The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1899-02-18
How the Other
Half Live
The Little WindOwless House
and the Blind ROOn-They Do
Their Best-Alexan Himself

Did No More. !
~ NE of the girls had soft brown
hair, with golden tints in it. It
was showed back from her brow
and gathered in a loose coil at the
back of a head that was decidedly
classic in outline. Her face was pale
and there were purple shadows
around the dark eyes. She had on a
robe de mutt which fell around her
in severe folds, and she posed uncon-
sciously as she sat on the corner of
her trunk, with her delicate looking
hands loosely clasping one knee.
She was gazing thoughtfully at the
other girl who was fair and whom she
called Kate, and who was crouched
down on one end of shabby lounge,
with her head buried in a dainty cush-
ion.
"My dear,'' she said, addressing the
back of the blonde head, eve have
done our best. Alexander himself did
no more. You preside at the lace
| counter of an 'emporium-salary Sc
per week. I am the machine through
which percolates the correspondence
of your firm--salary $s per week.
Collectively, possible, but not-er-
princely. Our domicile-'
She paused and gazed, thoughtfully
still, at her surroundings. The walls
had grimy wallpaper, the pattern Of
which was chastity shrouded in coal
SCOT. The room had a few pieces Of
grimp furniture, evincing .eloquently
and clearly the degeneracy but not the
dignity of old age-or old, old age.
A. small iron sink occupied one corner
and strip of clean oil-cloth tackled
about endeavored to hide, with laud-
able intent, but DUBIOUS success, the
relays from many dishwashings that
had greasily accumulated into an in,
eta ceable dado over a three-foot area.
A small gasoline stove, much the
worse for wear, and ominously rusty
around a tank suggestive of the lean
ing tower of Pisa, filled, but did not
adorn, another corner. A few dishes
were neatly arranged upon small
shelf above. A shaky looking mantel
bed of the extremely inexpensive or
der was vis-a-vis to the gasoline stove.
On the sooty wall three small but ex-
quisite etchings, some photos and a
rack of books upon whose well-worn
names. Of poets and philosophers ap-
peared, altogether sadly out of place.
A small soap box served as one leg
of the grimy lounge, on which several
pretty denim cushions looked incon-
gruous. A neat oak davenport, thor
oughly if inexpensively fitted out
balanced corners with the sink and
seemed vaguely i'll at ease, if courte-
ously mute. A very smoky and hope
lessly worn carpet struggled fitfully
to cover what it could of the rough
floor and seemed humbly apologetic
in its demeanor toward small Smyr-
ma rug that drew it's artistic dimen-
sions together in frigid isolation near
the decrepdt lounge. "A strip of Moor
ish tapestry wooed the eye with its
soft blended colors, but the cheap
deal legs of an ancient kitchen table
scorned subterfuge and made
themselves brazen]y in evidence be-
meath the rich and dusky cloth of the
orient. On the cloth stood a small
vase holding sweet peas. The dark
eyes rested thirstily OH the pink bios
SONS and the journey around the un-
lovely room had deepened their shad-
owy circles.
Our domicile," she resumed pres.
emily, 'is not palatial. In fact, as a
home it is rather hideous. But-what
would you! There are rent, washing,
clothes, the butcher and baker and the
candlestick-maker, the dentist and the
doctor and the gasoline gentleman,
toilet necessities and stamps and"-a
little chill smile crept up to the purple
shadows and deepened still more heav-
lily the weariness in the eyes-'and
the-exterminator.''
The fair head was lifted and shud-
der of loa thing shook the girls thin
figure.
"Oh. it is that! that!''-she cried
passionately. 'It is the reaches and
the dirt The building is old and
dirty. I could bear the poverty, but
it is what we have to face and the
the varmin we fight. 1t makes me so
deadly sick;.''
The head went down again into the
denim pillow and the thin frame
shook with hopeless sobs. If we were
only back in our other rooms,'' came
dispairingly from the denim cushions
Yes, dear. But there was your long