The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-06


and Antecedents-Long Remembered
Love JeaIousies-The Pauper Woman
From the Same Village who Loved
the Same Israel-Is jealousy as Old
Eas LoveP
(Copyright)
New York, Aug. 1.-She had lived so
long that she never thought OF death
Life had become q habit TO her. She had
outlived her children and her grand-chil-
dren, and there she lay in a close, dark
room, stuffy and hot, tended by the I'M
willing hands of her great-grandchildreu,
who only found the grandmother a great
trouble, but who felt that they must keep
her because of the ties of blood that
bound them. She grumbled about every
thing; she grumbled when they waited
on her and when they neglected her; al
ways in the queer mixture of German and
Hebrew which in the Jewish quarter is
called "Yiddish." She had come to this
country years ago, and she had never
learned to speak English Somebody told
her of a grandson who had made q for
tune, who had married out of his religion
and who lived uptown. She gave a sigh
and moan, and prayed all day. Moth
ing pleased her.
From hearing them, l had picked up,
here and there a word or two of Yiddish,
and, sometimes, when she would let me,
| talked to her, or rather she did to me
| had to think out what she said, for she
spoke so quickly. Her one great horror
and dread was the hospital l said to
hee: 1T is cool, il is beautiful; you will
be well taken care of, and your religion
is observed there. You say your grand
children are tired of you, they neglect
you, that you are burden to them; why
don't you go where you can be cOmforta-
Bile, be well cared for, and be among peo-
pie of your own raCel" Still she was
stubborn. She chung to the dirty room
she had known so many years, to the
poor food, and insisted she was going to
get well. And she was 80 years old
AN ANCIENT, UGLY GRANDMOTHER.
One day little Jew boy came up after
me in great haste, to tell me that the bube
grandmother wanted to see me. l went
down to her very quickly; they had de-
serted her. Her determination to live
was too strong for them and having
made a little money, the last of her kin
dred had determined to move away from
Hester street; and, as she would not go
with them, there she was alone. When
she saw me she began TO wall; and then
she announced, Take me away; 1 am
ready to die; take me to the hospital; my
own flesh and blood have deserted me {;
the curse will be upon them" I tried 10
quiet her, aud soon | got word up to the
hospital, and they came after her. TAX
ing her down stairs aroused all Hester
street; her screams and cries and curses
upon those who had wandered from her
collecting a crowd about us The Fri
day marketing stopped they were all in
terested in seeing her start, and one after
another promised to come up and visit
her. This visibly cheered her, but when
we got up there, her one moan was for
her old bed. The old bed being dirty and
miserable and ragged, and the new one
| being sweet and cool and clean. But,
after while, weakness got the better of
ill-temper, and she consented to rest
had to leave her that day, promising to
come and see her the next: and when |
went, found, in appearance, at least, a
changed woman. The tender, kindly
hands of the nurses had taken off the
awful wig that, following the old ortho-
dox ideas, she wore to cover her own
hair, and the soft graz hair was brushed
back, marking q frame for her stern feat
ures The miserable bed-gown had been
changed for white slip and the hands
that was "kosher," but at the same time
cleansing
NINETY-YEAR-oLD JEALOUSY.
She was not very agreeable that dav
she rebelled little against the comforts A;
physically she enjoyed them. Her greet
ing to me was not calculated to induce
further friendship, inasmuch as she in
quired what l expected TO get from her
when she was dead. But this didn't
trouble me, as any one who has been much
on the other side soon discovers that,
whether they have anything or not, old
| peOpe seem possessed of the idea that
you are waiting for them to die with great
| eagerneSS. Later on she grew more
agreeable, and told me that the woman in
! the next bed to her was from the same
village in Poland, and that they had
known each other when they were girls,
but that she didn't intend to speak to her
because she had tried to get her Israel
| away from her before the betrothal.
Ninety years old, and the jealousy of a
girl of seventeen still in her heart Surely.
a woman is young allhe life, if she is as
young as she seems.
l said to her: 'Be neigh borly; she
| didn't get Israel: you had his love, and,
surely, as you were the conquerer, YOU
can afford to forgive" There was a
| smile all over the face, and her thoughts
came out in words that were: YES:
had his love, and such lovel He loved
me as his wife, and he loved me as the
mother of his children, and we both our
God, who is the great and only God; and
and now there are sons to say prayers for
him: but who will there be to say a
prayer for me when my eyes are closed in
DEATH" Then she went off into wild
wall like that of lost soul, and I could
not comfort her, for, according to her be-
lief, only the men of the family can say
any prayers for the dead. (Kaddish.)
THLY BOTH LOVED ONE POLANDER
went over to the other old woman: l
spoke to her as well as l could one of the
nurses helping me and ] asked her: ''Whv
don't you speak to your country woman?
The woman of your own race, and of your
own religion, who knew you when YOU
were girl?' And she answered: when
she was young and / was young.
her Israel loved me, but his parents
made him marry her because she had the
greater dowry.n l looked at her In
amaZemcnt. The feeling in both hearts
was the same; that of joealous love.
The next time ! went they were talk
ing; they had discovered through the
doctors that each was alone: each had
outlived her time, and so they gossiped
away about the days when they were
girls, about their children, and about
home. They agreed in finding fault with
everything; with better food than they
had ever had in their lives: with better
care than had ever been given to them