The herald., 1897-04-18

hands, and not with their lips alone. and
who tended the sick lovingly, who wert
frightened at no filth or wretchedness.
who lived the salvation that was theil
watchword. and who thus followed in
the footsteps of the Christ 1t had not
been Billy's fate to know any of these
people, but he had one friend in the
Christian world, one friend of whom he
was proud, and of whom he used often to
dream at night and think by day.
This friend was not beautiful to the
rest of the world, for her face was pale,
her form slender and her eyes always
looking. She worked every day
in a great store on State street, for Billy
lived in Chicago, you know. and she al
ways passed the corner at which Billy
stood crying Morning Herald" every
day at half-past seven. Billy always
watched for her and never failed to
step forward and say Paper, Ma'am?'
1t began one rainy day when Billy, ,hoarse
and shivering, stood on that corner, and
she came by She looked at the lad
pityingly. She was thinking of her own
little brother in the country town hun
dred miles away and how hard 1t would
be to have him standing in the weather
such a day. She stopped and in
very sweet voice said: How many pa
pers have you?" Twenty" said Billy.
'Well, will take them ALL" she replied,
az you will go home and stay in out of
this rain today" She paid him so cents
out of her worn purse and took the pa
pers. Billy promised to obey and did
so. and thereafter felt that there was one
person in the world who cared for him.
He did not know that the girl did with
out her lunch that day and the next to
make up for her charity, nor that she
lived in a room with two other girls,
doing her own cooking and washing that
she might save her wages to send to her
mother for her support and that of her
little brothers. Billy did not know this,
but God knew 1t and made her charity
fall into warm soil in the neglected
heart of the poor street waif, and grow
up into saving beauty.
Billy always counted on the young la
dy's morning smile, and she always gave
1t, no matter how weary and Ill she felt.
Micky called her "Billy's lady," and new
er thought of such thing as offering her
his own papers, though he did sometimes
share the beautiful smile she gave the
younger lad. oh, my children, you who
have beautiful homes and kind friends,
who cannot ever remember having done
one unselfish and kindly deed you should
90 down among the poor, should see the
tenderness of the fortunate to the un-
fortunate IL you would learn the true
meaning of sympathy. You should see
how from their little they contrive to
brighten the lot of many another bur-
dened creature, and be ashamed that out
of your abundance you have never light
ened the load of a weary soul.
want to tell you of touching little
thing that / cav once, as / was in the
heather part of that great city where
Billy lived. In lovely street baby of
about years old sweet In spite of bare
feet and legs and an old skirt which was
its only garment, in spite of dirt and tam
gled hair, I saw something Of the angel.
An italian peddler came along with his
little push cart. He was peanut seller.
a ragged and dirty fellow, but he smiled
on the baby and gave her four peanuts.
Do you think the child ate them then
and there, as you would have perhaps
have done? No, she held them fast and
started away; little boy offered to give
her an old tin horse for them, but she
shook her head; another dirty child
wanted to trade her some empty epools
for her treasure, but no. she held them
tight and, trotting down the street a
little way, stopped In front of tumble
down old house and called "Yetta! Yetta,
come, Yetta." Another child about two
years older came running out. "See, sis
ter" said the little one, what I have;
we will eat them together" She then
40 xyhflo the aldar
child took the shells from the nuts then
twining their arms about one another,
they sat there munching the four pea
nuts and swinging their little bare feet,
a picture of slsterly love that warmed my
heart. The dirty-faced baby knew al
ready the sweets of charity and sympa-
thy; knew that sharing joy doubles it.
But to return to Billy.
1t was the morning before Easter
Sunday, when Billy saw his lady coming
down the street. This morning she
looked happy, and she was, for her heart
was singing "Christ is risen from the
dead" She carried in her hand scarlet
geranium blossom and leaf. 1t had been
broken from her only window plant that
morning, plant that she had tended for
months and whose bloom now rewarded
her. AS she neared Billy she stopped and
said GOOD morning, Billy" for she had
long known his name. "See, I have
brought you something else." She hand
ed him two yellow tickets. "Here is a
ticket for you and your little friend to
the newsboys' dinner tonight at the arm
ory. All the boys you know will be there,
for all the newsboys are invited. There
will be turkey and cranberry sauce, and
hundreds of colored Easter eggs and or
anges and ice cream and more good
things than 1 can tell you about, and
you don't have to pay a cent, not cent.
am going myself to help pour the coffee,
and so don't fail to come" She handed
him the tickets and passed on. This
shop girl was mission Sunday school
teacher, and she was one of those cho-
sen to help at the great dinner that was
newsboys.
My heather was delighted; not be-
cause he was going to taste turkey and
cranberry sauce for the first time, but
because his .'lady' had asked him to go.
Micky should go too, and what larks
they would have. Ne was full of the
subject all day, and that evening at the
appointed hour was ready waiting at the
door with two or three hundred other
boys. He had even washed his face, and
it was not bad face, either, though the
nose was snubby. 1t looked like an
island In a dark sea, for he had not
thought 1t necessary to wash his neck
and beneath his chin, but that did not