The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1902-01-07
| MARGARET OF /
I. NEW ORLEANS
AM IDEAL CHARITY REALIZED.
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lecture on what we Tor the frSt time see.
mot at ALL" voice answers in the
soft southern tongue. ''It looks just like
her.
''Ah, thank you. You live here?"
81 was born here. This is my home"
"You were here during the war and
yellow fever and everything? And was
Ben Butler so dreadful? And have you
seen Cable?''
A nod answers each one of my young
companions impetuous queries.
"How delightful concludes my friend,
but the lady shakes her head and taps her
fan lightly on the girls soft cheek and
says musingly: st did not seem as if
would live through it, but L have, and
now comes one who calls my trials de-
lightful.' How cruel!"
"Ah, pardon! But l was thinking of
that charming man who wrote the deli
cious Nine Delphine' / was thinking
how perfectly lovely it must be to live
here and know him-and then to live in
city that has had such history-it is so
romantic. And can you tell US anything
about Margaret"
This little space Margaret place. it
is called-it is pleasant spot to rest in"
With this invitation, given more in
looks than in words, we seated ourselves
near our new acquaintance on the settees
in the little park. The perfume of March
roses overhang the city; we forget in its
deliciousness the signs of decay that in
portions of that quaint old town imparts
a pensive melancholy to its beauty. Near
by us in the green grass is pool set
about with a low border Of cactus;
mimic fort, with all its bristling thorn
guns out, and Its blossom floating from
the ramparts, which are guarding from
such ferceness only a lazy feet of water
lilies, under the shade of which there is a
whirl of goldfish. A stone footbridge
crosses the pool and spans the river of
cactuses. 1t is -nry odd and tasteful
device, this pool, and the little park in
which it is placed is unique In its way.
There is nothing overdone, neither neg
lected. 1t is a well kept, refreshing, sim
pie setting for the statue itself.
''She was a working woman-a s~osart
here. When first remember her l was
living near here, and she was taking care
of the cows in stable that stood almost
on the very spot where her statue stands
now. She was working then for the sis
tiers Of the asylum. She fed and MIXED
their cows and sold milk in a cart about
the city. She was strange looking person
remarkable in her appearance. l think
now as ! recall her she had broad fore
head, serious eyes, pleasant, broad
smile, a rather short, stout figure. do
not suppose she ever in her life wore any
dress better than a guinea blue calico; she
always wore heavy shoes and a black
straw bonnet trimmed with a neat band
of black over the top. From my residence
could see her many times day while
she was at her stable work or coming
back and forth with her milk cans.
What was her name? Her name was
Margaret Hauggery; she had been mar
ried and at that time was widow. Her
husband and little child died just after
she came to New Orleans; so we learned
after she became famous She was alone
and poor in a strange country and went
to work in the stables for a living. Some
how everybody liked Margaret; her smile
was sweet and her words shrewd. The
children called her Margaret. and she
knew their names and answered their
salutations along the street as she drove
by in the milk cart.
"After some years Margaret had saved
enough to buy a bit of ground that had
on it small bakery. The place was sold
for trife, but now Margaret was in
royal trina landowner and a manufac-
turer; for she opened the shop and began
bread and pie making for the neighbors.
Presently there was large bakery built;
soon bread carts were running over the
city bearing the words 'Margaret's Bak
cry 1t became the fashion to buy at
place. During war, pestilence
and disaster Margaret's fires were never
out, and the delicious rolls kept up their
weight and quality, no matter what else
in life failed Then she began running
her free bread carts during the fever PAN
ic. No one went hungry who was within
sound of her cart wheels. From that
time on no one need go hungry in New
Orleans-those too poor to buy were given
a loaf fresh and white as the best, and it
was given heartily, with a God bring
thee better timesp There was no distinc-
ton in Margaret's favors. She gave to
white and black, Of any church or none.
Are you hungryT that is all that was
necessary. Here Is bread; take it with
Gods blessing There have been in this
city dread days which seemed as If God
and everybody had failed US but Mar
garet; days when she almost literally fed
the city. During the yellow fever panic
Margaret began her noble work of taking
the children from the homes of death and
putting them into house under good
care, supporting them herself in every
particular Soon the one asylum grew
into many; the dozens of her little charges
were numbered by hundreds-and at the
time of her death thousands. At the gate
of every orphan asylum In the city Mar
garet's bread cart, with it's smoking rolls,
was seen daily; at every charitable insti-
tuition whatsoever she took the privilege
Of giving her bread freely. and Margaret's
name headed the list for every charity.
"Our grand Charity hospital, one of the
most famous in the world, was largely
the gift Of Margaret You must visit
that hospital. 1t will make you better all
your life for having seen it. Right
through the trees there, at the right, do
you see that magnificent building with its
four galleries running around the first
four stories Of the house? Its gate tells
in golden letters that this is children's
home, given by Margaret wheTe to the |
end Of time orphans viii be cared 70 Ind |
educated by her requests. Many of our |
cemeteries contain in form Of handsome |
.ombs Margaret's simple but munihcent |
Here you know all are
buried above ground in crypts or ovens
# masonry, and when you visit our ceme
eries-as strangers always do, for there
ire no burial places like these in America |
you will see stone tombs, containing
me, two or four dozen bodies maybe, in
cribed, Given to the Little Sisters of the
Poor by Margaret The Strangers
Tomb. Given by Margaret l suppose
Margaret spent more money for the city
than the richest man in the history of the
state, and of the sympathy and discern
ment of the needs of the poor the half
could never be told. She spent nothing /
On herself 4 clean blue calico, stout
shoes, a black straw bonnet, knitted
jacket or shoulder shawl, an iron bed !
stead in a room without even rocking
chair and overlooking the bakeshop, suf-
feed for her. She had no time to enjoy !
real luxuries. AS long as there was a
weeping child or a friendless woman
In the city what time had she to fold
her arms in rocking chair? While there
we're unburied, coffinless forms could she
adorn her home of the living? And so it
happened that to the end of life Mar
yaret spent neither time, care nor money
IN herself. She forget there was such
mortal as Margaret.
"And when one day the news went
around that Margaret was dead the great
,ity arose and put on mourning; the bust
ness houses were closed; all the employ
nents of the city stood still. The day Of
he burial thousands Of her little orphans
followed her bier as mourners; every
,hurch sent delegations of honor bearers;
he public school children joined in the
hrong; the houses were draped along the
inc of march; all the bells in the city
oiled; civic and military joined in the
procession with ecclesiastics; there never
vas here funeral like Margaret's.
"Afterward it was found that her pos
sessions had been so disposed that had
leath come at any moment the affairs OF
I. int Ili oop "