The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1874-05-15
VOLUME 2.
MISCELLANY.
An Incident Of Colorado Travel.

The car door opened, there was rat
tie and rustic upon the platform out
side-and she came stumbling in. At
the same instant there came in with her
a ruddy- checked, blue-eyed boy, whose
wears were not counted above ten. She
carried in her arms bundle closely and
carefully wrapped, at one end of which
a tiny face appeared, a diminutive copy
Of her own. Carefully placing this
bundle upon seat, she next dragged in
a box and basket, and the strong odor
of bf1ge water, such as ever pervades the
steerage or between decks of the emf
grant vessel, announced to the indiffer-
entity interested passengers that my fel-
low-p 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
windows 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 wearily out upon the wide bleak
monotony of the plains, 1 observed sew
eral times during the day that her large
blue eyes filed with tears, and that the
little boy in Scotch cap, knee breeches,
and black hose, busted himself in vain
attempt to comfort his mother" All
this I observed from behind my book,
which book proved a medium of COM
munlcation between my fellow passen-
ger and myself.
She had been looking at the back of
my book attentively for some time,
when she broke the silence by saying:
"I beg pardon, sir, but can you tell
me when we shall arrive docking at an
eveiope) at Bijou station?"
/ Tomorrow evening sometime, il all
goes well," replied.
"Is the country out there as wild and
sparsely settled as this, sir?''
eyes, madam, or more SO. 1t de-
pends very much upon the portion of
the Bijou you go to-"
The ice being broken between myself
and my fellow-passenger, she soon fell
victim 10 a professional American news
paper interviewer to whom she told her
story.
But this story would have but little
interest for the general reader were il
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. left
there three weeks ago. l observed you
reading Dickens and took the liberty of
speaking to you. Do admire Dickens?
Yes, sir, loved him. l am a relative
of his, and have oftentimes visited him
at his place at Gads hill I am from
Gloster. Do you know Gloster? 1t is a
dear old town. We lived just within
the shadow of the great cathedral, "a
| sigh) Oh, the dear old town. | expect
we will never meet again. 1t is grand
old structure, sir. You can read about
| it in Uncle Charles last book, "The
Mystery of Edwin brood" He de-
scribes our town just as it is. We all
! loved Mr.. Dickens. l 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 I observed you reading one of
| his works, and l made so free as to speak,
for I am-oh! so very lonesome and
strange here! Did come all the way
alone, sir? Yes, sir. But 1t was wrong
in me to attempt it. I think sometimes
l shall give up before reach my hus-
band. But Charles is quite 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, at
Baltimore and Cincinnati. How do
like the States, did you say? Oh, sir,
don't like them at all! 1 like the State
of Cincinnati the best of any I have
been in. stopped at Halifax. 1t is
dull, cold, miserable place. They kept
us three days at Baltimore to discharge
cargo. At Cincinnati my luggage was
smashed, and | had to purchase deal
boxes to pack in. They charged me a
sovereign for them. I was detained one
day at st. Louisa nasty, gloomy, smoky
place, is it not, sir? At Leavenworth
they refused to take my English gold
| Co. IL T
trouble and distress. Did I get my lug
gage all right? Yes, sir. There is nine
hundred pounds of it. Why did l bring
SO much, did you say? Why, sir, my
husband wrote me that he had got per-
feet little Eden of place in Colorado.
Yes, sir, he calls our new home Eden,
and 1 thought 1 would bring as many
of the old things from home as possible,
and brought box of tea, barrel of
sugar, several bolts of long cloth, some
boots and clothing, and at least hun
dred different kinds of garden seeds.
We will be so happy when I get home.
But, sir, (crying) 1 really think 1 never
will reach home again. Three weeks of
travel all alone has nearly cost me my
life.
What is my husband doing in Colora.
do, did you say, sir? He is sheep farm
ing. He was a tailor and gentlemen's
furnisher in Gloster. We lived in one
house for nineteen years; my father kept
the business before I married my hus-
band. We were doing very we'll and
getting rich, but my husband, who had
. been sailor when boy, and who was
born in Brazil, was always dlscontented
and wanted to travel. In an evil hour 1
consented to sell out our business in
Gloster. He took $4,000 with him and
started to Colorado His letters which
he wrote from Colorado were very in
4 teresting, they were printed in our coun-
4 try paper at home. Oh, sir, if you only
D could know how tired I am OF travelling
! how lonesome feel here on these plains