The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1871-08-17
OIle Url()o,1le.
THE LAW OF KINDNESS.
BY ELIHU BURRIT.

kindness. fOr 1t is the only moran loiC0
which operates with the same effect,
upon mankind, beastkind and birdkind.
From time immemorial, music has won
derfully affected all beings, reasoning or
unreasouing, shat have ears to hear. The
prettiest idea and smile of ancient litera-
ture relate to Orpheus playing His Tyre to
animals listening in Intoxicating silence
to its strains Well. kindness is the
spontaneous music of gooG will to men
and beasts. And both listen to it with
their hearts instead of their ears; and
the hearts Of both are affected by it In
the same way, if not to the same degree.
Volumes might be written filed with
beautiful illustrations Of its effects upon
both The music Of kindness has not
only the power to charm, but to trans
form beth the savage heart Of man and
beast and on this harp the smallest fling
gers in the world may play heavens
sweetest tunes on earth,
Some time ago we read of an accident
that will serve as an Illustration Of this
beautiful law 1t was substantially to
this effect, A poor, coarse featured wo-
man lived on the line Of the Baltimore
& Ohio Railway, where it passed through
a wild unpeopled district Of Western
Virginia She was a widow. with only
one dauther living with her in log hut,
near deep, perceptions gorge, crossed
by the railway bridge. Here she con-
trived to support themselves by raising
and selling poultry and eggs, adding ber-
ries in their season, and other little ar
tjcles for the market. She had to make
town where she could sell her basket of
produce The railway passed by her
cabin to this town; but the ride would
cost too much of the profit of her small
sales, so she trudged on generally to the
market on foot The conductor came
finally to notice her walking by the side
of the line or between the rails: and be-
ing a good-natured benevolent man, he
would often give her a ride to and fro
without charge The enginemen and
brakemen were also good to the old wo
man, and felt they were not wronging
the interests OF the railway company by
giving her these free rides. And soon
an accident occurred that proved that
they were quite right in this view of the
matter.
In the wild month OF March. the rain
descended and the mountains sent down
their rolling, roaring torrents of melted
woman hut. The flood arose with the
darkness of the night, until she heard
the crash Of the railway bridge, as ii was
swept from its buttment<, and dashed its
broken timbers against the craggy sides
of the precipice on either side. 1t was
NEARLY midnight The rain fell in Il flood,
and the darkness was deep and bowling
with the storm. In another half hour
the express train would be due. What
could she do to warn it against the awful
destruction it was approaching She
had hardly a whole tallow candle in her
house; and no light she could make Of
tallow or oil, if she had it, would live
moment In that tempest Of wind and
rain. Not moment was to be lost; and
her thought was equal to the moment.
She cut the cord of her only bedstead,
and shouldered the dry posts, side pieces
and head piece. Her daughter followed
her with their two wooden chairs. Up
the steep embankment they climbed, and
piled all their household furniture upon
the line few rods before the black, aw-
full chasm, gurgling with the roaring
flood. The distant rumbling of the train
came upon them just as they had fired
the we'll dried combustibles. The pile
blazed up into the night, throwing its
re 4, swlling, booming light long way
up the track. In fifteen minutes it
wou Id begin to wane, and she could not
revive it with green wet wood. The
thunder of the train grew louder 1t
was within miles of the fire. Would
they see it in time? They might not
put on the brakes soon enough. Awful
thought She tore her red f1aunel gown
from her in a moment, and, tying it to
the end of stick ran up the track, way
irg it in both hands, while her daughter
swung around her head blazing chair
post little before. The lives of hun
dred unconscious passengers hung on the
issuS Of the next minute. The ground
trembled at the old woman's feet. The
great, red eye OF the engine burst upon
her as it came round curve. Like as a
huge, sharp sighted lion coming sudden
~ upon a FIRE, 1t sent forth a triliing roar
that filed all the wild heights and ravin
es around. The train was at full speed,
but the breakmen wreStied at their lever
age with all the strength of deportation.
The wheels ground along on the heated
rails slower and slower, until the engine
stopped at the decaying fire. 1t still
blazed enough to show them the beet
ling edge Of the black abyss into which
the train and all its passengers would
have plunged, aud into death and de-
struction too horrible to think of, had it
not been for the old woman's signal
They did not stop to thank her first fol
the deliverance,. TIE conductor knel
down by the side of the engine; the en-
gine driver and the brakeman came anC
Enalt 5,u, hv MIN. and tbara J., the ey