Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-29

wave Of uproar, hoping it was friendly Again and
again the noise died down just enough to encourage
him to begin, then frenzy
Outside the stage door the Italian woman whis-
pered to the child lying nert1y her breast
Listen little one, that is for thy father How they
must love his voice! Two dollars perhaps-who
knows-1f the saints are kind
Mardls1 saw that he must sing against their rage
and great anger filled him. They snatching
the bread from his wife and child With his single
throat he would make more sound than they could
overcome with hands, voice, and feet He sang
His chest worked like blacksmiths bellows. Use
less He could not project his tones inch through
the shell of horrible din about him He must stink
away with his dear ones starving. and the child so
SICK His face broke into acute grief streamed
down, he wrung his hands in despair.
At his weeping the audience only rocked itself in
laughter, as though favorte contortionst Civ
ing his face some excrucatingly funny twist for its
de1ighting
The Italian struggled through another stanza,
met and thwarted this time by rhythmic capping
which let a syllable slip through now and then be-
tween it's beats, golden drop of melody and vet
was ten times more maddening than the steady din.
~ door. The child, Quick Give me the childl'
He was back again before the people with her in
his arms, eery little creature with damp black
Curls hanging about her white cheeks. Her faded,
shapeless frock crumpled awkwardly in his
clasp. and the clumsy shoes seemed too heavy for
her thin legs, stemike in their stockings.
The monster silent, confronting the uneX-
pected.
This is my childr' rang out the Italians mellow
voice. She is sick! She IS hungry! l sing! If /
hold you down. l get dollar! If you will
hear me, my babv-I thnk-she der'
The child languidly lifted her head and looked
out at the people, then settled back on her fathers
shoulder and stole about his neck
Suddenly the monster gone disintegrated
into its atoms, and each human being
shrinking shamefaced from his neighbor. There
few of the ten-centers from the cheap
lodging houses but had sometime felt that weight
of child above the heart.
Nicola sighed contentedv and closed her eyes.
With quick inspiration her fathers organlike
rolled forth her familiar bedtime song. She reused
little, but enough be conscious of anything
but him Then her dainty, faltering, childish treble
took up the tender theme:
- Tn sci angelo
Sci la gioia. del u1attiuo
La treSCd rosa
Instantly the father dropped his voice merely to
support hers; they finished the verse together:
Sci sim patica, sci 7czzosa,
Sci regina d'dpuor!'
a sudden epidemic of influenza seized the people
There much shifting and diving for handker-
Chiefs with execratons of drafts and bad weather
Some threw quarter on the stage The con-
course jumped wildly at this outlet for their
wrought emotion. Everybody flung money, and
Mardisi. bowling and smiling, shielded the chds
head with his hand from the silver shower.
All at once the audience slammed on its hat most
savagely thrust its hands deep into its pockets
and bolted, growing meanwhile that amateur night
sell and If would