Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1893-12-21

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fa'l 81 So ~
A" SMSV years ago,
&&Ssn SdlgN there lived in
* IMLYW\ J the top story
NMt rIhIA of a tenement
HMN VlMtS ia 4 house, in one
MNM ! iF4SaAljIJ/ of the poorest
gMW | Nv W. districts in
New Yor k
city, a widow
named NJ S.
Jones and her two children-twelve-
year-old Tom and Dollie. who was not
quite ten.
Mrs. Jones worked from light to
dark, week in and week out, in fac
tory, and she got for her toll SO little
money that if it had not been for Toms
blacking boots and selling papers l am
afraid they would often have gone to
bed in their one attic room cold and
hungry.
While Mrs Jones was away at the
factory and Tom shining and shouting:
Heres yer full account of every thing
going! evening hextra! only five cents!'
Dollie was keeping the house tidy
against mother and Tom came home"
1t was wonderful to see how much
Aofn rrir1 ID 70,
Dollie was a,hunchback, and don't be-
lieve she had ever known in all her life
what it meant to be free from pain;
yet, do you know, no one ever saw any
thing but smile on the sweet, wan
face, and the neighbors told Mrs. Jones
that Dollie sang all day long. and that
her songs were mostly about a beau
-tiful land" where want and sickness
and sorrow never came.
But while Dollie sang her hands We're
busy. and everything that could shine
in that one room just had to do it. You
could see your face in the kettle. and
the stove looked like those in the shops,
lit had such polish. There was not a
sunbeam that forgot to come down to
peep in at the little housekeeper
through the small bright window
panes; and Mrs Rafferty,, the old Irish
woman who lived in the next room.
said: sslt is q cryin' sin to kape boords
under fut the like of them" She
meant. YOU know, the floor boards of
Mrs Jones room. The only table the
Jones had was an ordinary kitchen
one. Sut its top was white as snow, and
when it was not set for breakfast or
supper Dollie always kept spread on
it. and whnt do you think she had for
material? Just common newspapers
sewn together and the edges pinked
out with a pair of scissors; and must
not forget to tell you that Dollie had
to carry oil the water for her cleaning
ND five long pairs of stairs, for the
pump was down in the back yard, and
as Dollie was not strong she could only
carry a very small quantity OF water at
one time.
The day that am going to tell you
a6out was the one before Christmas.
1t was quite late in the afternoon; her
work was all done and Dollie sat by
the window looking out. 1t was very
entertaining to watch the people In
the street so far below her to-day, for
most of them carried bundles, ana
Do!lie could guess by the shapes OF
some OF the biggest parcels what might
be hidden under the brown paper COW
erings- ;,
She was glad 70 Think how happy All
the children would be when they woke
np in the morning and found sucn
beau.iful gifts close beside their pill
aows; and Just then a man came along
carving a FIR tree in his arms. HOW
lovely and green it looked! How beau
-fifnl it would be when lights We're
shining all over it and dolls and drums
boxes of sweets and gingerbread toys
.were hanging from its branches! How
Dollie did wish that she could have
christmas tree, even if it was only just
n tiny little one. and as she wished an
idea came into Dollie's golden head