The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-01-04

L
t.midIy.
mo. I couldn't was the unequivocal
answer.
They next tried grim-Ioling man
! standing in a doorway
Are you the janitor OF this buildingy'
| Mo-
do you know where he is?''
NO
lis there one?"
| NO"
! is there an owner of the buildingr"
inquired one Of the party
Mo- he replied. unmoved-
| This parsonage being found on the
whole 10 be inclined to be non-commit-
tai, our party now made bold leap into
/ the dark-literally-by walking into the
| ball OF one of the houses and advancing
| boldly up the unlighted stairway. On the
fifth floor they stopped and one of them.
a TALL modest looking girl, who seemed to
play the part of leading lady to the COM
rany, a very sweet Lady Bountiful. then
krocked on the door. 1t was opened. dis
J closing a small room, two beds woman.
several children: on the table three light
&C candles
Might We give the children few little
Christmas presents?" asked the Lady
Bcuntiful gently. They are very little,
but We thought perhaps
Thereupon a distribution began. While
the girls apportioned dolls, books and
oranges, and did not forget to bestow up
on the mother the aforementioned sweet
chocolates. the young men occupied them
selves with asking the children's names.
T. ~ al -ed
ard almost poignant interest.
Say 'Dankr Say 'Dankr the sunil-
. ing mother commanded
So Dank' and dirty smiles were willing
l. exchanged for more material gifts.
and as the party clattered out of the
room, they were followed by wishes Of
Merry Christms'' and Happy New
Year" and more and yet more -Danks-
Are there any more people with chill
dren in the house," asked the sweet-faced
Leading Lady.
Only a family OF Christians was the
answer of little girl. in a tone that took
one back 10 the time of Nero.
The family of Christians having been
supplied the voyagers of discovery des-
oended 70 the street At the door of
snail embassy was waiting. woman
pushed forward:
Come. blease, come with met she said
eagerly. Il have children-two, three;
two boys and one girl. Gomez
This invitation was cordially accepted
and the seven with what had now come
to be small band of followers. tramped
across Forsyth street in the mud. in at
the door Of one OF the houses. down
through a long. black hall, giving into a
small, dark rear court, out of which
opened doors OF other houses-an ideal
srot, as some one remarked
Into one of these houses they followed
feir guide Here. the hall and stairway
were absolutely pitch dark The young
people stumbled cheerfully up the slippery
steps. the foremost ones counting and Civ
ing the numebr TO those in the rear.
Seven steps and turn to the right; six
steps and turn to the left
These houses proved a veritable wind
fall to the would-be Christmas givers.
Children swarmed at every landing. ask
ing them 10 come in: for every one in the
court seemed To have found out by some
curious telepathy what this party of raid
ers was pto. Sometimes there was
marked lack of cordially on the part OF
the parents. In one case a dark. unshorn.
wildeyed father stood on the landing
and watched the company invade his
room an expression so suspicious. cunning
and sinister, that he looked like some
fierce beast of prey waiting to make
sIring upon an enemy: q picture in the
half-light that Rembrandt would have
loved
But the mothers. for the most part. were
pleaset, and happy. The children ciutched
their ugly dolls, said their obedient
"DHank" only one of them cried and re-
fused to tell his name and several of the
women in mixture OF Geman and Eng
FISH. invited the party TO come agin next
year. One of these was the mother Of
4 tiny baby of six weeks, which. in short
clothes and with small. old wizened face
held up its sad little head with the stiff
self-reliance and hardihood which the
poor have to begin to learn even in the
cradle
What I'D you think of it all? asked
one of the girls OF the other they
started along on the street
oh don't know. didn't like il much"
II don't believe III do il again.. said
another Il can bear the sight OF poverty.
hut. oh the-isn't this air good, And to
think they have all they want OF it,
Well" said the. Leading Lady, as a
conclusion OF the whole matter. '-socio-
logically. [ don't approve of this days
work n bit: but the children liked the
things-those that would stoop to take
them-and we had fun ourselves and 1
hope there sn't much harm done And now
we've got 70 hurry home or we'll miss our
Christmas supper.
So they turned their faces westward.
al Grand street and fastened along trough
the clean. cold air. towards the elevated
statlon-aud home.-New York Evening
Pest.