Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1910-09-10
THE UNDER WORLD OF CHAMPION
Five little children. YOU say?"

Five little children, you say?'
yes, and about the prettiest chill
dren I've ever seen. They have faces
like flowers. for color and brightness.
The oldest girl was reading, and SO
absorbed in the story that | know she
wished l had not come The boy of
the laughing eyes was dipping his sup
per of stale crust into a tumbler of
some impossible brown mixture he
called coffee. A young boy stood near,
digging the crumb from a dry roll with
his small fingers. Toddling between
the boys, little two-year-old was
begging for bits of the coffee-soaked
bread. Now and then, the laughing
boy would put q bit in her mouth.
There was another girl, a child of sew
en-, who had laughing eyes, too, like
the boys"
"When the mother appeared at the
door, the children flocked about her
She was glad to see me, and received
me graciously. / cannot tell you all
l said to her, nor the half she said to
me, but it was not long before | knew
her family history and felt as though
L had known her all my life. She
showed me her bedroom merely pas
sageway between the Kitchen and an
| other tenement at the rear, a dark
passageway. with no window, conse-
quentIy with neither light nor air In
the bed with her slept the baby and
the two little girls, while the boys
slept together on a, cot by the door.
Huge river rats ran across the beds
at night. There they were, six of
them, living underground, while all
about them are the wide fields, and
pleasant hills, and open spaces of our
pretty country town.
THE mother is no beggar. When I
said to her, Tell me some little thing
you want her answer was, NO,
want nothing
Laying my hand on hers, There is
one thing you want I said you are
tired, sad and discouraged. Now, if
1 could only give you-hope.'
"'No,' she answered, no hope
81 could not leave her without a
word of cheer Some day, L said
we will find home for you above
ground up in the sunlight
Lady Greatheart sprang to her feet
"You dared to hold out such hope?
You dared ?'
Yes" L answered boldly, ct dared"
you see" I explained, II had been
commissioned to visit this little fam
lily and learn their needs, and promise
| them a home on top of the earth"
$50 there are people who care"
l did not smile. yes" I answered
there are a few people everywhere
who care, but they are only the one
or two among the million. And the
pity of it is that for the one that gets
helped up and out, there are the mil
lions that are never even told to hope"
zone may go on hoping forever"
said Lady Greatheart, impatiently.
Tell me, was the promise fulfilled?"
~ shall never forget the first day
I saw them. It made my heart ache
to leave them there in that basement
tenement Half way up the rickety
stairs I turned to look back at them
all The mother stood in the door
way, watching me climb. AS 1 waved
my hand to her, [ was sure | saw in
her eyes faint CLEAN of hope. Cling
ing to her skirts, and with their lovely
child faces upturned the little ones
looked to me like cluster of flowers
Where are they now?' asked Lady
Greatheart.
up on a hill" I shouted with win
dows on all sides, with open fields to
play in, and
My lady's eyes shone. God speed
shall see that the top of the earth is
broad enough for all of us to play on
THE RECLUSE.
TIt is with sincere regret that The
| Bulletin announces that this is the last
of these charming papers for an in
definite period We know that the ap-
preciative readers of them, as well as
| The Bulletin management hope they
may be resumed in the near future
| The RecIuse has found favor in many
homes-has touched many hearts
Godspeed but not farewell is the echo
| ing sentiment toward The Recluse, Of
US all-The Editorl