The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1867-01-24


ductor, carrying a crumplod baby in
one hand. aud hugo calico covered
baEd-box in the other, while behind
him came pondrous female with
freekeled eountenanoe, aud bonnet
crushed out of all semblanee 70
shape.
"Hush up, Charles Augustus =
cried the lady to a wailing child three
years old whose face was scarcely dis.
ccrnable through the marks Of scars
and molasses candy "If you doe''
quit that holIOrin." I'll leave you iu
the cars sure's I'm alive |"
Conductor p l veuturcd boldly,
stomming this storm of dirty children.
Isl. T.
" ! am here to meet lady and
children who travelled alone from
Boston on this train, To-"
The very opcs you want, sirl
said the conductor, sliding the limp
baby into my arms aud dropping the
band box with alacrity, Heres the
gentleman, ma'am. 1 told you there
wouldn't be any trouble about meet
ing him"
Aud before | could open my lips
to remonstrate, tho pondorous woman
had precipitated herself on me bodily
aud was hanging round my neck
with succession of kisses thai
sounded like the rep rt of pocket
pistol.
"Iknowcd you'd come q meet me,
IIiram-I kuowed you'd never desert
your own Mclviuy, to say nothing
about The children, Come here Mary
Jane and Charles Augustus, and kiss
your own fatherl l declare, if them
new regimentals don't make you look
as 6no as a fiddle | dare say, for
/ shouldn't have knowed ye, now't
you've got your hair and whiskcrs
colored You always was such II
slim, gcnteel figure But you ought
to have sent me that bounty money.
Hiram-Ill stick to that, if it was
the last word | ever spoke"
I looked around despairingly for
some one to free mo from this terri
BILE bondage. Alas, unkind fate
.here was my blue-eyed compdgnon
da eoyage convulsed with pretty ma.
licious laughter at the plight 1 was
in. .
81 never Imagined that you were
a. a.masried man, sir, said she dcmure
ly. upon my word it is quito /
privilege to witness this sweet little
episode Of domestic affection Take
care you'll drop the baby if you hold
it in that sort Of a way"
l set my teeth close together and
stroye to wrench myself away from
the cotton gloved fingers of the wo.
man who seemed to be determined to
appropriateme. iaJ. a,.a
." Let 60 my cravat, madam F" l
said, sharply, for she was clinging to
me as the yeritable Old Man Of the Sea
might have clung to Sinbad. II am
entirely at loss to imagine what
you mean by this singular conduct
My name is not IIiram-I am moi
married-and | never set eyes on yor
before tonight. Let go, | say, and
take your baby tt
The woman recoiled a step or two
and gazed full in my face for the first
tim, with cry likes baffled tigress.
Land O. Goshen r. she shrieked,
" Il isn't Hiram, after all-and the
good for nothing, shiftless, mean
spirited cur amt here to look after
his own, wife and children. " | dc
say fort" she articulated, fereely
clcnching her muscular fist, al know
cd Hiram Peck was meaner'n mus
Gle she'll, but l didn't s'pose he was
mean enough to leave me in the lurch
this way"
She snatohed the baby, broke away
from me, and rushed impetuous'y to-
ward the conductor, whose distant
lantern glanced along the platform
beyond.
Conductor, say conductor
we've woke the wrong passenger
That ere fellor amt Hiram Peck nc
more'n you be, aud what on airth b.
/ goin' to do? All this time my
blue-eyed divinity had been smiling
at my dilemma in the most heOrtles'
manner and was glad to make :
diversion by pouncing upon the con
duetor and blowing him up for hi
absurd mistake. He apologized
with a satirical grin on his face.
"And now, sir" he added, sudden
Ily resuming the brisk business-lik'
manner of every day life. "I thinI
tine righ. lady is in the waiting room
she came on to meet Captain Dale.
That's the name" l answered
promptly.
A slender, lady-like thing wa
au1iously waiting in the ladies apart
meat, with a stout Irish nurse am
80 Jal;oota snfanfa of two and thre