Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-06-04
A Sad Story.

THE following touching incident is re-
lated in the Denver (Coll Tribune:
The car door opened, there was rattle
and a rustic upon the platform outside
and she came stumbling in. At the same
instant there came in with her a rudy.
checked, blue-eyed boy, whose years were
not counted above ten. She carried in
her arms bundle closely and carefully
wrapped, at one end of which tiny face
appeared, diminutive copy of her own.
Carefully placing this bundle upon seat
she next dragged in box and basket,
and the strong OdOr of bilge water, such
as ever pervades the steerage or between
decks of the emIgrant vessel, announced
to the indifferently interested passengers
that my fellow passenger was an emf
grant.
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 presumed to claim
acquaintance with this travel-sOiled, weary
looking young woman, and as she sat
upon the next seat to my own, gazing
YEARLY out upon the wide, bleak mOnot-
ouy OF the plains, [ observed several
times during the day that her large blue
eyes filled with tears, and that the little
boy IN Scotch cap, knee breeches and
black hose busted himself in vain at
tempt to comfort his mother" All this
| observed from behind my book, which
book proved medium of communica-
ton between my fellow-passenger and
myself.
She had been looking at the back of
my book attentively for some time, when
oh ell
beg pardon, sir, but can you tell me
when we shall arrive docking at an en-
velope) at BijOu Station?"
Tomorrow evening some time, if all
goes WELL" l replied.
{" Is the country out there as wild and
sparsely settled as this, sir?"
Yes, madam, or more so. 1t depends
very much upon the portion of the Bijou
you go to-"
The ice being broken between myself
and my fellOw-passenger, she soon tell a
victim to professional American news
paper interviewer, to whom she told her
story.
But this story would have but little in
terest for the general reader, were it not
for the sequel, which is herewith given.
will give her story as near as possible in
her own words:
Eyes, sir, am from England. l left
there three weeks ago. l observed you
reading Dickens, and l took the liberty
of speaking to you. Do admire Dickens
Yes, sir, | loved him. | am relative of
his, and have ofttimes visited him at his
place at Gad's Hill i am from Gloster.
Do you know Gloster? 1t is a dear old
town. We lived just within the shadow
of that great cathedral "a sigh. Oh, the
dear old town. l expect we will never
meet again. 1t is a great old structure,
sir. You can read all about it in Uncle
Charles last book, The Mystery of Ed
win Brood He describes our town just
| as it is. We all loved Mr. Dickens |
walked with him many times in the grand
old structure, 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
upon his last book. l observed you
reading one of his works, and L
made so free as to speak, for | am-oh
so very lonesome and strange herei Did
| come all the way alone, sir? Yes, sir.
| But it was wrong in me to attempt 1t. |
| think sometimes l shall give up before
reach my husband. But Charles is quite
a man TO me. You have no idea, sir, how
clever and kind my little son has been to
me, both on the voyage and at Halifax, al
/ Baltimore and Cincinnati. How do
! like the States, did you say? Oh, sir,
don't like them at all! | like the State
| of Cincinnati the best of any | have been