Year: 1877

A dark, close, poverty-stricken room
in a tenement house is the home. wo-
man. still young, and who has been, be-
fore priyation and suffering rendered her
otherwise, strikingly handsome; three
sad-faced children, and an Incorporate
and unemployed man-the husband and
father-comprise the family To the
woman's already hard fate has been
added, during the past six months. the
harder one of being compelled to sit in
her chair, a confirmed cripple In that
chair she has washed and ironed, and
swept, and given what care she could to
her little ones. Scanty earnings have
gone for drink; the children have cried
themselves to sleep with the tears Of
starvation staining their little faces the
mother, in the agony Of disease and want,
is brought to the gates of death, when
the case is brought to the notice of the
Ladies' Home Mission. Oh, the comfort
Of fire in the housel Oh, the joy and
thrice-felt thankfulness on seeing ones
starving children fed, and their shiver-
ing little limbs warmly clothed


The mother rallies, and is urged for
her own sake and that of her little ones,
to be removed where she will have care
and norrishL4ent and freedom from
abuse and perhaps restoration to health.
She is told that her children will be re-
ceived temporarily at the Orphan Asy-
lum, where the tenderest care, next to
that of a mothers, will be given them,
that at the expiration of a certain time
she can reclaim them.


The poor wife, weakened almost unto
death by abuse, and famine, and illness,
from which there is no hope of immedi-
70 Ta 10. frfr hau
to be taken to the hospital. But at the
mention Of her children, the mother .
heart is well nigh broken, and in accents
most piteous to hear she cries as she
gathers them about her, "0h my chill
dren, from whom ! have never been sep
arated; oh, my baby-my little Emma
how can leave your No, no, no, ! can
not 60. I'll soon be in my chair again.
And in fearful sympathy the Christian
woman by her bedside is silent She
/ goes away and comes again and again,
and finally after the physician has told
| the poor woman that she will never get
well until she goes where she will re
ceive better care she consents, without
| the knowledge of her husband. She was
/ terrified at the idea of his knowing that
she had yielded, for he had threatened
her life in that case; worse than that, he
had so wrought upon her Imagination, in
her reduced and weakened condition, az
to have about convinced her that if she
separated herself from her family she
would be burned alivel Was it for love
OF his family that he was so 10th to have
it broken up? His everyday treatment
of his wife and children disproved that
No, his reason was, as he expressed it, in
an injured tone, that he was out Of EN-
ployment and would be without any sup
port whatever when the ladies withdrew
their suppliesl He had no thought o
the benefit his wife might receive. III,
had placed himself first on the list o
sufferers, and was thinking only of hi
comfort. Every necessary arrangemen
was finally completed by which she wa
to be taken to the hospital, the ambu
lance was at the door, and this faithful
Christian woman who had taken an in
terest in the family, was at her post will
ready hands to do every needful thing
when the husband entered, and will
vilest language and threats of violenc
she was driven from the house.


1t was q case where official interference


seemed out of place, and the neighbora
knowing the character of the man, wer
afraid to interfere. So for days and day
the poor creature lay there in terrife'