The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-05-17
NEW YORK. May 10. 1896.

gentleman VINO ever honorcd thlS country
by abiding la II, has TINS IN ii: IL any
body is hungry, physically hungry sNc
him not that which you would thro" 10
the docs, but thar which wonid TASTE eoou
even TO yourself. 90 not ask what nun
gry man or woman believes GO not s'op
10 question whether that one who is nun
.rv' SAYS thou or You. but give him
what he iougs for so, IN my smal
household. IL Is understood that 10 one
asking for food is 10 be turned away.
Consequently, / was hardly surprised
when / came in out OF the sunshine the
other day, TO nnd woman drinking tea
thirsiily and eating food, ravenOHsly.
looked at her and passed on; then came
back. There was something IN her eyes
that attracted me. They were festless,
they were rather wild-looking. but they
IT.. seemed TO have in them the story OF a
soul. And L wondered what It was. As
this woman was under my roof, / could
not ask her Il question any more than j
could question Mrs. Millionaire, who took
a cup OF tea with me the other after
noon, and cOudescouded to Ike 1t.
THE FORSAKEN ONE.
Perhaps this wcird-lookins beegar was
used to reading hearts. j don't know.
Anyhow, In a few minutes message
came 10 me that she wished TO see me-
4
was dirty, and she appeared as II she
might DO any age. We looked at each
other for a while. and then she said, Il
have seen you in the Park many time.
/ made no answer. but looked at her
again closely. Looked and tried to 'e,
member. The face was growing IA
miliar ] seemed TO see It, with
French bonnet above IL and dainty par.
asol behind it, and then / knew who my
visitor wat. a woman, who, five years
ago was known by al New York that
drove in the Park or walked Fifth ave-
nue., nj least by sight. The newspapers
told Of her extravagances and good wo-
men pointed her out TO their daughters
what for Certainly not, in those days,
10 point a moral. But IN that silly way
peculiar TO women, and which IS. after
all but doing what woman has so often
done usurped the province o. the SER
pent. since. to point out such woman in
her glory, is TO say 10 young, innocent
thing, "See how vice prospers." lily VS.
tor laughed when she saw recognition on
my face. and then she looked surprised
surprised because, knowing how much
wlckedness she had wrought, / did rot
draw my skirts away for fear OF contami-
nation and bid her BECOME. But what
right had / 10 judge her?
SO l said. Eyes. L remember, but l don't
understand"
Again she laughed, that hard. mis-
erHble. God-forsaken laugh that makes
women like you and me wonder what
angels or demons think Of ii, If 1t is heard
either in heaven or hell.
understand Ii is easy enough TO I'M
derstand," she answered; II ate too
much. l drank too much, l got III, and
the people who had claimed TO be my
friends were the first TO leave me and
to let me seek either the street or the
hospital Well, / have been TO both, and
i drifted here because l was hungry. l
suppose 1 ought TO repent. but somehow,
my head hurts too much for me 10
think"
WHY WOMEN DO WRONG.
/ said something TO her about helping
her II could, about feeling sorry for her,
about feeling sorry for every woman who
was led into the paths OF sin because Of
her intense though mistaken love. Again
there came that awful laugh. And she
spoke. "You are mistaken; where one
woman does wrong for loves sake, there
are thousands who do wrong because
they want to. Because it is in them, be-
cause they want fine clothes, because
they want to lead lazy lives. and be-
cause they are Disconnected where they
are. Don't look so Mortified. Three-quar-
tiers Of tho women that 30 TO the bad, do
81 because they want to-because they
lean that way-because they like vice
with all its attendant luxuries better
than they DO virtue with its lack Of
them. Love has nothing 10 do with IT,.
often as not. the life pleases either their
vanity, or else their avarice- and the
greed OF women IS awful-is satisfied.
Years ago men have been the tempters-
they are not often nowadays. Where do
such women as 1 come from? From the
country: from the country that the poets
write about and the city people think so
innocent. We get to hate the green Of
the grass, the blue OF the skies. the
rnonotony Of the life. ana, once discOn-
tent is in the heart of a woman, once
she longs for those so-called good things
that please her physically, the devil owns
her What did you see In the country
last summer? / mean what did you see
in the faces Of the people, the real coun-
try people? Either a stupid logged,
stolid satisfaction. or badness.
ut is the country that caters 70 the
vice OF tho city Women like me come
here, claiming that we want TO go into
shops or factories, but always before us
there is the hope that we will have the
opportunity that We long for, the OPP
portunity 10 90 wrong, when wrong
means fine clothes and an indolent life.
Even now / carnOt work. i am only
1T for the hospital and the morgue.
''Teach them TO be better? How can
you? Out where | was born and where
/ lived until / was 16 years old, l was
taught what they called religion; l
went 10 all the services of the church
and while the preacher preached, ]
dreamed Of the day when / should lol1
IN my carriage. be finely dressed and
the envy Of an other women. Well that
day came and / was happy. ! suppose
II is wicked to say that but here Is
something that IS wickeder. l never felt
sorry until money and lovers had gone
from me. and had no friends. don't
know that l was harder than anybody
else but as long as l was prosperous.
from the standpoint OF the world I'm
which / lived, l was content. II was
only when trouble came that l wondered
ff had done right
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
"But IS there such q thing as right?
why was ]. an ordinary country gill,
given beauty Of body. beauty OF face. and
an ability 20 catch up every clever thing
that was said, n Il were meant that /
was 10 marry a man who worked a farm,
spend my days In hard work, my nights in
heavy sleep. and never 10 hear or know
pf anything that was bright? Every
thing IN me loneed for the beauties and
the JOYS OF life, ana l found them.
found them. as you would say, through
sin. but what are you going 20 do? Are
you goine 90 make all womsnklnd over
again? How are You going TO keep dis
content that great weapon Of the devil.
from getting into the hearts OF the girl
children. persuadng Them away from
their homes TO where they can meet the
shopman though too often IL is a shop