The times., 1897-07-18
A QUEER CHARITY WORKER.
Conducts a Relief bureau From Hel
Own Small Earnings.

| "A sdhfLeu d
| reau In this city a year ago and placed
| q woman in charge. Her Work was TO
| investigate quietly all cases brought TO
| her notice, and to help, so far as she could,
| that class of self respecting poor who
| prefer to suffer rather than solicit public
aid. Her mission has led her into queer
| places and she has learned queer things
She has been blessed by some for the
| help she has gwen and cursed by Others
| because she could do no more.
| Her home like the spiders, is up
| winding stair, and a reporter called there
| yesterday to consult with her in regard
| to a case of destitution that had been
| brought to the attention of The Times
| The door was opened by lady with
palette on her thumb. who explained that
| she expected her sister in every minute
and that it would be a good idea to come
| in ana wait The invitation W as accepted,
| and the conversation turned on the matter
| In hand.
My sister is one good woman said
! the artist, but hopelessly addicted To beg
| gars. she viii be painting up the steps
| presently tagged out and starved because
| her car tickets and lunch money have gone
| To one of the clan l believe in honest,
helpful charity, mind you, but there is
| no opticidn like experience, and We had
| my two eyes opened by some OF the niendi-
| cants hat follow in that poor child's Wake.
1--WE live together In this nat, which you
| see is pretty near the sky line, and as the
! building 5 empty after 4 clock you might
| fancy | mud it lonely with my sister away
| from morning until midnight, but don't
| there are always the beggars. They come
! Ike Mother Goose's crowd-'some In rags,
| sonle in jags and some in velvet gowns
| but every last one Is the scion of an
| illustriouS race and victims of mis- fortune
| through everybody fault but their own
| Sometimes when l am smUtty from crayOD
| and light housekeeping and lurid with
| cabs from my paint box 1 feel SO abashed
! and parvenue in the presence OF the stately
| social ruins my sister sends or brings me
| that / have frequently had cause TO COM
| pare ourselves TO Marie AntOinette, IN
| crowned, in the hands OF the aboninable
| sans culotte-I am the sans cuIotte Of the
| iiustrationl
| Il am not referring, understand, to the
worthy men and women W nom my sister
| has had il in her power to aid She is
| deadly earnest sort Of person, and as long
| as the phil1nthroWst kept up his Utopian
| attempt at aboishtng the poverty of the
| District she was able to do great deal
| of good. Then he exchanged his hobby for
| yacht, but by that time my sister name
| and address VI as IN the possession Of every
| aims hunter for miles around and she has
been their victim ever since
''One midnight last winter l dipped into
the blackness OF our front hail four floors
Delow In answer to my sisters pull at the
hell. As opened the door saw beside her
tall, slir2 woman in black
" A Mother, l sighed, but cOmpen-
satingly picturesque Ny siSterintroduced
her genially as though she had brought
her from diplomatic reception instead
OF the streets, and I prepared supper and
laid the pillow and sheets on the couch.
This guestc0ntinued withus fora weeS, and
my sister then paid her room rent for
| fortnight else where. During that time
she persuaded another woman 10 invest in
some enterprise born OF her adventurous
imagination, and ii as six weeks before
she returned In missionary spirit to en-
| tighten our ignorance of style. She Wore
| new cheap skirt with a stiff lining
| that ratified like stage thunder. II was
OF a da, K, tuH.ultuous storm-CuIored
| ground, with lightning f1ushes OF yellow.
| Her green coat was roped and taSseIed
| Ike a bngadieT's and her neck was
| smothered n white lace ruff tn ~ put
Elizabeth's out OF sight and swallowed
| her head when sGe bowed. Her whole
manner was Tedolent OF what the vulgar
call sasSiety," and she smelled like a
sample bCtue of American cologne. She
sympatht2ed with US for living up so many
steps; and with a gracious charity sUg-
gestive cE those ladies who entertain the
inmates at almshOuses. iails and hospitals,
rcctted for our benefit, Clara We're De
We're" She materalized yesterday poor
| little SOUL sick with bad luck and hunger
| in a cheap, choker collar and blood-red
waist
There was an old dame on my sisters
liSt-another effective example OF high art
impecuniosity. She was sphynx-like re
garding her beion gings, but Judging by her
limitations hailed from a long line OF
Kings. Pesides being a mystery, she was
poet-of the epic brand Ny sister found
her starving and brought her home 10
lunch l was so overcome by her totte.
ing, bTeathless scorn Of our stairway
as long as Jacobs ladder-that I felt
mean and poor not to be able to charter
balloon for her return trip. She was su-
2erciltous over my coffee, while the look
she gave my paintings, my decorations
and rIySelf were enough to make cold
ashes of pride much hhaughtier than mine.
An she asked of my hsrd-worktng sis
ter with her weekly pittance. she said
tshe held on In the meantime to the quar-
ter the poor girl had given herr. was th1t
she would have poem of hers printed
into leaflets to sell It was a half ward
long and the meter jumped like a kanga-
rro This poem had lofty destiny TO full
fill. It was to be peddled among states
men in the halls Of Congress and great
men miscellaneously, ell of whom were
TO recognize the genius of its author and
hail her as second edition of Corinne
She was so impressed with the future of
her poem that my sister decided to print
it in the hope that some person would in
deed be touched with the feebleneSs Of the
ladyltke little creature and pay her en-
trance into some home for the aged. While
she waited until my sister could save the
moncy-it cost half of her weeks salary
she decided To express her indignation at
our daring to suggest that she was of an
age TO be retired, ny begin free adver-
tiSemeat in the paper for place as work
ing houSekeeper' She received a betch
Of answers, but came back to my sister en-
ragged almost into spaSms because each
person to whom she applied refused to
employ her on sight. She went off with
her leaflets with the pO0 fiJpupa ,lf tho his