, 1891-01-30
A U IN

A Very Uncommon Sort of Belle seer in
= crOwd of Wen to Do Women.
Did you ever see a poor and shabby
belle? Such a young lady stood in the
throng of women in a cabin of a TWEEN
ty-third street ferryboat yesterday. At
the first glance you would not, in all
likelihood, have noted anything peculiar
about her. You would nave seen only
q tall, very shapely, modest girl Of dis
tinctly genteel appearance. If you had
glanced at her again you would have
been startled, for she presented a picture
as rare as any that We see in the kaleido-
scope of life in the metropolis. For she
was young, well bred, proud, and yet
very very
She wore a hat Of what appeared to be
rabbit skin, evidently home made and
made with great cleverness and taste,
yet showing in other ways than in the
cheapness of the fur that it had never
come from amilliner's hands. Moreover,
the fur Was bedraggled, as If its wearer
had been out in the rain without an UNI
brella. Her Newmarket was of gray
cloth and fitted her perfectly-but the
cloth was old and had faded. and here
n there were little knots of stitching,
showing that small moth holes had been
carefully sewed up without success at
concealment. Her gloves were good, but
they were of cloth. But it was when her
face was studied that her condition was
made eloquent. Her skin had that waxen
appearance which the human face dis
plays when the body lacksnutritious food.
There was a hint of pathos in her eyes,
and though the lines that were drawn
1nvun md hanlr fr,r, har ,,a,+I
yet deep they were apparent, neverthe-
less; they were the lines of sorrow and
of continually enforced self denial. A
little boy was with her, and when she
spoke to him her voice was soft and
musical. Her choice of words was that
of an educated and refined lady, he1
manner was digniied. When she moved
about you saw that n shoe, though
polished, was torn and out of shape. She
was very, very poor. And she was con.
scious of her condition; indeed, it was
evident that she had not long been as
poor as now. She must have once been
in comfortable circumstances.
Very richly dressed ladies crowded
around her, pushed against her, pressed
close to her. Their perfumes filed the
air, their heavy furs slid past her hand
as 1t hung by her side, their brilliants
flashed in her face. 1t was a remarkable
gathering of fashionable and wealthy
ONE There were mincing, tripping,
fay like young women, some almost in
solent in their pride and ease. There
were chubby, rosy, well nigh stupidity
comfortable little women, swathed in
fur and broadcloth. There were great.
rotund matrons moving luxuriously each
in her own atmosphere Of comfort and
plenty.
There were practical, firm looking
young married women making no dis.
play of ornament or superfluity, but bear
ing themselves confidently, as lacking
nothing and asking nothing. All these
surged around the shabby belle as the
bost fioated into the pier. They squeezed
her among themselves, they hid her as If
they had swallowed her up. Not one
appeared to notice her, nor did she seem
to be conscious of their presence. But
she must have noticed it; not a figure, OF
a brilliant, or a fur garment, or a Whit
Of scent could nave escaped one so keenly
intelligent as she. How every person
atty, and every luxury, and every hint
of comfort must have cut her ike a knife
thrustl-New York Sun.