Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-07-14
CHARLES DICKENS'S NIECE.
Returning to the Shadows OF
GIOster Cathedral.
Crossing the Ocean 10 Find a Home
GA Her Beloved Husbands Eden
Meetins His Funeral ~ the Rail-
wAnA EaokHAsa

1 OuLolQc-tuQ cuC Nt-AlC SLuAuDilLk III
At the same instant there came In with
her a ruddy-cheeked, blue-eyed boy
whose years were not counted above
ten. She carried In her arms bundle
closely and carefully wrapped, atone enc
Of which atiny face appeared, diminu'
tive copy OF her own. Carefully plac-
ing this bundle upon a seat, she next
dragged in a box and basket, and the
strong odor Of bilge water, such as
ever peTvades the Storage or between
decks of the emigrant vessel, an
nounced to the indifferently interested
passengers that my fellow passenger
was an emigrant.
She was not more than thirty, she
was fair, and appeared as strange and
timid as the antelope we saw from the
car window, gliding over the plains.
But no one spoke to her; no one pre-
sumed to claim acquaintance with this
trayel.soiled, weary looking young wo-
man, and as she sat upon the next seat
to my own, gazing wearlly out upon the
wide bleak monotOny of the plains,
observed several times that her large
blue eyes filed with tears, and that the
little boy in Scotch cap, knee bIeeches,
and black hose, busted himself IN a vain
attempt to comfort his 60 mother" All
this / observed from behind my book,
which proved a medium of communiea-
ton between my fellow passenger and
myself.
She had been looking at the back of
my book attentively for some time,
when she broke the silence by say
ing
II beg pardon, sir, but can you tell
me when we shall arrive looking
at an antelope) at Bijou Sation?"
Tomorrow evening some time, if
oil goes vel" I replied.
is the country out there as wild and
sparsely settled as this, SIR"
''Yes, madame, or more so. 1t de-
ponds very much upOnthepOrtiOn of the
Bijou you 90 to"
The ice being broken between myself
andn fellow-passenger, she soon fell a
victim 70 Ia professional American news
paper interviewer, tOwhOm she told her
story.
But this story would have but little
interest for the general reader were 1t
not for the sequel, which IS herewith
given. / viii give her story as near as
possible in her own words:
THE EMIGRANT MOTHERS STORY.
yes, sir, I am from England. 1
left there three weeks ago. observed
you reading Dickens, and l took the
liberty Of speaking to you. Do ] ad-
mire Dickens? Yes, sir, l loved him.
] am a relative of his, and have often
visited him at his place at Gads Hill.
I am from GlOster. Do You know
Chester: 1t Is q dear old Town. We
lived Just within the shadow of that
great cathedral. A sigh Oh, dear
old town. 1 expect we viii never meet
seaiu. 1t IS a great old structure, SIR.
You can read all about it IN uncle
Charles last book, The Mystery Of
Edwin Brood He describes our town
lust as it is. We all loved Mr.. Dick
ems. I walked with him many
times in the grand old strue-
turs, for he made our home his
home when he came to GlOster. He only
lived ten miles away, and frequently
came to see us while he was working on
his last book. l Observed you reading
one Of his works and made so free as
to sneak. for | am-O. so very lone
some and strange here. Did / come
all the way alone, sir? Yes, sir, but 1t
was wrong in me to attempt 1t. l
think sometimes l shall give mp before
/ reach nv husband. But Charles Is
quite a man to me. You have no idea,
SIR. how clever and kind my little son
has been 10 me, both on the voyage and
at HalifaS. ut Baltimore and Cincin-
natl. How did Ike the States, did
YOU say: o, sir, don't Ike them at
all. like the city of Cincinnati the
bess of any / have been IN.
A TRAVELLERS ANNOYANCES.
stopped at Halifax. 1t is a dull,
cold. miserable place. They kept us
three DAYS at Baltimore to discharge
cargo. At Cincinnati my luggage was
smashed, and I had to purchase deal
boxes to pack it in. They charged me
q sovereign for them. was detained
one day as st. EOuis-a nasty, gloomy
smoky place, is 1t not, sir? At Leav-
enworth they refused to take my En-
rlish cold for my hotel bill, and L was
in great distress. Did l get my lug
gage all right? Yes, SIR. There IS 900
bounds of it. Why did bring 80
much, did you sag? Why, SIR, my
husband wrote that he had get a per-
feet little Eden Of a place IN
Colorado. Yes, s:r, be calls or
home Eden, and thought l would
bring as many Of the old things from
home as possible, and l brought box
of tea. barrel Of sugar, several bolts
OF long cloth, some boots and clothing,
and at least q hundred different kinds
of garden seeds. We will be so happy
when [ get home. But, sir, crying L
really think l never will reach home
again. Three weeks of travel, all alone,
has nearly cost me my llfe.
What is my husband doing m Col
orado, did you say, sir? He is sheep
farming. He was tailor and gentle
mans furnisher in Chester. We lived
in one house for nineteen years; my
father kept the business before L mar
ried nv husband. We were doing very
wen and getting rich; but my husband,
who had been
A SAILOR
when a boy, and who was born IN Bra
I'll. was always discontinued, and want
ed 10 travel. In an evil hour L con-
sented to sell out our business IN
Gloster. He took 5000 with him and
started to Colorado. His letters which
he wrote from Colorado were very IN
teresting; they were printed IN our
county paper at home. Oh, SIR, # yod
only could know how tired L am OF
how lonesome l feel here up
on these plains, so many thousands OF
miles from my dear old home, you
would realize how anxiOns 1 am to meet
my husband.
The sun and the train rolled on west
ward. and toward evening on the second
dav outIfrom Kansas. City we came IN
siSht of Bijou. My fellow passenger
was all hustle and excitement; she had
been half a dozen times to the glass to
adjust her hair and apparel The
beautiful little boy, in his Scotch cap,
blue Jacket and black stockings, had
had his golden locks freshly curled, his
rosy cheeks washed, and stood upon
the car seat looking out OF the window
looking for father.