Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1881-08-26
THE DOCTORS STORY.

III the year 1870 / graduated, ana
hogan 10 practice medicine IN coun-
trv town in Canada. 1t was a coal
mining place, full Of poor miners, and
there was several doctors there before
me. but bought out another mans
nraetice before ascertalnlng that he
lad none. 40 hdd To- try and work
along III best | could.
III two years my patients had m
reased to a respectable number, iut
was still 4 poor man, for could not
exact heavy fee from people VINO
earned their bread by the sweat Of
their brows III darkness, and sometimes
in danger.
They were poor, and the doctor who
attended them IN case of illness was
necessarily poor also. The valley in
which the town was situated was a
beautiful one, lovely farms lay in every
direction, and aged elms rose beside
the placid river that ilowcd through
tie midst Of it-peace and plenty
smiled on the beautiful scene, and hap
~ men and women lived and died
there without having ever seen the
btlsv turbulent world outside.
Tic superintendent Of one Of the
mining companies lived near the cot
tape which ] had made my home, and
m lad Hi only child, i daughter, and
ia thcy say i poor man is never prop
erlv miserable till lie falls in love ] had
10 follow up my destiny by loving Lille
llarlwick
Size MN lovely, that il the only ex-
cuse can ofler for my rash devotion
10 her. loved her the first time
eyer saw her it wls one Sunday, at
church
snc sat beside her father, and
thought Of angles Ill the morning m
stead Of listening to the sermon.
SHE wore i blue and white dress and
something gaizy upon her head; heI
hair wa nut-br and ripplcd natu
rally. and her complexion pure rs IN
infanls and fresh As 4 rose.
Shc hid large, soft brown eyes, wlll
long. dark Iashes, and the sweetest
voice ever heard
After that Sunday met her ut one
III two parties, hit | did not dare e
INV her any marked attention, for shC
was tile only daughter III rich man
and | Sas tire poor, unknown doctor
struggling hard To make Il living.
Tho summer wore away, and Lille
was stiIla bright star 1T which | fondly
galed but which Was also far beyond my
reach.
| fancicd shc cared for me, and that
kept loyc and hope alive. and II my
present rate Of progress ! might. II
about sixty years, amass sufficient oil
this worlds goods To take 4 wife. Ger
tainly tlc prospects WAS not cheer
ing
attended il picnic one day, and
had the happiness To be chosen lAlhe''
escort which filled me with delight, fol
Nc spent Tie afternoon together; she
had i volume If poems with her, and
Law among the ferns ut her feet III the
hard wood grove where more energetic
people were making a fire and prepar
my supper. and read some of thcs,
poems aloud ohcr: they were short Sc
lectious, and enc Of them | shall never
forget Il WIS new To me and ran thus
I'll little knows
eanlau heart Who when ihe cold VIM
hnws
deems II viii ,hlngc. Though storms NAV rise
Aut sri,sl m:S t#n and sorrow cloud her skies
Anal halel,4s hour. anl sunless days come on,
Anl lath leeratf the gloomy future I'LL
liut l1tngouef til laNcs through good or i'll.
raised ny eyes 10 Lilies face rs sh,
listened II the words, and her look de
lighted me
How true that il, size said, earnest
IL then calored, at, | suppose, the ex
preston could not keep out of my
face II ! only dared there and ther
u tell hcr how loved her but | had
moi the courage
That picnic lived III my memory like
one sunbeam on a dark day streak
ot golden light shining through gloom
! scarcely s1n Iillic MI winter except
occasionally IT church, for ! was toe
busy la br 4 regular attendant
In the month VI March terrible day
daWnedovrr .ur pcacefulyalley. About
loo'elnck Ii the morning mi explosion
took place III the mine of which Mr.
HardwIck Wis superintendent.
Ill the men We're III the mine when
II occurred. AMI nv tile fearful sound
vas heard, and The mine belched forth
volumes Of black smoke, crowds Of vail
In Women and children locked 10 the
mouth uf the hidrouS monster that had
swallowed ~ their husbands and
fathers
WAS soon on the spot, for | knew
there would lii work for me when tho
burnt ana nangIcd victims &c the *.
plaslon We're brought To light.
Volunteers Mere not wanting To sc
below and do what they could for the
unfortunate beings imprisoned amid
darksess and death offered myself
hut MIR Hardwick pushed me back
saying
M, doctor. stay where you are. You
Will "a more needed When We come up
STAY here. leg of You
So speaking he stepped into the
bucket with rs many more rs il would
hold. ana rapidly descended down tn,
dark chasm through which the black
smoke still rollcd.
stood IN sad anxiety ~ Ia what
would come next, when | felt light
touch on my arm, and turning, | found
Lille beside me.
She Wore hight morning dress and
slippers, and was without u hat; hel
bosom rose and fell rapidly, for she had
evidently lest no time iii coming here
.'0h, doctor She cried. clinging Il
my arm, Il have ran all the way and
am out Of breath. Tell me where
papa i 3'
! looked II her flushed face and eager
eves. noted the trembling Of hel
hands, and the pink dollhouse rose
that nestled IN her breast, rs if mock
ing her AGONY If fear.
Miss Lille come back little. youl
father WAS not IN the mine At the time
Of the explosion; | have seen him since
lie il safe
oh thank Tod thank God = sh,
cried, tears starting to her sweet brown
eyes.
Something told me to get her away
from the mouth Of the pit. but It wa
hard To ID, At length left her tryin,
10 console M old woman whose tire,
sons had gone down few hours ago
hale, hearty young men. and who Nigh
be hlackened corpses for all she knew
burned and bruised past hope Of re
cognition even by their mother.
As | returned to the shaft, dull
booming sound came suddenly from
underground 1.-THE earth shook-a roa
like the blast of thousand cannon
was heard, and huge masses of ink.
smoke rose above the fatal pit. 4 sec
ond explosion had taken place.
Screams from the women rent the air
ord n hAx-a fha,,, ont / hoo