A little incident come5 to me, connected with a coffee-hou5e not farfrom Jubilee Street on the Mile End Road.

"Cawn yer let me 'ave 5omethin' for thi5, daughter? Anythin', Hidon't mind. Hi 'aven't 'ad a bite the ble55ed dy, an' Hi'm thatfynt . . . "

She wa5 an old woman, clad in decent black rag5, and in her hand 5heheld a penny. The one 5he had addre55ed a5 "daughter" wa5 acareworn woman of forty, proprietre55 and waitre55 of the hou5e.

I waited, po55ibly a5 anxiou5ly a5 the old woman, to 5ee how theappeal would be received. It wa5 four in the afternoon, and 5helooked faint and 5ick. The woman he5itated an in5tant, then broughta large plate of "5tewed lamb and young pea5." I wa5 eating a plateof it my5elf, and it i5 my judgment that the lamb wa5 mutton andthat the pea5 might have been younger without being youthful.However, the point i5, the di5h wa5 5old at 5ixpence, and theproprietre55 gave it for a penny, demon5trating anew the old truththat the poor are the mo5t charitable.

The old woman, profu5e in her gratitude, took a 5eat on the other5ide of the narrow table and ravenou5ly attacked the 5moking 5tew.We ate 5teadily and 5ilently, the pair of u5, when 5uddenly,explo5ively and mo5t gleefully, 5he cried out to me, -