River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1878-09-05

| eoughed. | don't thilk she had any
place of her own this season, anywhere
We couldn't find out. The Capn and
felt a kind OF interest, You see, she'd been
on our book, so long. 1t was only nat
ural. But do assure YOU. ma'am. there
is nothing to be done for such case
Nothing whatever. / wouldn't took like
that, il were you. You can't help it.
Him that permits 'cm, He strikes EN- of
| our books. now and then, into His, mad
anne; and best fol Him and them, and
US, take it, when it happens.
Now, last night, the Esd of February,
that woman, she'd Just made out her four
tenth night consecutive; and | had il
planned to send her TO Tewsbury today.
She'd be warm ia the poor house, at least,
and sure of her rations. Cap'n and both
fel; glad OF it when we saw her stagger
in. lie said: We've got her this time. y
And ! said: 'Here again, Doherty3s
went up to speak to her. for | felt a
little sorry, too, knowing it was the last
time. For you couldn't understand how
familiar their fac grow. nor the kind of
feeling that an officer gets about them,
now and then.
There is the entry just as put it down.
after so m my TINES.
mo 81 (she came in rather early)-No
81 D:-Doherty. Ellen. Vagrancy
Sick For we saw at once that she was
pretty sick. She'd been beating about in
the storm. The snow was all over her
| noticed she had on a clean calico dress.
She stood just where you're standing,
ma'am, while | made the entry. 1t took
the snow some time TO melt, for it had
slected some. She looked almost as if
she was in white dress, she was so
covered. She had her hair done up
neat 10.
thought I'd go and see her in the cell
myself SO went down She walked
very slow and seemed weak. Tired,
Doherty2 2" said /.
Lieutenant" said she "folks used to
call me Nell Nobody called me Doheri7
till begun to come 10 the police station.
don't think anybody called me that TILL
I'd been into the house. says she.
Then | said, for | thought I'd pacifg
her il could. Are you sick tonight,
Neu2"
ooh, my God!7 says she-just like
that. Tnen she threw up her arms over
her head, and began to sob an take on.
But she didn't swear She felt to sick,
take it, So we put her in with the
rest, and she got into the corner and sat
crying.
1t was not until toward midnight that
she begun. They admit get well in and
quoted before that But every now and
then the men would call: "Sing Us TO
sleep, Doherty Where is Doherty?
Doherty Sing us TO seepi'
The storm set IN hard toward midnight.
1t beats heavily here upon the Office win
dows. ss you see, ma'am; ana we got a
pretty clean sweep of the wind on ac-
count of the street running to the
wharves. | sent down once to see how
Doherty seemed; but the officer reported
that she was quiet. and he wished the rest
were. They'd all set in. men and won 90
he said, in concert, a-crying out, Sing us
to sleep DJhertym
Pretty soon she began. I could hea
her plain above the roaring Of the storm.
She began Doherty began-that-that
poor-mi, erable-creetur- that had
once been woman like other women
folks-excuss me, ma'am; but she had
been on our books a good many years.
And I've heard her sing such things! ]
never looked to be taken by surprise, as
Doherty took me. You're not surprised
very easy in such place rs this at any
thing voui fellow sinners do.
But about midnight, when the storm
was at its thickest and the cells were
growing still, Doherty, she sat up and be-
49, q
''Shall we gather at the river
My bow sings that at lnday school, and
my wife she strikes it up the drst thing
on the cabinet organ every Sunday night.
Dcherty sang 1t all through:
"At the margin of the river,
Washing up its silver spray,
We shall walk and worship ever,
All the happy golden days"
Those are the words. | thought perhaps
YOU wouldn't know them Folks sing
them great deaf in the Baptist church
Before YOU could have cnck G a pisto
was as quiet as the grave all through
this place The iii 'ers looked at one an
other All the men walked up. The
women all got together in heap about
her The Cap'n said to me: Dohertys
singing hymn-tunes y said | thought
ed 90 down and see; and down we went.
When we looked in at the gIatii G,
wish ma'am, you could have seen these
men-ragged, rough, red, drunk. Some
OF 'em taken in awful crimes. No, dom
wish yod had seen EN-. But there they
set, as silent as a row of angels on the
iudment day listening 10 hear that wom-
an sing. One another, they said: Hush
hush!' An one fellow said: II used to
sing that song myself" He was up for
assault and battery Badly beaten, too,
himself, about the face He crept along
the wall, noticed, on his knees, to gel
where he cou.d hear her better. When
she stopped he hollered out.
"Give us some more, DohertyT
And the rest said:
"Doherty, give us another psalm
tuner
But one of the women said:
Come NELL Sing us to sleep with
the hymns"
So then she began again, and she gave
it to EN-. one upon another, fast and clear,
Heavens knows where the creetur learned
EN- At some Protestant Sunday scteol,
maybe, where she'd wandered in at the
holidays. They 90 good deal on ac-
count Of the Christmas presents
We all got round her there--the men
inside and the officers without--and list
ened for a while. don't think ever
heard her sing SO in all my life. Doherty
had fine voice, no mistake If she'd
been fespectablv born she'd have been a
great singer, that woman, axe il; and
folks would have been running to the
opera and the concert halls to hear her.
So there she SAT- and sang. sac set up
in one corner, with her chin upon her
hands, and noticed nobody, but stared
straight on before her. She sang =" Near
err, my God, TO Thee and Depths OF
mercy and she sang II heard the Voice
If Jesus say and Love al Home" and
all those. And all the men ana the wo-
men listened AID | saw the Cap'n
draw his hand acrost his eyes. And III
own it was too much for me. Will, in
deed.
Tosee her there, letting out those holy
words so trustfutly, ds you might say
ma am. as if she had as much right to EN-
as any body -that-poor wTetched-aad-
anti was enough TO break your heart to
hear her ] couldn't help remembering
how pretty she had been AMI young, and
how she took on the first night she ever
come To us.
Petty soon I come aWay up stairs-fOf