Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-17
Around the CITY

Serves her right for going to market
without basket"
| This criticism was flung by a passing
woman at another woman who was
standing on the pavement with a bursted
paper bag In her hand and lot of pears
rolling on the ground
A third woman, overlooking with par
cells, stopped, like a good Samaritan, to
proffer sympathy in distress.
| Il am just wondering how 1 can help
you. with all these bundles In my arms"
she began, with the friendly cheerfulness
which, when all is said and done, is one
| of the finest assets a Samaritan pos
| sesses.
The burstedbag woman knew a good
chance when she saw 1t. So she inter
rupted.
III you will hold this package for me
can pick up the pears"
She stacked her belongings on the over
moving arms Of the Samaritan and was
s ss,n In her wandering fruit when
TWO young girls came along and pitched
IN with such good will that the pears
were soon in the owners possession. The
girls went their way, the. bursted-bag
woman crossed over to the track to walt
for an Avenue car and the Samaritan
was lucky enough to catch a 14th street
| trailer.
When she was seated comfortably
| the nrst thing she noticed was a strange
| package hobnobbing socially with her
own. There was but one thing for a
| samaritan to do, and she did it.
Gut or the car and almost under the
| wheels of big automobile that merci-
1ully stayed Its wheels within a foot of
crushing distance-credit one white chalk
| mark to the chauffeur record-and down
| the asphalt at pace sometimes called
kitinS, until she caught sight Of the
oursted-bag woman, who was just about
! tically waved her package The bag wom-
an providentially turned to survey. the
world before putting her foot on the
step, as women have a habit Of doing
ask the conductor-and she saw the Sa-
marian, and the situation was saved.
1t was only small incident, of course,
but it showed that out of tive women
who came together accidentally in the
street only one OF them thought it was
proper to fling out in passing q sister in
distress:
Serves her right for going to market
without basket
The woman who was washing her hands
was plump and smiling.
The woman who was Strengthening her
hat before the glass was a plain soul in
plain black. They had come together
casually. each Of them workers in the
same building-giving good, honest labor
all the week and getting comforta BILE
pay envelope at the end.
And the plump and smiling one was
talking.
Look at my hands, will you'll"
The plain woman noticed the ink
smudges through the glass; and the smil
ing woman went on:
Say. Miss Blank. I wish you would
come and see me. some time. 1 own
real nice home in the country"
A home has a wonderful meaning for
homeless woman-which probably ac-
counted for Miss Blanks sudden interest
Why. that is splendid. What direc-
| tion?"
"Out Hyattsville way-three car tickets
and a nickel. Yes. think it's a real nice
home. built it as memorial to my
mother"
The other woman let her hat alone and
listened.
You see. as the boys grew up they left
the farm and scattered. and when my
father died, why-why, we lost our home.
That was dreadful for my mother. be-
cause my father had always saved her
every care. Why. Miss Blank. If horse
got sick he would have 1t taken away
without her knowing 1t, because he knew
she would worry over the poor thing
and then he would tell her that 1t was
sold.
$50 became the man Of the house. and
when the time came that I could afford a
home mother went on visit and I start
ed in and had a house built exactly like
the one We had lost. Mother knew about
the building. OF course, but she had no
idea OF the plans Of the house until she
corner familiar. Even the pictures were
hung on the walls just as they had been
in the old home she had always loved and
lived Ims,asd in p. Did you ever see such
But the other woman had no eyes for
ink smudges.