Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1891-06-27
THE WIDOW SMITH.
What Careful Study of Brooklyn's City
Directory Reveals About Her.

What IA Careful Study of Brooklyn'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 and light, beautiful
and plain, blessed with many children, des-
titute of any devout church member,
non-churchgoer, devoted to bread making
and unable 10 cook at all. She is fond of
dress, aud 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-
dices, beliefs, opinions, loves hates, ten
denotes She has 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 bc an interesting subject for in
vestigatiou why the City of Churches
should be so fatal, apparently, to married
men. Or is it that its queter streets form
calm eddies in the rushing currents of
metropolitan life unto which those ship
wrecked of hope steer their shattered
barks for sheltered sailing on narrower
waters, or for peaceful. anchorage, await
ing the final dissolution2 Brooklyn is an
immense harbor full of such disabled yes
sells.
Some of these barks bend new sails to
their masts, aud 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 undertakers and one runs 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 once in a while.
One Of them carried on for years an inn
portant dry goods business, and retired
with an ample fortune couple Of seasons
ago Her masculine successor, who tried
to improve upon her methods on The same
site, became bankrupt with astonishing
promptitude. 1t is r widow who runs,
over q masculine name, well known
mems clothing store,
The Widow Smith--who though lost in
generalities must not be forgotten--is able
to cherish such variety Of tastes and ex-
hibit such Inconsistencies of character be.
cause there are 1GS Of her, without count
ing the young widows Smith who live
at home with their parents and so are IN
known 70 the directory, and without max
ing reckoning either of the Smyth, Smythe,
Smitt, Smits, Smidh, Smeitz Smid, Smet,
Schmitz, Semitic, Schmtt, Schmits,
Schmit, Schmidts, Schmidt and Schmid
widows, who form Of themselves "a large
and influential element in 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 as Elizabeth, ten as Sarah,
six as Eliza, five each as Ann, Annie, Mar
garet and Susan. There are four Bridgets,
three Emlys, three Louisas three HeIeus,
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 Adelia, 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, Sjnia, So
ply, Veroujka. Susanna and Vida Smith.
New York Recorder