The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-03-16
THE BEGGARS OF MEXICO
They Are Quite Persistent But
Always Very Polite.
AlMS-GlVlNG A PENANCE.
Mendicants are Always With You In Our
Sister Republic-Once n Beggar Always
Beggar-streets Scenes i'm the City of
Mexico.

The Spanish language has a word for
these begging gentry that is wonderfully
| descriptive, pordioseros," which is a
! compound of "por Dios," or =" for the
sake OF God" "For godsakers" is an
exact, IL not idiomatic, translation.
| ] hardly get out of my house in the
| morning before i am adjured either " for
the sake of God," or {" for In Virgen San
tissima, for the Holy Virgins sake" TO
contribute to some poor devils breakfast,
for these disinherited of the earth, per-
haps merely lazy people, have to begin
early to beg their bread.
Here in Mexico, where everything is in
| tensely Biblical, even to the women going
to the fountain to fill their water jars, one
! has also his g beggar at the gate" 1t may
/ be Biblical, but it is tiresome, as tedious
as the enumeration OF the tribes OF Israel.
1t sounds very poetical in the sacred book,
but distance in this case, as in all Others,
| lends enchantment to the view. / prefer
my beggars less dirty, less numerous, and
a century or more remote.
| Many people, when their parents be-
| come old and of no use to earn money by
labor, send them out TO beg, and it is
sad sight to see gray-haired men and
women asking aims on the corners. Often
these poor devils are the mainstay OF idle
people, who stay at home at their case.
Little children beg as naturally as IL they
had imbibed the art with their mothers
milk. In the centre OF the city these
| waits haunt the hotels and restaurants,
and under pretence of selling matches, as
sail the more prosperous-lo looking people
| they encounter with a zeal born, perhaps,
OF fear Of whipping at home il they
fafl - f..l
! These miserable little wretches have
! learned the English words "mister,"
"lady" and matches" They have soft,
| wheedling ways, and it is hard to resist
| them. But the practice should be stopped
in the interest of the children, who
! should be at school.
The worst sights one sees are cripples
who paddle the streets on their launches,
soliciting aims. Some OF them pick up
deal OF money in the course of day.
| One morning my conscience, such as it is,
reproached me for having passed by
wretched looking woman, who, with
| little blocks of wood in her hands, was
| dragging her deformed body along the
| sidewalk.
| / suddenly hardened myself, and, out of
| sheer curiosity, followed her. After
block or two she shuffled up to a door
way, where clean looking Indian woman
was selling fruit, and displayed to the
latter an apron well loaded down with
/ silver and copper coins. Then / was ex-
ceedingly glad that had not wasted my
substance in riotous prodigality of aims
| giving.
| There is one old, picturesque beggar to
whom / give because his makeup is so
distinctly Moorish. He sits, the gray
haired old fellow, by the side of the road,
bare headed, but enveloped in a great
| white sheet, for all the world like an
Arab shiek, and implores passers by, :" for
the love of the most holy Virgin" to be-
stow charity on him. And when money
| is handed him he makes a bow of Oriental
| politeness, and says in a solemn voice:
May God give you more, strip Who
could resist that?
In Catholic countries alms-giving is
encouraged. And certainly one feels bet
ter, even knowing that there are ninety
| chances in 100 that he is being robbed, to
| give to those in need. At any rate, you
haven't fattened any plumb old secre-
taries OF charitable institutions, and all
| the fat implied in the money bestowed
goes directly to the beggar's ribs. Giving
ones aims directly to the neccessitous
brings one into immediate relations with
the poor. There is a sense of having done
some immediate good in the world for
one day only, it mey be.
People in Catholic lands give as a sort
of penance for sins, and the person who
has won in the lottery gives for future
luck, as do also the professional and anna
teur gamblers. / have tried it, but my
luck in the lottery has never improved.
Men and women also give to beggars be-
cause of certain vows. One business man
know Of gives on the avowed principle
that it brings success in trade.
A case came up here i'm court the other
day which throws light on the great busi-
ness Of begging for a living. Complaint
was made that some one had enticed a
paralytic away-a poor wretch who has to
be bodily transported to his begging
ground. The loss sustained by the entic-
ing away Of the paralytic was estimated
at s2 so per diem.
Old, white haired women, kneeling on
the sidewalks, ask " in the name of the
holy Trinity" for relief. Verify, all one
needs TO do in this world of humbug is to
ask and receive. There are so many OF us
soft-hearted folk that this pleasing Ori-
entail pastime of begging will never end,
at least under the sun of the tropics.
II you once become a beggar, you will
never again reenter the ranks of the toll
ers. II pays too well. An old chap fas-
tened on me once for the small sum Of six
cents per week, which he came to collect
every Monday morning before could say
my prayers and get shaved. He had me
sure, for he stationed himself at the foot
of the stairs going down into the court
yard. He got his six cents and dragged
his worn-out limbs to some other house.
] heard sfterward that his industry in
well-doing supported stout and lazy
woman who prepared his meals.--Letter