The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1889-04-12
truck md above her wheels In meadow

track and above her wheels In meadow
mud, and lay stunned and senseless.
When q person RECEIVERS from q con-
cussion Of the brain, It would sometimes
be better II he had died. learned this
to my cost one day; but did not think
so on first getting about after my long
illness, through which l had ever been
conscious of the tender face Of Margaret
hanging above me, and part OF the
delirilim of which had been q singular
confusion Of her face with thot Of the
man asleep in the mountain of meadow
hay The world was In the full, deep
flush of summer; life seemed SO good,
love was SO sure; Margaret was con-
stantly beside me, the Black Bess was
ready for me, and Christmas day, when
it should come wrapped in its soft SHOWS,
was to give me my wife forever.
| got up quickly, too quickly-too
quickly by half; q long convalescence
would have acted like buffer to the
shock I had received, and deadened its
effect ON all my system; but every
months salary was precious to me now;
1t was 80 much more added to that al
ready laid up for the enriching of the
humble little home whose prospect then
was heaven; and before October had
Redeemed her parallels, drove the Black
Bess again by night out Of Waterway.
Meantime my head was far from right.
I knew that by the dull ache that safe
upon it like a leaden cap; by the sharp
pains that sometimes stabbed my eye
balls, as if needles were in the entering
rays of light Often, too, when people
were speaking with me, their words
sounded duly long way off, and If
reused myself to some manner of en-
forced attention, paid for it by fresh
assault of binding pain. When in this
condition, went through many of my
duties by mere mechanical routine, and
I think my faithful fireman, George
Rowe, did more at such times toward
running the train on time than did its
engineer unless the Black Bess were
herself gifted with that sort of wizardry
and more than human power which I
sometimes fancied belonged to her. All
this annoyance of mine, however, was
but intermittent; had it been otherwise,
had it been constant, should not live to
remember it; and gradually I began to
believe that it was wearing off, never
dreaming that it was but assuming
new form.
My spirits had been greatly depressed
during the period when felt these re-
suits of my disaster the most acutely;
they became as much too buoyant when
I found that my natural strength and
vigor were conquering the recurrence of
the attacks. had fully realized how
wrong and how impossible my intended
marriage with Margaret would be under
such circumstances, and only when
found myself able to look the rising sun
in the face, and to drive from twilight !
to twilight, from the gray Of evening to
the gray of dawn, without an extra
throb in my temples, did dare to dream
fresh dreams Of my long desired home
and its delights. The only trace of
trouble that appeared to be remaining
with e, at lmast, was slightly impaired
eyesight, so that what once could dis
tinctly see in detail when at the distance
of a mile, now became but a blur, and |
rendered me, on more or less seldom oc-
casion, subject to some optical delusion. |
However, this did not interfere with my !
business, and, as I said, went and came !
in such an atmosphere of expectation |
and assurance, that might have seemed |
to any spiritual observer like one trans
figured and walking in nimbus.
Things were in this state with me
when one night, as usual, took the ex- |
press out of Waterway. It was some |
what heavier train than my ordinary
one, and in the safe of the special car
that went through with us was large
of coin and valuables. Remem-
bering some daring robberies, in which
rains had been thrown from the track
BY meSns of obstacles placed there by
he villains who subsequently rided
hem, resolved on an even more par
ocular lookout than common; told the
Black Bess, as mounted, that she must
spring to it, for there was work to do,
and she answered to my hand like live
creature. heard them sounding the
IRONS down our long length-then the
word was given, and our quivering car
rier, starting well in hand, soon warmed
10 her work, and bounded along as if she
meant to be the victor of some demoni-
acal race.
l have often thought, since those days,
hat there can be nothing like that mans
sense of mastery whose hand it is which
gives the first motion to some long train
with bustling life and tumult.
ALI those beings, their joys, their fears,
heir expectations, their very futures and
sxistences, are his, hang on the falling
If his eyelid, on the turning of his finger.
There is not such potentate as he the
earth over. But when drove an engine
myself, thought of no such thing; were
ny wheels oiled, my boiler fed, my valves
light, were we well wooded, was on
lime, should earn my pittance day
ny fancies seldom took higher flight.
But this is aside.
It was at the close of dark and stormy
lay, soon deepening into black autumn
evening, of which was about to speak.
No stars in heaven, no lights on earth.
The air was that fresh, wet GOODNESS 90
delightful to breathe even when you got
t, as did, between puffs and whiffs of
smoke; pools Of water, everywhere on
OUR way, walked up to fash like moons
in our Light as we left them; little new
made brooks were chasing each other
beside us; woody places kept up per-
petual dripping and dropping; and the
whole earth was soaked in running rivers
IF rain. The long perspective of the
track, with its rails glittering in mois-
ture, rose by all its length into heaven,
and seemed to hang up shiningly before
us like a ladder of light, the only fixed
Thing in all the changing, shimmering,
calendered darkness.
As we appeared to wind our path up
this splendid highway, suddenly what
had been but blot Of blackness upon it