Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1876-01-27
DRIVEN TO HER DEATH.

The entire community of Angel camp,
California, were in state of ferment.
A woman was to remain among them to
live or die, as the case might be. Her
illness, contracted on the perilous jour-
ney across the plains, made her rest and
quiet imperative. The party she arrived
in company with were apparently stran
gers to her, and, without vouchsafing
any information regarding her, proceed
ed on their journey.
She was a slight, girlish thing, gol>
den haired and dainty. Her sweet face
otherwise perfect,was marked with deep
lines of suffering, that told of keen bit
ter pam in the past, and present bur-
den of hopeless care.
For weeks she remained in state of
helpless weakness that gave no signs
of recovery or portended decline.
Gradually, however, she rallied. when
she made her first appearance out of
doors her presence seemed to cast a
halo of sunshine over the whole camp.
During her long illness every person in
the camp We'd with each other in doing
her acts of kindness. and there was not
but envied Big jim Mills, who had Civ.
en- up his quarter to her on the day of
her arrival. But their envy knew no
bounds when she timldly approached
jim, and clasping his brawny hands in
her delicate grasp, thanked him again
and again for his goodness. Poor Jim's
honest, manly face grew redder than the
roses on the hillside, and for days after
he would look with awe at his hands as
if sacfedness had come to them through
the fairy fingers.
| Quietly she tell into the routine life Of
the camp and by her gentleness won the
love and respect of all. No one ever
thought of her leaving them, and had
such a possibility been limited, it would
have caused more CONSERVATION than a
fnll>sized earthquake. OF herself and
her pas. history she was strangely reti-
cent. When frs: asked her name she
hastily answered after painful embar-
rassment, "Im only waif; c all me what
what you pleased" Old Scrubs. who
had put the question, with penetration
that astonished even himself, slowly res
peated: "Waif! that's kinder an odd
name, but it sounds right pert, anyhow.
Old Scrubbs kept the ''Happy Miners
Rest" and was equally noted for draws
ing fine beed on his beer or any tur
bulent invader of his ''quiet, orderly
house." That night he informed the
boys that the strangers name was Wait,
and 50 it remained. The thankful glance
she bestowed upon him when next they
met made old Scrubs fairly dance for
ioy. and he was heard to remark to
Snarley ''that if he was twenty years
younger, he hoped to be bursted if he
wouldn't shine up to The gal himself"
Snarley siged as he thought of his ex>
pertinent in that line, and said shed Of
ten heard tell of angel. but never had
much faith in EN-, till she came, and he
believed if another SIGH a one should
drop down among 'em, that his old wo
man would turn into fat-fsted cher
ubim."
Mrs. Snarley had indeed wonderfully
changed for the better since the advent
of Wait and her ready tongue wagged
much less frequently and fercely than
it used to in days of yore. The young
Snarleys, from dirty little ragged ruff
fans, were transformed to clearly well>
behaved children, and their faces were
often brushed by the wiry boards oflhe
miners as they stopped to kiss them.
Mrs. Snarley being the only woman in
the camp before the arrival of Wait,
was quite indignant al the new acqaisi-
ton Of her sex, and made many remarks
regarding the same more forcible than
polite. Now she was much given to re
preaching herself for having SO soundly
berated IAN angel unawares." The rash
individual, however, who had the te-
merlty to remind her of her conduct on
that occasion, could pin his faith upon
receiving vigorous lashing i'om HI r
| lastic tongues