The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1875-12-17
MY NIGHT IN A STAGE COACH.
\ True story of Christmas Eve.

y True story of Christmas Eve.
The year was 1S56-the month De
cember-th place Tamaqua. / was n
young man then, and q strong one.
did good deal of travelling through the
State OF Pennsylvania, going from county
town 10 county town from the beginning
of the year to the close. 1t was pleasant
business enough, for there was less rail
reading to be done then than now, and
more staging, and not infrequently long
rides on canal boats in the summer time.
| was not often hurried on my trips, and
took my own time. Ny exact business
az the county seats consisted of hunting
up titles 10 obscure, wild lands, paying
'tSXes upon them, and getting them in
good condition for immediate sale.
In consequence OF the nature of this
business, ! knew good deal about the
topography of Pennsylvania, and good
deal that. at the time, was worth know
Gng about its roads and its inns. All of
the latter were bad, but some were better
than others. One of the worst of them
was at Tamaqua, and possibly it is there
yet, though when l last slept under its
roof, il was i'll altogether such lament
able condition of decay, ana its roof was
such a very loaky roof indeed, that /
doubt not it long ago disappeared out of
Ihc sight of men, and possibly out of
Their memories also-Tamaqua having
achieved railroad since, and, of
course, grown as ouly railroad towns do
grow.
| arrived there in that December of
1856, O. Monday afternoon, which was
quite as cold and disagreeable a Monday
afternoon as | remember ever to have
,Gnow1I, though, when compared with the
Tuesday that followed, it might be con-
,idcred rather warm than otherwise. /
syas half frozen when got there, and /
was not quite thaw / out when / left, for
| had yielded TO burning curiosity to
vista coal mine, and fancy that Tama-
qua is nothing but coal mine, with
thousand mouths that every morning
: swallow SO many thousand miners and
'Sisgorge them every night. 1t was then,
aud think it is now, very black and
sooty place, with canal in front of it,
hill behind it, and the huge mine l have
spoken OF under it. 1t was not only
black and sooty itself, but its
people were similarly black and
'sooty; and so were its horses, or
rather its mules, for it seemed
TO have few of the former and great
many OF the latter. Even its dogs and
eats partook of the general sootiness,
and were evidently greatly depressed by
t.. | was very cold when went down
.nto the mine-which had its shaft just
behind the hotel-and | was colder still
when | came out of it. went to bed
. cold, and got up cold, so cold indeed
that ] thought | would never be warm
any more. When | went down into the
frozen breakfast room, | looked out of
the ndow, and saw that the ground
was covered deep with snow, and that it
was still .nowing as it 1t meant TO exhaust
.he whole winters supply in five
minutes on So, being very greatly pressed
20 do il Immediately. | drank my cold,
black coffee and ate my cold, tough beef
steak in gloomy silence, thinking more
cham had done for "A long time before
Of home, of its pleasant cheer and
warmth, and Of the loving boys and
girls IL il who were even then, no doubt,
expecting my speedy coming, for this
was aiready the morning OF Tuesday, and
Thursday would be Christmas Day. In
that home l was st. Nicholas himself,
for 1t was that brough. home in the
light the brave tree with its spreading
green branches; it was 1 that planted it
hrmly In the middle of the wide parlor;
II was that found the infinite variety of
toys, cakes, bon-bons, and giittering
paubles which covered it: il was l that
placed the ever-beautiful image of the
Christi Child on the topmost bough; 7
that lighted the many.colored tapers: