The herald., 1893-08-14
THE GLOOMY SIDE.
SOME POINTS ON THE WOMEN WHO
poTE ON THE oREWsoME.

paper Woman's Street Car Ride.
|. The other day was riding in a street
car. There were II women and 8 men
h the same quarters. We logged along
our way as people do out of whose life
all interest had been taken by hot dav
as rude nurse snatches playthincs frou
helpless children. Whether sssohool kent
or not" was matter of not the slightest
moment to any of us. Indeed had res-
son to hope that should never again be
confronted with bulletins az to the rise
and fall of that mythical educational
bureau whence we all draw more or Iess
of knowledge fraught with bitter expe-
rience. Its pupils are SO stupid and it,
head preceptor SO unrelenting that have
long been a-weary of its curriculum.
Opposite in the car sat young woman
whom often meet and shall continue Ia
meet. suppose, until the sexton shoyels
a few feet of dust between our faces. Il
she were man, she would be in the at-
titude Of one who is "spoiling for =
fight" Whst is mere combati veness
in men takes the form of insolence In
women and is harder to bear. This
young person eyes, my clothes. Ehs
gloats over my shabbiness. She knows
exactly how many times day my poor
old gown is groomed. She Is cognizant
of the fact that my Of shoe has sprung
leak, and as she tosses her head and
smiles the smile that. passed from wom-
an to woman, means moro than a blow
seem to hear her say, ''Ha, cumbereY,
are you here yet? Last time met you
thought / stared you down, but such
rubbish seems hard to kill A trife
more ridicule, though, slightly yelled,
like poison in capsule. will lay You
low, and ! shall have the pleasure of
turning my battery upon some other
God forsaken crank who appears to have
more brains. than stylein
We were tumbling along IN the old
street car, tired and dirty lot of us,
bound for the depot. As we passed q
certain undertaker's shop on tho way we
noticed that big crowd had collected
at its doors-a hushed crowd, withwhite
faces and bated breath. A police patrol
was drawn up to the curbstone and four
brawny officers were lifting something
out of the wagon and carrying it~ithin
the undertaker's open gatA The eome-
thing that lay beneath the old tarpaulin
was very still and outlined itself sharply
beneath the sable folds Of tho pail that
covered it. turned away from the
sight, for there is that within me that
revolts from such sights as the butterfly
does from the thistle or the swift rum
ming boat from capfui of head wind.
knew well enough what the Aeome-
thing was. Ten minutes hefort per-
haps it had been man, swinging like q
sailor on the uplifted ladder where the
painter pursues his craft, or q careless
vagabond knocked down by q passing
vehicle and straightway ushered into tho
audience chamber of the great ana only
King, or merry hearted boy spurned by
Q flying wheel, or q tired old woman
gifted high as heaven" by the tender
arms of death. ] knew very well that
the awful something was once q breath
ing. laundering mortal like myself and
that sudden calamity had transferred
it into clay, how or in what tsrrible
manner ! did not care to sea. But ev-
cry woman in the car In which ! rode
jumped from her seat to watch the
grewsome thing turned away frem.
"Oh, l wish the cover would fall off 20
that we could seew cried one.
Lift Willie up so that he can lookI"
exclaimed careful q mother, making
room as she spoke for the nursegirl to
place the little boy In better position.
No sooner did all these women gain .
vantage point from where they, could
best behold the dreadful burden which
the policemen bore without either ten
derness or care into the waiting station
Of tho morgue than they began to, ftrem-
BILE and to cry.
"Oh, dear. how dreadfulw moaned
they in unison. while their fascinated
gaze was unaverted and their necks
were craned to see ii all.
And then because am philosopher
in my own poor fashion and can nc. more
help philosophizing than o spider can
help spinning webs l said to myself,
That is the way with all Of usi We seek
out our own discomforts and we cul-
tivate them with our own tearA We
gloat over the very things that bring ~
pain and take front seat to witness our
own tragedies. Given, the most Of ms. .
chance to spend an afternoon among the
tombs or to go fishing for goldfsh out
of crystal pond, and we viii trot along
with the mourners every time We are
always in the attitude (most Of ps) Of
the Peterdn family at the seaside, They
were continually looking of shoge for
whales. and they saw whales and ,poth-
ing but whales from seasons start to
seasons closet What we look foy wa
find, what we sow we reap, what We
dread we draw and what we expect
comes to us. .4s
Take two girls and send them out
through the divine beauty Of theae June
woods with basket apiece. They arc
after violets, we will say, although the
purple drapery Of the dim spirit fpwer
has been almost withdrawn from the
woods already, Like q curtain upifted
by an eager hand. One Of the gfls is
afraid of snakes and declares theGght
of one would kill her on the spot How
she looks for themi How eagerly she
watches every tremor Of the tnder-
brushl How she starts at floating tim
othy and shrieks when clover Iostles
In the windl And she sees srRkes--
plenty Of 'eml She goes home With an