Santa Fe daily New Mexican., 1896-07-30
FROM MY WINDOW.

Iopened my window and leaned far ont
and looked down on the misty, damp des-
olation. Gray mist was everywhere-gray
mist and thin, soft, silent rain, rain that
did not fall in round drops, but fioated
through the air and crept along the sides
of the houses and through the narrow pas
sages and down the broad streets. Rain
and mist everywhere. A city of damp
desolation below me. The river l could
/ family see-back and cold. l could even
hear the sound of its outgoing waters-ii
gurgling, chuckling, crunching sound.
They sang mirthless, monotonous song.
A barge swept past One tall, solitary fig
ure was at the helm. He stood alone on
the dank flatboat, motionless, silhouetted
against the gray mist. He, too, was part
of the scheme of desolation.
In the street, beneath my window, a
barrel organ began to play music hall
tune. Two children appeared and COM
menced dancing. One had red frock,
but no stockings. The other had stock
ings, but no frock-only a petticoat that
once upon n time might have been white.
They danced and the mud flew from under
their feet and the rain mist wandered
amid their rags. They danced, and the
organ grinder turned the handle of his or
gan with fascinating regularity.
When he had finished his stock of tunes,
he wheeled his barrel Of sound away. No
one had given him anything, but probably
he did not think of that. He went from
street to street day by day, ground forth
his 12 tunes, and if pennies were thrown
him he picked them up, and If pennies
were not thrown him he forgot to expect
to pick them up.
He moved away, and the child with the
stockings followed him. The child with
out tho stockings remained standing in
the mud. I then threw her a coin. She
looked ut it where it fell. Then she looked
up at me. She looked at the coin again
and picked it up and wiped it on her dress.
The street was empty She and the gray
rain mist were alone. She stood in the
mud, the coin in her hand, and gazed uE
| at mo. beckoned her to come to me, but
| she did not move, so I went down and
brought her up to my room and placed hel
| in chair before the fire
"Are you hungry"
She shook her head.
"You are very wet!'
She shook her head.
care you fond of dancingi"
She nodded her head.
"Where do you liye9"
"Anywhere."
"Where's your mother?"
"Nowhere
lit cigarette. She drew nearer the
fire.
"Whero are you going9"
ITO the pantomime--to darnce."
"When?"
"Termorrer."
"What arc you-a fairy?"
"No-han evil speret.
"Who was the girl with you just nowp'
"Sistor"
"Does she dance in the pantomimep"
Eyes"
"What Is shep''
"'Nother hevil speret'
"What are you going to do when you
grow upS"
"Darnce."
"AlwaysP"
eyes"
She would not talk any more but sh'
crouched before the fire, staring at the rec
Goals and seeing things there that were
hidden from me. went to bed OF II ant
left her before the fire, still gazing int
tho burning embers. When l looked fo
her in tho morning, sho was gone. TIVE
months later saw her in the pantomimo
She was an evil spirit Three years passed
and 1 saw her again, dancing in q larg
west end theater.
-Four years later I stood looking on
from my window, and I thought Of tn
evening of seven years ago. Again ther
! were tho gray rain mist and tho damp des
olation everywhere. Again there passe'
tho low, fat barge, with the solitary fig
ure at tho helm motionless. The water
sang their mirthless, monotonous song
The organ grinder ground forth his l:
stock tunes. But the two children did no
dance in the mud. stood looking dow
into the desolate street. And saw q wo
man walking slowly toward the river Sh
had n red dress on. She stopped beneatl
my window and looked up. beckoncd tt
her to come to mo. She came.
placed chair before the fire for her.
SIT was seven years ago!"
"Yes. Why do you rememberp"
$50 you have dancedp"
ayes, have danced"
"You have been successfulv
eyes"
"Then WHY
81 don't know. danced, and then
hurt my ankle and had to give it up, ant
then sister died, and them
eyes, see, and them
"And then But it's finished now"
SIT was silly to begin"
"Yes, it was silly to begin. came here
but the windows were shut. So"-
$50 What did you come here forp''
II remembered that night"
"Whyp"
| II don't know"
She would not talk any more, but sal
and gazed into the red gold fire and saw
things there that were hidden from me
At II o'clock l went to bed and left he
still dreaming before the red gold fire
And the next morning she was gone.
opened my window and leaned far out
The sun was shining, and heard tn,
birds singing amid the embankment trees
And the barge swept up the river, re
turning from it's journey. At the helm
thought saw two fgures-but 1t may
have been only fanoy-a man and tn,
figure of something that ought to hav,
been woman. And heard the water
singing, not their chuckling, monotonou
song, but new song, a mirthless, silent
soundless song, like the song Of an evi
spirit. Sketch.
Experience Had Been Her Teacher.
Mrs BoWline had tussle with tha
"gentlemanly peddler" who did Colleg