River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-01-29
THURLoW WEEDS sLITTLE NELL"
How ''Little Nell'' of Real Life Was
Found and oyed aud Lost

ThurloW Weed is an ardent admirer
of Dickens works, and expresses him
self enthusiastically in an interview in
the New York World. After touching
various characters, he said:
"And little NeH"--
Here for a moment there WAS a break
in the veterans voice-it was almost
break of tears-but he quickly recover
ed himself and continued:
"Forty years ago / was living IN Al
bany, and one afternoon on leaving the
office | went to the BARRIERS to get
shaved. There were several men in the
office, and while | was under the bar
ber's hands heard them saying that
writing master named Chapman had
died that day OF delirium tremens, in n
room that was bare Of furniture, fire and
wood, and that they had found little
child two years of age alone with the
corpse. After | had got through /
asked the man what had become of the
child, and they told me that Jenkins,
the constable, had taken it to woman's
house, on such a street, to care for it
until it was sent to the poor house. 1t
was a terrible winter day, and furious
storm was raging as / went nome. At
the tea-table l told the story very quiet
ly without comment. AS soon as we
had finished, my. son the was living
then) rose and said, Father, shall go
and look after the child ? | told him no
that he need not go. Then put ON
my overcoat, and when | got to the
door found my daughter there, with
her bonnet and shawl on, and | asked
her what she intended to do. TO go
with you and bring that baby home l
told her that the storm was too severe.
| found the house, and as | entered the
sitting-room | asked the woman in
charge if could see Mr.. Chapman's lit
tie girl. 'Certsinly,' was the answer, and
she called, Mary, gentleman wishes
to see you.' l had noticed little girl
two years old, sitting quietly in q cor
ner, in the freight. She came and sat
upon my lap. | took her home that
night, and we all took her to our
hearts.
"The blessing of God came into our
house with that child" said Mr.. Weed,
and as he said it his voice quivered.
"Sue was as sweet and bright and love-
ly as the little NelP whom Dickens
has made immortal. She stayed with
us twelve years, and each year we loved
her more and more and she won every
heart with which she came in contact
In her we found that little NelP was
no fancy picture, but living reality.
and you cannot wonder that | love the
hand that drew her lineaments." Mr..
Weed here took off his watch and chain
and showed his visitor two portraits of
the fair young girl-one enameled on
the inside of his watch and the other
contained in pendant charm-each
strikingly lovely.
"The story of that Child" he contin-
ued, sis as strange as any fiction. After
her death we remembered having heard
rumor that Mrs. Chapman had left
another and older child at Charleston,
and with my wife and daughter | went
there to look it up. At the hotel
picked up directory, selected a name
identified with charities, and found that
this very gentleman had actually adopt
ed Mrs. Chapman's boy, and that he
had been the best and brightest child
in the institution. He was ready for
college, but came and visited us for a
month. At Niagara he caught severe
cold, and in month we laid him at
rest beside his sister. But this is not all.
We were in Europe shortly afterwards
and at Boulogne met an officer of the
British navy. whose wife, as it happen
ed, had known Mrs. Chapman as a
child in England where she was born),
and had traced her to the island of San
ia Cruz, in the West Indies, where she
had been governess in the family of
the Danish Governor Won Schouton.
She had gone thence to Charleston and
married there" Mr.. Weed subsequently
visited the governor at Santa Cruz, and
there completed the life story of his
little Nell. By another strange coin
cidence the father of the reporter of
the World to whom Mr.. Weed yester-
day told this story, was at that time rec
tor of the English (Establishment)
church in the island of Santa Cruz.