Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1857-05-27
MISCEL L A n Y
From tile Missouri Democrat.
Chances and Changes.---A Railroad
"Reminiscences.

BY FRANCES DANA GAGE.
sI saw, Mr.. Conductor, when will the next ex-
press train 90 out for st. Louis Z"
"Eleyen O'clock and thirty minutes, tonight,
sir" was the gentlemanly reply to the rough
~Eleven o'clock and thirty minutes Go to
Texas! Why, its ten this very minute. III
bet nv boots against jack-knife the morning
express is OIL. y
"Why in natur didn't you get US here sooner
Fourteen hours in Chicager is enough to break
fellow all to smash. Fourteen hours in Chica-
ger, pufiiing and blowing! Pve been told they
keen regular six hundred hoss steam power all
the while running, to blow themselves up with,
and pick the pockets of every traveller to pay
the firemen and engineers Wall, guess can
stand it I've twenty that's never been broke ;
reckon that will put me through, why didn't
Won fire up, old brag-giye your old hoss anoth-
er peck of oats. | tell ye, this fourteen hours
will knock my calculations into the middle OF
next week"
~Verv sorry. sir-we've done our best but as
we are not clerks of the weather, | hope you will
not Law your msfortunes to our account. Snow
drifts and the thermometer sixteen below zero,
are enemies we can't readily overcome"
"That's so,n said the first speaker, with broad
emphasis, and good natured, forgiving smile.
..Fourteen hours in Chicago"
The steDtorian voice, sounding like trumpet,
had aroused every sleeper from elysian dreams
into which ne might have fallen after his long,
tedious, cold nights travel. Every head was
turned, every eye was fixed on the man VINO
had thus broken the silence He was standing
by the stove. warming his boots. To have
warmed his feet through such mass OF cow
hide and sole leather, would have been four
teen hours operation. Six foot four or hve
inches he stood in those boots, with shoulders
ceased in fur coat that looked more like bear
ING up q world than you will meet ordinarily, IN
half life time His head Websterian, his shag-
gy hair black rs jet, his whiskers TO match, hls
dark, piercing eye, and his jaws eternally NOV
ING. with a rouSing quid between them, with
smile of cheerful good humor, notwithstanding
his seeming impatience, attracted every ones
attention
.,Fourteen hours in Chicago eha Wall, can
stand it if the rest can; II twenty dollars won
carry me through, III borry OF my friends. I've
got the things that II bring em. That's So.
And he thrust hand little less in size than
common spade, down into the cavernous
depths of broad-striped lashy pair of pants,
and brought up that great red hand, full rs it
could hold, of shining twenty dollar gold pieces.
Don't yer think | can stand these ere Chi
cagers for one fourteen hours!
A nod of assent from three or four, and a
smile of curiosity from the rest answered his
question in the affirmative.
"You must have been in luck, stranger" said
an envious looking little man. you've more
than yours of gold"
II have, eh2 Well reckon not. come
honestly by it; that's so. And there's them liv~
ing who can remember this child when he went
round the p'rarries, trapping p'rarry hens and
the like, to get him a nights lodging, or pair
of shoes, to keep the massasangers from biting
my toes I've hung myself up more nor one
night in the timber, to keep out of the way OF
the wild varmints; best sleeping in the world, in
the crotch of tree-top Now, reckon You
wouldn't believe it, but I've gone all winter
without shoe to my foot; and lived on wild
game, when could keteh il. That's So"
Didn't stunt your growth" said voice near.
ssNot a bit of it. 1t brought me up right
These p'rarries are wonderful roomy. thought
one spell would let myself out entirely, but Inc
and mother held q corcus, aud decided that as
She was getting old and blind like, it TUX too
long. and cost too much to sew up the legs of
nv trousers. and so put stop to it; and con-
el1ied that six foot five would do for fellow
that couldn't afford the expensive luxury of a
wife to make his breeches. 1t was only my
love for my mother that stopped my, growth,
Ii I'd had an idea of a sewing machine, there's
no telling what l might done"
"You have so many gold pieces In your pocE-
ct, you can afford to get your trousers niaue
now. Why don't you and your mother hold an
other caucus, and see what you can dol II she
would let you expand yourself, you might sell
out to Barnum, and make fortune travelling
with Tom Thumb, and take the old woman a.
long"
STRANGER" said the rough, great, man, and
his whole face loomed up with q mingled ex-
preston of pain and pride stranger, spoke a
word here didn't mean to slightly word, like,
about my mother. would give all the gold in
my pocket to bring her back for one hour, to
look upon this country as it is now. She had
her cabin here when Chicager was nowhere;