The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-08-21
FOUR CENTS A DAY.
A Turkish Woman Who Lives on
Tint Amount

-hhiOUht.
The little silver coin, known in Turkey
as the piastre. is worth four cents in our
money, and one piastre day is the
average earning of an old Armenian wo-
man whom 1 visited one day at Scutari,
along with an American missionary
yorker Scutari is the most Turkish part
of Canstantinople, and lies across the
BosphoruS from Pera and Stambodl.
which are better known TO Europeans.
Four cents a day 10 live upon. That
does not seem very much, and yet, when
we came out of the burning sun this July
morning into the poor little room where
the old lady was working. | think we
both felt the air OF contentment, almost
Of joyfulness, that pervaded the place
What smile of welcome shone on that
smooth, yellow face, with its white hair
falling low over the ears, How she hob
bled forward presenting the one broken
chair that she had in the world, and sal
uting US from her eyes and lips and
heart She would have kissed our hands
had We allowed her to, and this is no
whining, cringing spirit, but with graft
tude and pride. because the missionaries
had bought her lace when all else had
failed, and because her knotted old fin
/ gers were still able TO make the lace.
She had learned the patterns as a girl,
dear no. and she laughed with all her
wrinkles until her dark red fez bobbed
| its tassel in sympathy.
| The talk ran on in Turkish, / coming
| in now and then with an approving cnok
eyi. which means Very good and at
| this she would laugh again, and bid the
| missionary worker express the hope that
prosperity would come to my house.
Then she got out pasteboard box, ana
with trembling fingers drew forth her
] treasured lace patterns, rare pieces which
She unrolied lovingly and declared that
| she would not sell for many liras-they
were more TO her than bread. But l might
have some of these if l would honor her
| by accepting them. On, no. she would
| have none of my money. Well, three
| piastres if l insisted, and she prayed my
wife would bear me many sons. Then
| blushing protests and surprise on her
part What, not married. Inshallah!
| She had been a mother at fourteen and
| grandmother before thirty.
And how old was she now?
| Allah billet. God knows.
| And was she all alone in the world?
No. indeed. she had Nedgar her little
dog. whose hair was very soft She pro-
| duced Nedgar forthwith and held the
| little animal in her old arms as one would
hold a child
Then I asked where she slept. for I saw
no sign of a couch, and forthwith she
opened a door covering shallow hole IN
| the wall and drawing out thick your
gan with the sheet stitched fast to II.
made sign how she would spread II on
the floor.
| And what did she eat?
on. many things. bread in sheets and
boulghour. Copied wheaD. and some
| times grapes
Not unless the missionaries brought it.
but God was good to her, since she had
a we'll of pure water to draw from rms
she showed me at the rear and drew up
Drumming painful. I took good
draught and exclaimed chok cyl to her
great delight. An, yes, the gentleman /!
saw that her words were true. and tnal
God was indeed good to her.
..Who paws the rent?" I asked as we
..The AmericaA board" said the mis-
sionarv worker. but, you see. she Is not
q beggar: she works ten or twelve hours
a day at he lace making and earns her
own living. Co.. 81.
make more than that?
"Sonoetirnes she earns as much as eiSht
cents a day. but at other times wnen her
| rheumatism is bad, she earns nothing
We have Armenian women making lace
who can earn three or four piasters
day. but they are younger
what do you do with the laceE
sell it in Germany and England we
are irving to sell it in America, also, and
I am sure many people would buy II IL
they knew how much good the money
| would do to hundreds of starving women.
Besides. the lace is quite beautiful
Does the old lady never complain!
..Never. at least, only once that 1 re-
member. 1t was about her yourgan- Sne
| said the wool was hard. and We gave
her another-a quilt to spread on the fool
for a bed, and that was all she wanted
And so ended this study in contentment