Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1904-11-30
THE TREAT OF TREATING.
Reason of the Seeming Fo1lies of the
Wretchedly Poor.

AeasOu OF the gee ming FOll1ee Oh ths
Wretchedly Poor.
A charity worker, new to her task,
was recently holding forth in tones o.
despair edged with evaporation upon
the follies of the very poor in expendi-
ture.
Sometimes it's money-like the
birthday party for the twins that used
up half the sum l collected for Mrs.
Mooney to carry her through the win
ter; and sometimes it's labor-like
that poor little weak-chested seam
stress, Mrs. Fresneau, sitting up two
whole nights to work on the dress her
Marie graduated from the grammar
school in; but the foolishness Of it is
enough to drive body wild. And they
can't seem to see how crazy it Is.
Sometimes they half apologize if they
see you disapproye, and sometimes
they stiffen up and get veXed, as If
you were impairment to criticise. But
either way they're not really sorry,
and you know they'd do it again. It's
beyond my comprehension how grown
people can be SO childishly uncalculat-
ing"
us it?" said an older woman. tits
trying, l know, and often there seems
no excuse, but l think l understand.
/ think you would have understood,
too, if you'd been at the Rest Home
with us last week, when Mrs. Burke
was there. You know her, poor thing!
"a Woodworking chorewoman with O
large family, sent down for bit of
vacation after six weeks in hospital
with a bad ankle, to brace her up a
bit before going back to the everlast-
ing drudgery of her life. Well, there
was trouble from the first and what
do you suppose it was? She wouldn't
rest, and she would freeze the Ice
cream for a household Of fifteen peo-
pie
Zone day l found her rocking-chair
empty on the piazza and heard the
freezer going, and started in pursuit.
I found her with all the children OF
the place round her in a ring, fairly
wriggling with anticipation, while she
laughed and ground, wincing and
changing position every other minute
to ease the ankle that was still too
weak to stand on comfortably She
looked guilty; and when | asked If she
had broken the ice herself she pro-
tested that it bruk that aisy a baby
cud ha' bruk it wild q rattle
II pointed to the heavy ice-pick and
old croquet mallet she had been using,
and shook my head, telling her with
mock severity, Back you go to your
rocking-chair, Mrs. B., this instant
minutev +.
,"sAh, no, ma'am, that | DON'T she
answered, laughing, too, but keeping
her hold on the crank. Here's the
childher waiting for the scrapings
whin the dasher comes out, don't you
see, and it's me that promised to see
there was fair sharing and no fight
Ing. You'd niver have me break me
worrud to thin, the darlints, now
would you, ma'am? All, sure, the
rocking-chair's a treat for me bones,
it's thrue, and looking of. yon piazzy
over thin miles of green country Is
a treat to me eyes, but It's the treat
Of treating the childher that's good
for me heart
There are many like her. They
spend their money, they spend their
strength, and they often spend both
unwisely; but, after all, it is because
generosity and hospitality are necessl-
ties of their hearts, as fuel and food
and clothes are of their bodies. 10
poor people Of that kind word OF dls-
suasion from a warm-hearted friend
may often be Of the greatest service,
but never the cold warning or crltl-
cism of would-be helper, however
sensible and practical, who cannot
herself understand 1.-THE treat OF treat
ing."-Youth's Companion.