El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-10-02
-" The Roses
A short story.

| WHICH, IN spite OF It's SLuccO German
buildings and miniature American sky
/ scrapers, still seems to recall the east
at every corner of its tOrtuous streets
Even the rose sellers here are different
from the pale faced, tired looking men
and women who ply the same trade in
the great cities of western Europe.
Every morning, when the dawn is
Just beginning to break they take their
SlanQ-a ragged bare footed band of
smiling urchinS-On the new bridge be-
side the Brest station.
This bridge is one of the finest struc-
lures in Moscow. At one end is the Arc
de Triumpe. guarding the way to the
TYerskaia, the Piccadlly of Moscow
AT the other is the boulevard which
! twlnes its way through the great
beeches and sycamores of the Petrovs-
KY park, in which are situated t'Yar"
Streilna," 'Mauretania" and the other
! Ooisterous pleasure gardens Of Mos
COW night life.
The bridge is the boundary between
the proasic, business-Iike Teutonic Mos
COW OF the daytime and the eXtraVa-
Santly r1Otous, nocturnal Moscow of
the SlaV- On its friendly parapet the
little rose sellers take their seats.
dangling their half naked lsgs against
the stone, singing snatches OF Russian
Iolk songs, and waiting patiently for
the return of the belated pleasure seek
ers to their daily task.
suddenly '1ekhatch"-a swift vic
| lorla with large rubber tires, or a mo-
I.
u rSgamuffins spring from their places
and race to the middle of the street.
There IS quick patter of naked feet on
the rough, jagged cObbIes For a mo-
ment the little band keeps pace with
the passing vehicle. The sellers jOstle
and push each other in their eagerness
/ and with little regard for their own
safety snatch a perilous fOothold on
the splash board And all the while a
fire OF pleading requests is kept up
necessarily.
Buy a rose. masterr'
six"
See. master, I am hungry, I have
eaten nothing since yesterday morning.
But rose radee Christa-"
And if the fat, pleasure stated man
IN the carriage shows little sign of
yielding TO these entreaties the tired
woman by his side is more sympathetic
! and compels her companion to open his
purse. In this way does the little army
I exact its toll from the passing stream
of carriages and cars
Life is hard, and the bent, worn out
mother, who as a tender" in the cot
{. ton mills, keeps the family alive on the
pr1ncely wage OF Is rOubleS a month,
has need of all the kopecks her II year
old son can collect Rivalry is, there
fore, keen in this children's trade. but
on the whole there is no bullying. no
Jealousy, no i'll feeling. Occasionally,
however, in the race for first place,
desire outrunS performance" and the
movement of the thin. bOny legs is IN
sole to keep pace with the eagerness
of the mind.
Motor cars are comparatively rare
in Moscow, and the rose sellers have
not yet learned to judge their deceptive
pace with the same nicely as their Lon
don prototypes. And so sometimes it
happens that the bridge is a silent wit
ness of many little tragedy.
suddenly there is a startled shout of
warning from the driver. The car takes
a wide swerve to the side. A piercing
shrek rings out in the cold morning
air. A sickening thud follows. The
car stops, while a policeman comes for
ward with his note book. The little fell
low is taken into the car and driven off
to the nearest police station. In a few
minutes the street resumes its normal
appearance, and the ragged little sellers
return TO their beat" on the bridge
They are sorry, of course. as far as it
lies in their power to be sorry, but the
battle for bread knows no respite and
the world of pleasure must still be
In little by-street. across the river,
IN the dirtiest part of the town frafl
shrivelled-up little woman is busily
cleaning out her room. She swears
gently to herself every few minutes
The fsamOvar" has been ready for over
an hour and her boy has not vet come
home Most likely he has gone off with
, the other lads to play pitch and toss.
She is still meditating on the punish
ment she will certainly mete out to
him, when knock at the door disturbs
doorkeeper rings out:
Maria Vasilyevnai Maria Vasilyevnai
You are wanted at the 'Ouchastok' (po-
lice station at once"
A policeman pushes his way into the
room WOnderingly she wraps shawl
about her head and tOtters out into the
street. The neighbOrs gaze at her
laZlly- curiOuSly. and exchange gueSSeS
as to the exact nature of the crime
Maria Vasilyevna has committed At
the 'ouchastok' she is ushered into the
superintendent's office. He has a harsh
voice, but he looks at her not IN
kindly.
See. little mother" he says STAN
meringly. while he shuffles on the
floor with his heavy tOpboots, there
has been an accident"
She bows her head resignedly.
1T is my Pavel, is it not2'
The officer mods assent He takes
her into another room and shows her
the poor, emaciated body, with the
white pinched face and the wide open,
startled eyes. The little hand is
clenched tightly over a bunch of faded
roses. as though the instinct of self
preservation so keenly developed among
the very poor, had not left him even in
death.
rs that your son?' he asks.
The answering, yes" is swallowed
up IN the muttering of a prayer As
gently as he can. the officer leads her
back into his office. The law must be
carried out. and the body has to be
identified. He shows her where to make
her mark in his book. for she can
not write her name. For a moment she
stands with clasped hands. her eyes
fixed on the room which she has just
left
MAY I take the roses with me?'
she asks pleadingly.
The reply is in the affirmative
She goes back to the bare cold NOR
tuary- a bunch of faded roses is "
ing beside the corpse. Greedily. cum
ningly as though frightened that the
officer might change his mind. and