The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1872-02-01
The Law OF Kindness.

The Law OF Kindness.
Sometime ago we read of an incident tho,
will serve as an illustration of this beautiful
law. It was substantially to this effect. A
poor, coarse-featured old woman lived or
the line of the Baltimore and Ohio railway
where it passed through a wild, unpeopled
| district Of Western Virginia. She was .
widow, with only one daughter, living with
her in a log hut, near deep precipitous
gorge, crossed by the railway bridge. Here
she contrived to support themselves by rails.
ing and selling poultry and eggs, adding
berries in their season, and other little arti
cIes for the market. She had to make a
long weary walk of many miles, to town
where she could sell her basket Of produce
The railway passed by her cabin othis town
but the ride would cost too much ofthe profits
Of her small sales, SO she trudgsd on general
ly to the mraket on foot The conductor
came finally to notice her walking by the side
of the line or between the rails; and, being a
good-natured, benevolent man, he would of
ten give her ride to and fro without charge.
The epginemen and brake.men were also
good to the old woman, 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 de-
scended and the mountains sent down their
rolling, roaring torrents of melted snow and
ice into this gorge near the old woman's hut.
The food arose with the darkness of the
night, until she heard the crash Of the rail-
way bridge as it was swept from its abutments,
and dashed its broken timbcrs against the
craggy sides of the precipice on either side.
It was nearly midnight. The rain fell in a
food, and the darkness was deep and bowling
with the storm. Ia another half-hour the
express train would be due. What could
she do to warn it against the awful destruc-
ton it was approaching? She had not
whole tallow candle in her house; and no
light she could make Of tallow or oil, if she
had it, would live a moment in that tempest
of wind and rain. Not moment was to be
lost; and her thought was equal to the mo-
ment. She cut the cord of her only bed
stead. and shouldered the dry post, side
pieces, and head pieces. Her daughter fol-
lowed her with their two wooden chairs. Up
the steep embankment they climbed, and piled
all their household furniture upon the line, a
few rods before The black, awful chasm, CUR
Cling with the roaring flood. The distant
rumbling Of the train came upon them just as
they had fred the well-dried combustibles -
The pile blazed up into the night, throwing
its red, swelling, booming light long way up
the track. In fifteen minutes it would begin
to wane, and she could not revive it with
green wet wood.
The thunder of the train grew louder It
was within five miles Of the fire. Would
they see it in time. They might not put on
the brakes soon enough. Awful thought
and, tying it to the end of stick,
ran up the track, waving it in both hands.
and her daughter swung round her head a
blazing chair post a little before. The lives
of hundred unconscious passengers hung
on the issue of the next minute The ground
trembled at the old waman's feet. The
great, red eye of the engine burst upon her
as it came round curve. Like huge,
sharpsighted lion coming suddenly upon
fire, it sont forth thrilling roar, that filed
all the wild heights and ravines around
The train was at full speed but the brake
men wrestled at their leverage with all the
strength of desperation. The wheels ground
along the heated rails slower and slower, I'M
til the engine stopped at the decaying fire.
1t still blazed enough to show the beetling
edge Of the black abyss into which the train
and all its passengers would have plunged,
and into death and destructin too horrible
to think Of, had it not been for the old wo-
mans signal. They did not stop to thank
her first for the deliverance. The conductor
knelt down by the side of the engine; the
engineer and the brakemen came aud knelt
down by him; all the passengers came and
knelt down by them; and there in the in
spring light Of the burntou pile, in the
rain and wind, they thanked God for the sal
walton of their lives. All in line the kneol
ers and prayers sent up into the dark heay-
ems such midnight voice of thanksgiving as
seldom, if ever, assembled from the earth to
Him who seeth in darkness as well as in secret
Kindness is the music of good-willt to men
and on this harp the smallest fingers may
play heavens sweetest tunes on earth.