The Davenport daily gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1869, 1856-02-01

- 800 Il lml- - 49,
1A1 61itor Of ~ CNeaap Smes, having
been On. he seseSh sl1esef TINT cisy 70 see
I feissd yes yeceatlys pesyentsd frem
r6achiae his oof6ee, in consequence of q
sssaa.tlg having passed up the river with q
email lSetcf vssssls in tow, one Of which
had been cast Oh and hanled in just west OF
the bridge, lssyise che .drawa stil open.
While wsiaiae, he witaesssd the following
scene
The vessel ws have mentioned had been
meored OF made fast outside OF several ca
nal boats; and - We stood looking at the
men upeA her, ems Of them approached
female Who had been crouched upon the
deck, and addressing her. pointed TO the
shore, thea 10 the bridge, and then down to-
wards the throaged and busy streets Of liv-
ing. moving, heaalong Chicago. She rose,
picked up small bundle, from which she
drew forth coin, which she rendered 10
the hardy sailor. He refused it. whatever
it was. and leading her hand. helped her
from the vessel to the dock, and from the
dock up to the bridge. By this time large
crowd Of persoaa thronged the north end OF
where the bridge would be, il il was always
. bridge; and in contemplating the new
faces and the representatives Of the various
classes there &esembled. We had almost for
gotten the incident we have related. Our
attention was called from a vain endeayor
to discover some hope of . cessation OF tugs
going up and down. and schooners and briggs
pulling in and out, by hearing most audible
sob from some one near US. Ii was not the
sob OF childhood, caused by some sudden
change from gayety to grief; it was the sob
Of some maturer breast. nlled With the sense
Of loneliness and despair. 1t reached other
ears than oure.
A lady, dressed in q manner which be-
spoke wealth that could crafty taste and
elegance, and who, like ourselves was de-
tanned at that p lace, stood near. accompanied
by three chiIdren. whose desire to get at the
extreme edge of the platform she with diff
6cslty depressed With woman's tender
ness, her heart recognized the stiaed ebulli-
ton Of sorrow, and approaching the person
frsm whon il came, who was none other
than the woman We had just seen land from
the vessel. she quietly, and in that set,
sweet voice Of woman, which none can re-
sist, inquired if she stood in need, or was
she i'll, or was her sorrow such that she
could not be relieved A portion Of the
railiag near Us was vacant, and towards that.
and almsst at our side, these two women
came to converse. The stranger was fair,
handsome girl Of about seventeen years.
neatly, but coarssly dressed. with shoes not
only well worn, but heavy aud unsuited Is
much for her sex - for the season. The
poor girl, in honest simplicity. and with an
earnestaess which despair alone could i'm
part, related her history, uninterrupted BY
Z singls observation from her companion.
but often accom- panied by the tears of both.
We have not space for il at length. but we
will rive il, changing its order Just enough
to enable us to state it briefly.
She said that che was born in Boston;
she had no brother or sister now; she re-
meabered that On. had Q sister. the oldest,
whose nama WAS Lizzie that sister, years
ago, against her fathers viii, had married,
and with her husband, having been banished
the fathers sight. had gone of, and had not
been heard of since-no doubt was dead
At the time of her sisters marriage her pa
rents were wealthy; the pride which drove
away Lizzie had brought silent regrets, and
after awhile came melancholy complsiaings
by the mother sighing for the embrace of
her 6rst-born. These soon led to anger and
examinations at home, and dissipation BY the
father abroad. Losses came upon them, and
at last, gathering the few worldly goods
they poAsessed, they left the proud city Of
their birth, and se,tled five years ago upon
land purchased of the Government in VIE
consin. Her brothers, some older and some
younger than herself, one by one dropped
and died; and soon the mother, calling in
agony upon her long exiied daughter. joined
,ha sr be- eli
now left but the fxther and this poor girl
He too was humbled and stricken BY the
SLOW but certain disease which lights up the
cheek, and fires the eye with the brillisncy
of health, even when its victim is on the
confines Of eternity. He would cit and tell
10 his surviving child the acts Of winning
lore and sacrificing devotion which had
made his Lizzie the very object Of his life.
He would talk of her sweet smiles and her
happy disposition until memory would lead
him to the hour when he bid her to depart,
and not let him see her face again. His
decline was rapid, and this lone child saw
the first flowers which the warmth offspring
he'd eslied from the soil of her mothers
grave disturbed, uprooted, and thrown aside,
that his ashes might mngle with those of
the mother Of HE children.
At his death be charged her to pay OF, Is
far - shs might be able, the debts inc urred
to procure the necessaries of life. The land,
which, for want of culture, had notincreased
in value, was cold, aad left her but q Few
dollars. These she expended in rearing
come boards TO mark the spot where she had
seen buried, one after another, her beloved
kindred She had heard of Chicago. She
had lizard that in this city there were Office
whers strangers wishing employment could
End work She had on foot travelled many
miles, until she reached Miiwaukie, and
thence, by the kindness Of poor sailor,
who hsd seen her day after day on the dock,
watching the steamers depart, had inquired
and ~ascsrtainsd that she wished 10 come
hither, but had not the money. He brough,
her to Chicago on his own vessel, and had
told her fhst BY crossing the bridge she
could find one of those places where si,u-