The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-12-27
TALES OF THE TIMES.
How Three Little Tots Tried 10 Find santa
Claus.

haired, brown eyed little elf, unusually
prococious, with an intelligent face and n
remarkably digniflcd manner. Her father
Is janitor of tenement house at 22 Chris
tic street, New York, where thcy live on
the second floor rear. immediately above
them Is "A family named Young. Rachel
Young is 3 years old, and Mary has sis
ter of that age, sweet little thing, who
looks all eyes and hair, so wide did she
open her peppers when a reporter called on
Mary TO find out all about an expedition
which the tots took on the Saturday be-
fore Christmas TO locate one Santa Claus.
Mary, Louisa and Rachel had heard a
whole lot about Santa Claus recently.
Their parents told them what splendid
dolls and sweet candy he was going TO
bring them On Christmas. All the grown
folk In the big tenement were talking To
tho children about Santa, too, and all
warned them to be very, very good lest he
forget 10 bring thom presents on Christ
mas eve The re ult of all this was to in
still into the ch rem minds a great eager
ness TO sec the generous saint.
"You see, / sayston little sister-dat's
Louisa--on Sat day, .e's go find kriss
Kringle. He mus be In town now, y lit
Ito Mary said to the reporter. - Me brud-
der he telled me dat kriss Kringle wuz
goin TO all de big storses up town In Four
teenth street a-buyin up all de bootiful
toys an tings To give To us chilln. Les
go find him an ask him TO let us pick out
wot we wants afore he gives dc tings all
away to other chilln.'
Les go now, me little sister says,
an den Rachel Young-sho lives wifi her
mamma an papa up stairs-she says she
wants 20 go long, too, an so We went
away an walked, oh, ever so far, wen
big copper he KEN an take US to big
white buildin, an my papa he KEN an
took US away"
This is the brief way in which Mary
told the story OF that trip which ended In
policeman taking them in hand at III
o'clock mt night. They had started ON
their expedition six hours before. The
reporter, however, wanted more detailed
account so Mary reseated herself on the
sofa with an increase of dignity and said:
"Oh, well, il youse wants 10 know all
about IL, I'll tole YOU How did we go?
Well ! had been To de Bow'ry VIII me
brudder sometimes, an wifi me mudder,
an knowed do way took me sister an
Rachel up ez fer as Canal street--up along
along To dc Bow'ry. Where'd we go don?
Oh, we went up town, fur me brudder mad
tellcd me dat Santa Claus buyed de booti-
full tings up dere. Wen we KEN to big
store dat was all full of lights an pre-
tings, we stopped an looked in TO see II o
could see Santa Claus. We KEEP lt
hands so oz we cudn't get lost from each
udder. Sometimes a man or woman nearly
knocked us down, walkin so fast. Wen
der wuz big crowd in dc store so ez we
cudnt sec in, 1 opened de door an asked
dc mans inside If Santa Claus wuz In
dere. Sometimes dey laughed at us an
said no-he wuZ in de mex store, an den
we went into der mex ono. Sometimes
too, de mans hurt our arms wen dey
pushed us outside dc stores, an somo of
dem dey swear at us, but nearly oil of
dem laugh.
~ tole me sister an Rachel dat didn't
tink we cud fin Santa Claus so far down
town. / said fought we oughter go on
up to Fourteenth street, an SO, after
awhile, we stopped ony little TO ask In
stores for Santa Claus. But we didn't
know where Fourteenth street wuz, an we
KEEP on a-walkin an a-walkin. Oh, we
got awful tired Louisa-she's on'y a
leetle bit Of girl, you SEQ, " pointing to
flaxen haired little Louisa, who was talk
ing baby talk TO herself in IA crade-'sh
begin TO cry, an purity soon Rachel, she
cry, too, an den ! begin TO get -seafea,r
cause wuz afraid If we didn't fin santa
Claus we 6ud not get home again.
II tolo me sister an Rachel not to cry,
but to help me to fin Santa Claus, an den
we'd ask him to take us home over de
roofs of do houses In his sleigh. Rachel
she KEEP on oryin an asked me how kin
Santa Claus take us homo in his sleigh
w en- doy wuzn't no snowg hadn' fought
of dat, but | said dat we cud ask him for
car fare an go home on dc cably car. So
dey stop cryin an we kop on a-huntin for
Santa Claus, but cudn't fin him. We went
into lots of stores again TO ask II any one
had seen him aroun, but peoples dey on'y
laugh ut us, till at last wuz cryin hard,
too, like Louisa an Rachel. Den wen we
went into one store de mans dey very kin
an make us sit down an one Of dem he go
out an KEN back VIII some candy, an we
eat de candy, nm den Louisa an Rachel dey
fall sleep an dc mans go out an KEN back
wifi a great big copper.
"Dc copper takes Louisa an Rachel, one
unncr each arm, an tells me TO hang on 10
his coat, an don he walks out into do
street an stops "a cably car an takes us on.
an we don't hev to'pay no faro, an don no
stops de car an takes us to big white
buildin, an takes us up stairs TO lady
hcre wot has whole lot of nice white clean
beds, an she wash us an put us 10 bed, an
w 'en we woke up papa was dere, an we
wuz dressed an papa took us home on do
0ably car"
The children had wandered as far as
Eighteenth street and Third avenue before
Policeman Schoell was called TO take caro-
of them. Hc took tbom 20 police head
quarters, and there Mr.. Woerth found
them. They were none the worse for their
long tramp In quest of Santa Claus.