The prairie news. [volume] (Okolona, Miss.) 1851-1875, 1859-03-10
From Blakwoods Magazine.
THE RAILWAY NURSE.

actly where they are most likely to hur
themselves and | regret to say that
am among the latter, and | always d
hurt myself. l will merely take m,
: traveling-luck as an instance. Ther
, are friends of mine who have for tbei
ris-a-cis in railway carriages females o
fascinating appearance and charmin,
manners, with whom they carry on de
lightful conversation. | have never an,
such good-fortune. Agricultursts O
heavy demeanor and person, widows wht
will not be comforted, gentlemen hand
cuffed to policemen, and other compan
ions more or less unpleasant, are always
next TO me, and opposite me, and around
me. That the public may know that
do not complain without cause, l will re
late what befell, me the very last time
journeyed by rail-
| cannot say that rejoice in, for that
is not true-but at any rate | possess
the name of Mutton. A long line Of
Muttons have handed down to me the
name, and nothing else; have, there
fore, to do something for bread and vege-
tables, and that something do in a gov
ernment office for hundred pounds ster-
ling per annum. Unfortunately, my feel
ings and my income do not keep peace,
and, in an unguarded and extravagant
moment, | offered my hand and heart to
a very charming maiden and was accep-
ted. Marriage at the time was out of
the question; we were to wait until
something turned up, and waiting we
have been ever since. My Clara Amelia
resides in town on the Great Northern
Railway, about fifty miles from London;
and thither repair for fortnight once
year, and enjoy fourteen days of unin-
terrupted happiness but on the princi-
pie, ] suppose, that before one can reach
The Elysian fields, he must pass over
Styx, it has hardly ever been my lot to
have had even toerably pleasant jour
ney the last, however, was dreadful. /
have very bad habit of being late con-
sequently, when l arrived at Kings
Cross one morning in June, found the
express just about to start. | dashed
into the first seccond-class carriage /
came to, and sat down. Opposite to me.
and the only other occupant of the car
riage, was respectable looking woman,
with baby in her arms. had hardly
sat down when the woman, seeing a fe-
male friend on the platform cried out,
" My word, if it isn't our Sarah T. and
putting the baby on to my lap, leaped
out of the carriage !: a moment afterwards
the whistle sounded, and we were off.
/ should mention that | am an only |
child, and that | had scarcely ever look
ed at baby before, much less handled
one. What was | to do? 1t was i'm
possible to get rid of it except by throw
ing it out of the window. That would
hardly have been legal, althogh the cir
were very cogent but in the
mean time | felt that | was doing some
thing nearly as bad, by taking it every
further away from its friends
The train, being express, did not stop
until had ample opportunity to consid-
er my position; but that was not at all
an advantage. At first, my sensations
were all horror; but after time curiosi-
ty began to mingle with the sensation,
and the first thing that struck me was,
hat the legs of the child must be of an
astounding length, for as it sat in my
ap, its gown traied on the floor. |
ound afterwards, however, when it was
seized with spasams, that this was de-
,eption, as it kicked very high up indeed.
It did not indulge in any conversation,
,ut contended itself with alluding, in a
Iery offensive manner, to my unfortunate
lamc, by constantly exclaiming, clearly
md andibly, Baa' to which it added
vord still more disagreeable to my feel
ngs-"Papa !"
But all this was light and pleasant
with what took place after '
wards. l don't know which was worse ,
its spasms or its continued indispOsi- ,
ion. | fancy the ignorant little creature t
opposed by the motion of the carriage {
hat it was on shipboard, fancied itself |
ea-sick, and behaved accordingly. The {
onsequence was that lovely waist-coat $
had specially provided to dazzle my v
lara Amelia with was rendered hor-
ible new hat had incautiously put j
u the seat beside me Jared the same
'ay, inside and out ; and as for my new +
nd expensive pair of kid gloves, was i
bliged to throw them out of the window S
efore twenty minutes were over. The il
My thing about me for which it seemed
, have any affection was my watch, a
liver hunter, and until then good goer; a
lis, when there was nothing of more e
Importance going on, it put entire into b
S mouth. and sucked so effectually that n
lie wheels stopped soon after from rust, b
nd have not kept time from that mo- II