The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-03-01

E Mother of God, hear me! Wilt thou
permit these fiends to drive my father
less babes shelterless into the streets?
Canst thou see these innocent ones. de
spoiled: of the home that was all their
murdered father left them? Hast thou
ne: memory of the wanderings of thine
own son. the little Christ child thou
gavest that those who came after him
might be spared? Holy mother, and
thou dear Jesus, beseech you to give
TO me and mine@thy divine love; for
get; O, mother, my harsh words. and
remember only my sufferings; do with
! me as you will, but cast not my help
less little ones into the night, with
naught to shield them from cold and
hunger! Dear Christ, what has been my
sin that this punishment should be
meted out TO me and mine? Is it so
. great. that thou cannot forgive and save
us from this despGiler?'
Like torrent the burning words
poured from the frantic mothers lips
Not for herself did she mind, but the
sobs of her little brood drove her to
distraction, and now the end had come.
For days she had stood guard at the
door of her little home driving off the
officers of the law who came to wrench
1t from her. but the unequal contest
could not be Waged forever; her enc
mics had triumphed, and now covering
in a corner the frenzied mother, when
all else had failed, poured forth her
grief, not. to the needless ears of man,
but to the divine power she had been
taught since infancy to put her trust in.
Poor, friendleSS, heart broken Maria
Parente. Left alone but little more
hon a tNrt4 >
and six little ones with only a few, who,
like herself, had journeyed from their
loved Italia to the land of promise, with
whom she could converse, it is not to
be-EW0ndered that she looked upon all
g but. her own people as enemies. and
called down the wrath of heaven upon
the heads of the plying law officers
who. had come to do the bidding of a
court. of justice and drive her from the
little house she believed to be her own.
T.. Such a scene is sometimes read about
but seldom witnessed in real life, and
certainly the half-Score of Sheriff'S
= deputies, policemen, reporters and sym
/. pathfZing friends Of the hapless woman
= never. want to see it re-enacted. Last
> August Mrs. Parente was told in Judge
Hebbard's court that her home was
given to another-to Michele Tano, who
claimed to have purchased it from the
.Woman's husband-but she had lived on
in i. undisturbed possession until last
Saturday, when a deputy sheriff raped
at the door of No. Z Vincent Place,
away up on the slope of Telegraph Hill,
and told the woman that she must va
cate. Instantly all the fire that courses
through the veins of her people was
famed into a blaze, and Selling a
Ratchet the Infatuated mother vowed to
defend her home against all the min
ions of the law that could be marshaled
against her. The deputy, being man
s of peace discreetly. retreated, leaving
her mistress of the situation for the
time being.
H But yesterday morning the assault
on. the Amazon's stronghold was re-
newed with an increased force, only
a.. to again be driven back by the Vigilant
mother, who, realizing that her babes
We're to be driven into the street, had
added to the armament. of her fortress
+ by: resurrecting an old-fashioned re-
Nolver and gun that had belonged to
her husband, and When her assaiiants
again appeared she flourished her
weapons so menacingly that they were
glad to draw off and formulate new
plan of campaign. ::
And who shall blame this poor child
of the South for struggling to. save a
shelter for her children? Ignorant OF
the ways of the people in whose land
she had taken. UP her. abode, she be-
: lieyed whether rightly remains to. be
of bold outrage, perpetrated under
sanction of the law, and so She did
what seemed to her only right-fought
off the men who sought to drive herself
and babes into the street. FL. T. =;
After the repulse of Saturday, Mrs.
@Parente sought to enlist the. >sympa-
thies of the Italian Consul in her be-
half, and again yesterday she tried to.
reach him, but repeated visits failed
to find him at his office, and the poor
woman returned home yesterday after
noon to find the .Sheriff's forces prepar-
ing for another attack, r..
-: Such a storm OF protests, mingled
with pleadings and denunciations, as
she poured forth, Then rushing into
an inner room. she seized her hatchet
and placed it under the chair she occul
pied Next she drew from under: the
pillow on her bed the ancient revolver
..and thrust it into her dress pocket
Going to the window she looked up and
down the street and seeing none of her
enemies began to tell of her troubles
to the two or three women who had
stayed at the house during her absence
and to the newspaper men. Not a tear
dimmed the great dark eyes that
;. glowed like living Goals as the poor
woman gradually dashed herself into
a frenzy as she recounted her wrongs
Louder rang her voice, until her over
wrought feelings gave way, and with
half sob, half Shrek. she seized the