Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1854-05-10
LONGEST NIGHT IN A IIFi
BY CHARLES DICKENS.


It was one of those old fashioned win
ters in the days Of the Georges. when
the snow lay on the ground for weeks,
when railways were unknown, and zthe
electric telegraph had not been dreamed
of, save by speculative Countess of Lon
don. The mails had been irregular for Il
month past, and the letter bags which
did reach the post office, had been
BROUGHT thither with difficulty. The
newspapers were devoid Of all foreign in
telligeuce, the metropolis knew nothing
of the provinces, and the provinces knew
little more of the doiags Of the metropo-
lis, but the columns of both were crowd
ed with accidents from the inciemcncy Of
the weather with hcart-rending accounts
of starvation and destitution, with Won
derful escapes of adventurous Travellers
and still more adventurous mail coach
men and guards. Business was almost
at stand still, or was only carried on by
fits and starts; families were made un-
easy By the frequent long silence of their
absent members, and the poor were suf-
fering great misery from cold and ia
mine.
The south road had been blocked up
for nearly a month. when a partial thaw
almost caused public rejoicing coaches
began to run, letters to be dispatched and
delivered, and wcatherboarded travellers
to have some hope of reaching their des-
tination.
Among the first ladies who undertook
the Journey from the west of Scotland to
London at this time, was certain Miss
Stirling, who had for weeks past, desired
to reach the metropolis. Her friends as
suIcd her that it was foolhardy attempt,
and told her of travellers who had been
twice, nay three times showed up on their
way to town but their advice and warn
ings were of no avail Miss Strings bu-
siness was urgent-is concerned others
more than herself. and she was not one to
be deferred by personal discomfort or by
physical difficulties from doing what she
thought was right.
She kept to her purpose, and early in
February took her seat in the mail for
London, being the only passenger who
was booked for the whole journey.
The thaw had continued for some days.
the roads, though heavy, were open; and
with the aid of extra horses here and
there the first half of the journey was per-
formed pretty easy, thoug h tediously.
The second day was more trying than
the first; the wind blew keenly and pc
netrated every crevice of the coach; the
partial thaw had but slightly effected the
wild moorIand they had to cross thick,
heavy clouds were gathering round the
red, rayless sun; and when reaching a
roadside inn the snow began to fall fast.
both the guard and the coachman urged
their solitary passenger to remain there
for the night. instead of tempting the dis
comforts, and perhaps the perils of the
next stage-Miss Sterling hesitated for a
moment, but the little inn looked by no
means a pleasant place TO be showed up
in, so she resisted their entreaties, and
gathering her furs more closely round
her, she nestled herself in a corner Of the
coach. Thus for time she lost all con-
sciousness Of outward things in sleep.
A sudden lunch awoke her and she
soon learned that they had stuck fast in
a w-drift, and that no efforts OF the
tired horses could extricate the coach
from its unpleasant predicament. The
guard, mounting one of the leaders, set
off in search of assistance, while the
coachman comforted Miss Sterling, by
telling her that as nearly as they could
calculate, they were only within mile
or two from " the Squire's," and that If
the guard could find the way to the
Squi1e's, the Squire was certain to come
and rescue them with his sledge. 1t was
not the first time that the Squire had got
the mail bags out of the snow wreath BY
that means.
filed, and within an hour the distant tink-
ling of sledge bells were heard, and