The Republican., 1892-07-01
EARNED HER CAR FARE.
How q Young Woman Had to struggle
for a Livelihood.

NOW q 1oung woman Hau co struggle
for a Livelihood.
A woman who is now one of the most
prominent artists in this city and was
lucky enough to get two of her pictures
accepted by the academy this year, the
other night told this story of how she
earned her first few pennies in this big
town:
"When l came here five years ago, I
had just twenty-five dollars in my
| pocket. l got room-or rather
| cubby-hole next to the roof-in board
ing house on Fourth avenue. 1t was
three weeks before l got anything to
do. Then a place was offered me as
| primary teacher in a private school
| The salary, when you got it, was fair
enough in amount. But, unfortunate
| ly, you didn't get it until the end of the
month.
by this time there was such tre-
mendous hole in my twenty-five dollars
that couldn't afford to move up town.
The expressage alone would have made
a bankrupt of me, for had absolutely
come to such pass that l hadn't
enough money to pay my car fare to
the school and back. l explained the
situation to the landlady. She really
was dear old thing. She told me
wasn't to worry about my board bill.
She was perfectly willing to wait for
her money until the end of the month.
THAT was one weight off my mind,
of course, but had still to grapple
with the car-fare problem. was in
dreadful pickle, really. For four days
! walked every inch of the way-four
and one-fourth miles each journey. I
used to leave the house at seven in tho
morning so as to reach the school
promptly at nine.
Then found that my French heels
were beginning to give out, SO | saw
that my efforts to save money by pedes-
trianism would only get me into deeper
water. Suddenly had an inspiration.
There were three old maiden sisters
who occupied the double-bedded room
on the second floor. They were with
out exception the fattest women | ever
saw. The most ethereal of the three
weighed three hundred if she weighed
pound They were all saleswomen
in one of the big Sixth avenue stores.
They used to scramble down to break
fast in the morning in a tluster at the
last moment.
Zone of them confded to me that it
was their shoes which always delayed
them. They almost expired every
morning in their attempts to button
them. She told me in tone of the ut
most resignation that eventually she
expected their shoes would be the death
of all three of them. Well, what do
you suppose did? Il took that woman
aside and said to her: Now look
here, I'll make bargain with you. l
want to make little extra money just
now for | am dreadfully hard up. If
you and your two sisters will each pay
me twenty cents week I'll come and
button your shoes for you every morn
ing"
i, "The poor old things fairly jumped at
the offer. They insisted on paying my
first weeks salary-sixty cents-in ad-
vance. 1t left me ten cents to the good,
you see, because on Saturday there was
no school. After the first week they in
sisted on raising my salary to an even
quarter from each. Well, ! buttoned
their shoes regularly for two months
Then I had to resign my position, as l
was moving to boarding house up
town.
"Whcn bade them good-by the poor
old things actually cried over me and
presented me with the loveliest little
silver button-hook you ever saw. ! sent
them tickets for the private view the
other night. They all came, fatter
than ever, and went into ecstacies over
my pictures. The eldest one told me,
with tears in her eyes, that ever since |
left them they had been obliged to
abandon button shoes. Now, my dear
she said, with huge sigh of regret, we
can wear nothing but elastic Sides -