Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-05-19
On The Train.


A correspondent of the Intel
Ocean tells the following incident
1t took place on one of the Southern
roads going to Louisville, KY:
A number of passengers boarded
the train at Nashville, among them
a well-dressed young woman OF
bright appearance without an escort
She asked the porter for a pillow
and settled herself for an all-day
rest, seemingly ali unusual treat
However, she had no more thar
comfortably reclined when she was
aroused by the distressing cry of in
fsnts. She inquired the cause, and
the porter told her there was a very
sick woman in one of The sections OF
the sleeper, who had two crying in
fants, one two years old, the other
about five months. She had in some
unaccountable manner found heI
way into the sleeper and to berth
at 4 A. NJ, while the conductor was
asleep and the porter waited on
passengers at way station. When
he found her she had her tickets in
her hand and was too i'll to speak,
and there was no one to care for heI
and the children.
Wide awake now, the young wo-
man went to see for herself, and
such a sight as met hel view! The
woman's dress was undone at the
neck, and displayed an eruption
which undoubtedly covered the
body. Her hair hung about her
face, matted with grease and dirt
The two-year-old was sitting up,
munching a piece of bread and but
ter, crumbling the most of it among
the sheets. The baby was lying Oh
its back crying for want of care and
food, and the stencil which came
forth from that berth was more
than delicate olfactory nerves ought
TO be expected to endure.
All the girls energies were now
aroused to cope with the emergen-
cies Of this occasion. Here iC was
ten o'clock, the sick woman had
been on the train since 4 A. M. and
nothing done for her.
So this young Samaritan las the
passengers called herr rolled up her
sleeves, pinned a towel on to pro.
tect her dress, then called the con-
ductor and told him that he and the
porter must help her to change the
condition of things, or there would
be no comfort for any one on board
that day. Seeing she meant bus
mess, he placed himself in readi-
ness to obey orders.
She had the seats opposite the
woman curtained off, a pail of warm
water, piece soap, several towels
sheets and pillow-cases brought to
her. Search was made in the
sleeper and baggage Car for the sick
woman's baggage, but none could
be found,
She took the babe up and found
that its clothing consisted almost
wholly of piece of an old shawl
wrapped about its little neglected
body, which evidently had not been
removed for two days. 1t was cast
to the winds in twinkle, and the
water and soap were applied vigor-
ously. In telling the experience
afterwards, she said she was more
than repaid for what she did by the
smiles and cooings of perfect content
of the little one as soon as the first
application of water touched the lit
tie body. The cooling expressed much
more than it would have done on the
lap ofa fond, devoted mother. After
the baby was thoroughly scrubbed,
she dressed it in sheet and pillow
case, then took 1t to the passengers to
tind some one to care for 1t until she
made the other one preseutable.
There were no women on board so
she sought for fatherly looking gen.
tleman. She spied one about fifty
years ofage, and put the child in his
arms, telling him she chose him be-
cause he had such paternal air. This
is where the laugh came in, for he
proved 10 be bachelor. However,
he did his clumsy best until the
little one screamed for its foster
mother and he was obliged to take
II to her, to the great amusement of
the other passengers.
From that time until Z, NJ, she
cared for the two as we'll as the
mother, and the picture she made
feeding, soothing, yes, even caress-
ing those babies, clothed in spotless
white, made a picture commented
ON by every passenger on board, aud
one they can never forget, We as.
certaiQed that she is the editor of
The Kindergarten, magazine pub
lished at Chicago for the purpose of
uplifting childhood. May she live
long and have the strength to carry
on her work.