The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-03-18

and Express spent twenty-four hours
in the Salvation Army. The day be-
gan in the slums. It ended there,
too; but the night was longer than the
day and fuller OF misery and sin and
shame. The day began for the slum
workers while the gaslights were still
fickering and haring in the cold, raw
breeze that came rushing in over the
city from the East River. The slum
house, situated in Cherry street, has
six workers, who live there constantly.
Their uniform is not that of the army,
for the simple army garb was far too
gay and fine for these women who go
way down into the very depths of
human sin and suffering to find those
whom they would succor.
The day began with prayer. Then
a simple breakfast of tea, oatmeal and
hash, with plenty of bread and butter.
The workers chatted happily over
their breakfast. Laughter was free
and frequent. These women who de-
vote their lives..to this work are happy.
Indeed, the dominant note in the
whole army is joyousness.
1t was hardly six when the "sister"
(they are all brother and sister in the
army, unless they happen to be adju-
tant or major or colonel or captsin),
who kindly allowed the writer to ac-
company her, began her days work.
Down Cherry street she went, t,past that
little white house where that old hag,
shakespeare" was so foully muir
dered some years ago through an alley
way which would be dark on sun
shiny day, but which at six in the
morning was inky in its blackness.
Into still darker hall and thence up
four flights of stairs.
On the third landing the woman
stumbled and fell A man was lying
asleep on the floor.
"Have you match ?" asked the slum
worker, calmly, as she rose; "please
light it; this man may be in need of
help"
The Pickering flame from the match
showed a huge, filthy brute lying di.
rectly across the stairs.
"Will you please help me with
him?" said the girl; ''some one may
stumble over him and fall down stairs. -
Then this young woman stopped in
the darkness, and, putting her arms
about the shoulders of the sodden
brute lying there, half dragged and
half carried him out of the way.
Poor fellow!" she sighed to her
self, as she continued on her way up
stairs.
In a small eight-by-ten room on the
top floor of this rear tenement was
found the object of the slum worker s
visit. The room itself was as dark as
the hall. A candle was soon lit, how
ever, which, to q slight extent, dis
PEELED the gloom. This room was
bare. In lieu of a carpet the floor was
covered with filth. On a bundle of
rags, which, for want OF better name,
might be called bed, lay woman
groaning with pain. 1t would not be
possible to tell her age. She might
have been thirty, she may have been
sixty, she probably was forty. Her
face, wasted by disease and sin, was
covered with dirt; her black, deep
sunken eyes glared out from under q
tangled mass of gray hair. Save for
this woman, the he'd upon which she
lay and the filth, the room was empty.
AS the Young womaE lighted her
candle. the older one half rose from
The bed.
"Wot der yer want 18th me?' she
growled.
"We have come to help yoU," said
,he girl, gently; "they told me yon
we're sick, SO l came," she added,
simply.
"rhey lied," said the woman; 81
don't want no help; wot be ye?" she
continued, cone of them rich folks; /
aate 'em all. :"
'.No, replied the girl, 81 am as
ooor rs you. That's why I've como
20 help you. We ought to help each
other."
The sun had begun to crawl up out
If the eastern horizon by this time,
md the candle WAS snuffed out. The
woman eyed the young woman and her