River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1878-12-26
LOST AND FOUND.
A Christmas Story.
ChADTEp 7
TIE WANDERING WOMAN.

Would it never cease? we asked, as We sat
looking out from the window, and watched
the big feathery fakes. Driven here anC
there in wild swirls and eddies, by the wind
thick as the notes that people the sun
beams" the snow came down, obscuring the
air. obliteratlng the ways, blurring the SHARP
outline of the trees, and muffiing all the
sounds OF outdoor life. For nearly a week
there had been sharp frost. The ice had rung
with the healthy music of the skates. Ant
then, without the frost breaking up, the snow
had begun to fall on Sunday night; it had
showed all day on Monday, all Monday night
and now, after breakfast on Tuesday morn
! ing it was showing as hard as ever. "Woul1
never ccase?" we asked.
It was but eleven o'clock, and the train
was not due at Thornley, till three 1t was
calculated that IL the road was passable al
all, an hour would surely be enough for the
three miles drive. So till two O'Clock there
was no event to fill up the time save lunch;
at least there was no event that we knew of.
By-and by, old Margaret came In and said
there was poor woman in the kitchen whom
she thought the dog Fury had frightened
out of her wits, because she could not speak
a word that she-Margaret-could under
stand. Some two or three of us went to see
our strange visitor.
We soon found that she was no more mad
than we were, only we'll night in despair, and
exhausted She could not speak one word
of English, aud we found our little stock oil
French, so neglected as it was, very made
uuate for convers'ng with her in her own
tongue. It was enough for her, however, that
at last she had actually found some one who
had heard of France, and who knew there
was such language as the French.
The poor woman's tale was this: Her bus.
band was dead. Her two little girls were just
old enough to work at the straw plating, but
not old enough to walk all day with her in
this terrible weather. Her money had been
Just enough to pay their fare from Birming-
ham to Dunstable and she had sent them of
by rail that morning. At DuLstable they
would find good Frenchwoman who would
take care OF them. But she herself had not
money enough to ride, so had set out TO walk
from Birmingham to Dunstable, distance o.
some hundred miles, for which walk she had
allowed herself three days And now this
morning to begin with, she found she had got
four miles out of her way. She could find nc
one to put her right, the snow was preventing
her from walking at half the pace she hac
hoped to walk, and she could not in any way
get to her work ut the time she had promised
to be there. She was strong, cOarse-featur
ed woman; evidently very poor, and not at al
sentimental. But she did not beg, either di
,rsctlv or indirectly. She was evidently care
al to avoid IT, She warmed herself by the
fire. but when pressed also to sit down and ea
she said no, with many thanks, and begged us
TO direct her on her way as well "a we could
which we did.
Before she went she took out he's little we'll
worn purse and counted her small capital
She asked us what we thought might be the
railway fare from Banbury to Leighton, and
we told her as near as we could guess. Then
she shut her purse and shook her head in 8
way that said she must walk it all. Bat being
pressed to take some little help to make VI
the fare for this part of the journey, she took
it-uot without reluctance. Only once hei
courage seemed to fail her. When my sisters
little boy, rosy little fellow, eighteen months
old. suddenly began crying to go to her, she
took him into her arms, kissed him, and cried
over him, thinking, no doubt, of her own lit
tie ones and their loneliness at this happy
Christmas time