San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-02-02
MIXED cARAMELs.
Spying Our Neighbor Under the
Guise OF Visiting.

Spying Our Neighbor Under the
Guise OF Visiting.
Written for the LIGHT:l
Where are my gloves?"
II guess that you didn't bring
them with you"
eyes / did. They were in the sieev o
of my jacket Just a moment ago, and
/ haven't been out of the room"
"Here they are OH the kitchen
table beside the pan of cookies that
have been cooking"
This isjust exactly the conversation
that occurred the other day at our
house, and is fair sample of what oc-
ours every week. Our neighbours fif-
teen year old girl who had been call
ing, was getting ready to go home
and couldn't find her gloves. She
said she had not been out of the
room; but I knew better. knew her
habits and went straight out to the
kitchen table, where plate of cook.
les that I had just finished baking
was setting, and sure enough there
were the gloves on the table beside
the pan of cookies, and q wei! de.
fined hole in one side of the pile of
cookies told the story
Now she is good girl and think
that she is trying to do right. lam
cure that she wouldn't steal any
thing, but she is hungry. She is
always hungry. They have plenty
to eat at home, but she never comes
in to the house, that she does not be-
gin to praise my cooking, and won.
der how I can make such good
things, and wishes that they had
some such things for they never do,
and she gets so hungry tor them.
And so she keeps going on till in
sheer desperation Igive. her the COY ct
ed article. What pity it is that her
mother don't fill her up before she
lets her 60 out.
Between bites she succeeds in
giving a more accurate account of
what Mrs. A. got for q birthday
present, or about the last quarrel
that Mrs. T. had with her husband,
that ever heard from gossiping
woman.
What q nuisance she is.
What q comfort 1t would be many
times to give her piece Of my mind,
that she wouldn't forget for while,
and let her go home.
But who is to blame?
If she did not get some encourage
ment at home, in the retailing of Cos
sip, would she be 80 free in retailing 1t
when she is away from home? Does
this girls mother take as much pains
as she ought to in breaking her chill
dren OF bad habits, that make them
dread to the neighbors and little Ia
ter in life burden.
A grown up edition Of just such
girl was In our house the other day.
ut lie very strange" she said, "that
Mrs. Smith can sport diamond ring,
when her husband earns only fifteen
dollars week. For my part l would
be afraid to wear one for fear people
might think that did not come by 1t
hon estly. She says that her uncle
gave it to her, but I do not take much
stock in this uncle business"
She ratified on this way till I was
tired and disguised. I don't know
what my neighbors are doing and 1
don't want 10, and had to tell her
90. Then she began to ask me ques-
lions She wanted to know how much
John earned, what we paid for the
house, what our taxes were, what
our grocery bill was, etc.
"Our drygoods bill was only 100000
l. hat NJ n mazda an awfnI
fuss about it. The way he went on
was just awful.
"Your bill must have been much
more than that, you have had such
nice things" she said when she fall
ed to get direct answer to her ques-
ton about our grocery bill.
"Did you know that Mrs. Cs peo-
pie were in deep trouble,"I replied.
The has been out of work for q
month. The baby has been sick,
and the little girl is down with the
measles. L have q basket partly fill
ed for them and as you were
going down that way perhaps you
would be willing to take it with you
and if you could stop at home and
put in some jelly for the little girl.
It would be very acceptable to her 1
feel sure"
She simply stared at me.
She could not understand what 1
meant.
She finally caught her breath long
enough to remark that she thought
that 1t "was none of her business to
be looking after other peoples young
uns,n and to add that she didn't
think that I was much interested in
what was going on around me and
| aonncad ont of the houaA / have