The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1895-07-09
THE ICONOCLAST.

MIN. InaG morning ne Was nufTy1ng
through Printing House square on an
assignment, when he noticed before him
woman carrying on her head tray of
plaster images and walking with the
stately gait and even poise of the south
Italian She was small, brown. She
wore gown of blue cotton, wooden
shawl, plaided in olive and yellow, and
red kerchief on her head These glar-
ing colors, however, made her picture.
To observe her Broughton passed by her
and then looked back
She regarded him calmly. "Buy
lit San Samuele says-a his grafton,
signorY"
Broughton had no particular use for a
praying Samuel, but he had various the
cries about our adopted citizens and
might have acquired something in the
plaster cast line if at that moment
broad shouldered fellow had not come
and jostled the little woman SO roughly
that the tray was thrown from her head
and went running to the sidewalk. 1t
was the end of the world for that popu-
lation of craven images They fell in a
heap of indistinguishable fragments,
mingling their dust in complete de-
mocracy of saints, politicians, lambs,
the three graces, and even model of
beautiful foot labeled Trilby. Little
Samuel was past praying for, but he was
no more thoroughly pulverized than the
bust of Napoleon. Young Mr.. Brough-
ton felt stirring within him an essay on
the frailty of mundane things Then the
air was torn with the lamentations of
the woman.
80 Madonnal'' Next she denounced
the cause of the disaster, who was NOV
ing away. "Head of big, You are-al
Why-a you hit-a me? What ever done
at you-aP You break-a my image-I not
eat-a morer' she ratified her finger nails
along her front teeth to indicate the
hunger which would be the consequence
of the breaking of her stock in trade.
Meanwhile two bootblacks had seized
the man by the elbows, and turning him
around ran him back face to face with
the woman. She stood wringing her
hands and wailing "What ruinl Poor-a
mel"
The aggressor was evidently also an
Italian.
"SoyF' one of the bootblacks said.
"Youse has gotter reach down inter yer
clothes an square up wild de dago loidy."
"He's bloomin dago hissef, COM
mented the other boy.
Broughton had been painfully COM
posing few phrases of such colloquial
Italian as his Harvard studies of Dante
had rendered possible to him, and now
uttered them in stiff and toneless &C.
cent. In effect, he said that it was nee
essary TO pay the compatriot for that
which was broken.
Il only got ten cent-a, signor, said
the offender, handing the coin to the
woman. He was permitted to go in
peace.
Ten "a Genital Madonna mia For so
mooch imagep' sobbed she
So Broughton put 81 into his own hat
and passed it around among the throng
that had been attracted by the noise
When he gave the collection to the wom-
an, she wiped her eyes, kissed his hands
with many benedictions, and went her
way.
Broughton's assignment had taken
him in the direction Of Mulberry bend.
AS he returned through that quarter he
saw hundred yards in front of him
woman with tray of images ON her
head. He quickened his pace and soon
was near her. 1t was the same Italian !;
che ha5 ,ar,1or;cba5 bor %raxy NTH ,,,oro
saints and heroes and graces. $50 it is, ,"
unused young Mr.. Broughton-who still
trailed clouds of the glory of journalism
THAT in this world no one Is indis-
pensable One perishes, another replaces
him p
just then, staggering around cor
ner, appeared the former breaker of
images, and again, as If on purpose, he
swung his arm rudely against the wom-
an. AS before, a crash, lamentations
and a crowd. The jewellers of Mulberry
bend, themselves well acquainted with
poverty, gave of tkeir few copper coins
to her, who sat wailing among the ruins
of her wares. They helped her to pick
up such of the casts as were not IRENE
ulaDIy broken and to replace them on
the tray. This time Broughton did not
stay to act as CONSIDER. The aggressor
had walked off rapidly, and the reporter
followed him After five minutes chase
they turned into an unspeakably dirty
alley, where the Italian entered door
way without noticing that any one pur-
sued him. Broughton, having made sure
that he should recognize the house
again, fastened to the nearest police
station and told the story.
"She was quiet, decent little body"
he said to the officer. "That great, hulk
ing brute struck her on purpose the Sec
ond time, even admitting that the first
time might have been by accident. +"
Two policemen were detailed to 40
company Mr.. Broughton, who was
known to the chief of the station, and
he led them straight to the door where
the italian had entered. Up the dark
and broken stairs they climbed Brough-
ton shrunk from contact with the Shiny
walls 1t seemed to him that evil odors
were depositing themselves there in
pestilential fungous growth. At last they
emerged upon a landing. A child leaned
over the baluster of the story above
Broughton tossed him nickel
my little man, is there an Italian
living in this housef"
The child picked up the coin and
stared in silence.
"Say, kid, is dere dago here?' one
of the policemen translated.
The boy pointed with a thumb to a
door at the left of the landing where the
three men stood. Broughton felt the
thrill of the righteous avenger The
malicious brute who had twice destroyed
the wares of the poor little image vend-
er would soon be sent to the island. And
a good radiance for the community
One of the police opened the door, and
they entered. They saw at one side of the
room a long work bench, covered with
plaster images The iconoclast sat there,
carefully mending broken figure. The
woman was leaning over his shoulder,
laughing as they chatted in their own
language.
"Eh, always say it, Pietro, you
have holy hand at mending them If
not, we might lose by the game
IT don't say, Mariana, that st. Sam
uel is better than new, but at least he
will stick until he takes another tum-
BILE.
So that was their trick A piece of
real Neapolitan cunning. Broughton de-
cided that he ought to have seen through
it sooner. The woman caught sight Of