Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1878-04-08


zero. She hadn't any stockings, only
pair of old rubbers, and her bare feet
came through on to the pavement. and
it was pretty icy. [ suppose 1 might
have lost my place for it. Eh, Cap'n ?
But don't think Doherty ever told of
me.
She grew to be pretty tough, case,
Doherty did. And yet there was always
something liked about Doherty. .sYou
see she used to sing. Sometimes they
do. And once or twice I've had a chap
here who could draw portraits of the
rest. Scrawl the walls all over if he
wasn't watched. One of the worst cases
we ever had on these books, his name
was Gafrey-Peter Gafrey. Killed an
officer finally with horse shoe. He used
to talk Latin when he was drunk, and
some other language, l thought it was
Dutch but the chief heard him, and
said he guessed it was Greek. The fellow
used to get the rest all ranged around
like an audience, and then 60 at it. But
generally they talk religion. It's more
popular. This Doherty that l speak of,
she had beautiful voice. Time and
again I've set up here looking over the
books at dead of night, alone with an
officer or so, and heard the call 60 up
from man somewhere below:
"Doherty Sing us to sleepl Doher-
ty Sing us to sleep!"
And then Doherty from the women s
cell would hear them, through the wall,
and she'd begin. And the fighting and
the swearing and all the horrid noise
would quiet down; and, true enough, l
think they slept. l had Newfoundland
dog that went to sleep when my wife
played the cabinet organ. Sometimes
that woman would sing enough to make
your flesh creep. She'd lost all her books
by that time. But she never sang so
when she was sober. And sometimes
she'd strike up pretty thing as clean
and sweet as the hush ably my own ba-
by hears, ma'am, from my own wife's
lips. Sometimes she sang "Auld Lang
Syne," or "Home, Sweet Home !" and
once that woman picked up a song call
ed the 'Three Fishers" Maybe you
know it. You could hear her all over
this great building:
"For men must work. and women must weep
And women must weep"
Don't you ever sing any hymns, Do
herty ?" | says to her one night-mole
to see what she would say, you know.
But she looked at me and made me no
answer and passed on. Doherty never
quite lost her ways, like other women,
when she was herself. Sometimes she
was quite manageable and gentle in her
ways. That night she didn't sing at all.
The men kept it up, off and on, all
night. "Is Doherty in tonight ?''
Hasn't Doherty come % 'Sing us tc
sleep, Doherty sing us to sleep!"
But she wouldn't open her lips; and
when morning came-it was a snowy
morning-and I let her out she tuggec
little, this way, on my sleeve, as sh'
went out, and said: "Good-by, Lieuten
ant" like a lady. She didn't show her
self again for long while after that.
This winter she's come pretty often
In December she come nigh her fort
nights term; but she cleared out just i
J time. Then again this month It's bee
pretty cold winter, and the woma
, seemed sickly. l felt sorry for her. Sh
t had grown unpleasant looking. and sh
coughed. don't think she had an
place of her own this season, anywhere
We couldn't find out. The Cap'n and
r felt kind of interest, you see, She
D been on our books so long. 1t was onl
e natural. But do assure you, ma an
t there is nothing to be done for such
t case. Nothing whatever. l wouldn
q look like that, if was you. You can
: help it. Him that permits 'em. f
: strikes 'em off our books, now and thel
It into His, madam and best for Him an
g them and us, | take it, when it happen
# Now, last night, the 23d of Februar
a that woman, she'd just made out b
fourteenth ght consecutive, and | hs
e it planned to send her to Tewksbury t
IS day. She'd be warm in the poor-hous
n at least, and sure of her rations. Cap
IT and | felt glad of it when we saw
d stagger in. He said: "We've got h
y this time" And | said: "Here agai
y Doherty %
to | went up to speak to her, for fell
IL little sorry, too, knowing it was the la
IN time. For you couldn't understand ht
i'd familiar their faces grow, nor the XII
RS of feeling an officer gets about them NJ
RS and then.
There is the entry just as l put
t. down after SO many times.
es "No. 81 (she came in rather early)
en- No. 81, Doherty, Ellen. Vagran
nd Sick" For we at once saw that she v
y, pretty sick. She'd been beating abb
Irt in the storm The snow was now
p, over her. | noticed that she had on