconsistencies Of character be-
cause there are lGS Of her, without count
ing the young widows Smith who live
at home with their parents and so are uu-
known to the directory, and without max
ing reckoning either of the Smyth, Smythe,
Smitt, Smits, Smidh, Smeitz, Smid, Smet,
Schmitz, Semitic, Schmitt, Schmits,
Schmit, Schmidts, Schmidt and Schmid
widows, who form Of themselves "a large
and influential element ia the community"
1t is interesting TO note the names borne
by the Widows Smith. Thirty Of her are
known as Mary Smith, thirteen as Cath
crime, twelve rs Elizabeth, ten as Sarah,
six as Eliza, five each as Ann, Annie Mar
garet and Susan There are four Brdgets,
three Emilys, three Louisas, three Helens,
three Marias and two each who are called
Abbie, Alice, Amelia, Anna, Anne, Caro-.
line, Carrie, Ellen Emeline, Josephine
Julia Martha, Minnie, Rebecca and Rose.
There is only one Widow Adela, Adeline,
Annette, Barbara, Charlotte, Chary, Chris
tiana, Deborah, Della, Dora, Ella. Har
riett, Harriette, Hattie, Kate, Laura, Let
tie. Lizzie, Lucretia, Lydia, Marguerite,
Marie, Rosanna, Selma Jane, Sinia, So
ply, Veronica, Susanna and Vida Smith.
New York Recorder