The age-herald., 1900-04-22
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IFRAgDsS A. SCHNEIDER
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Between the sparsely leaved branches Of the cypress tree that grows in the yard can look across to the backs of a row of tenement houses, and through their uncur- tained windows see the Inmates of the shabby rooms beyond Often and often
 have l been the unseen witness of bits of domestic drama enacted amid the bare set
 tings of these poor rooms. Spying upon my
 neighbors! Well, I suppose so. But it is
 kind of spying that does them no harm and furnishes me with some sound moral lessons.
 For months after I began this practice
 i he windows of the rooms most directly opposite mine were closed and shuttered; ;
 but one day early last March they were
 thrown wide open, and I saw an old wo-
 man with broom and brush and pail mak- ing great clearance and cleaning.
 She looked seventy, at least, but was still active and hoped easily up on little step ladder to adjust a pair of blinds which from the moment she put them up, until this day, have never been drawn
 down. except at night. The old woman :s evidently fond of light and Of as much s,lo h ne as she can get.
 When first she made her appearance in the rooms, a handsome, strapP--.s young
 fellow, whom l took to be Ter grandson
 occupied them with her They seemed
 very fond of one another and ] ofto;,' saw
 them embrace; sometimes in the morning,
 before he went away to work, or at night
 when the lamp light, casting their shad-
 ows rpon the drawn blinds, made gro-
 tesque silhouette Of the tall youth. beading affectionately over the little cl1 s 1..ian One night I came home out of the din and clamor of the streets where the crowds were gathered about tlf newspaper bulletin boards, like flies about t :>Aey pot, and the neWsboys were crying "UXtra, uxtraw fit to drive one mad There was one distinct impression in my mind. The - regiment was ordered into camp. It
 was quite dusk when I walked into my
 room and my old neighbours lamp was lighted but she had evidently forgotten to draw her blinds, and I could her bust ling and preparing supper.
 Presently in comes the strappling young man, gathers her in his arms and kisses her tenderly. She returns the kiss, pats
 his cheek and resumes her culinary oper- ations. After performing his ablutions at q sink in the corner of the room and
 brushing his hair before the tiny mirror above it, the young man sat down to read the evening paper but his eyes, instead of fastening themselves upon the sheet, follow his grandmother wistfully about, with an expression that suggests a some- thing his mind that he longs, yet dreadS to tell. Supper is on the table at last, and the two sit down to eat it. Presently the young
 man says something that causes the old | woman to lay down her knife and fork, drop her jaw and look across at him in terrified, helpless way. The young man reaches across the table and takes hold of one of her bony old hands, and then he rises, goes round to her side, and stoop- ing down, lays his firm young cheek against her withered one. I don't | see any more, because my heart is touched l and my instinctsOf delicacy revolt against | further spying"
 My neighbor stood at her window next morning brushing shabby, worn old uni- | form. The brass buttons on the coat clink- | ed against the stone coping of the window sill and one strangely stained and riddled sleeve streamed out for moment on the breeze. When the task was finished to her satisfaction she folded the garments | carefully and laid them away in recepta- | cle that stood in the depths of the room. That night only the old woman's shadow appeared on the window blind.
 | After this, for weeks she came to the window every morning with the old uni- form, which she shook and brushed her