The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-02-19
SHADOW AND SUNSHINE.
How Baby Won the Love of All Her
Fellow Passengers.

She was just a little girl, and her
mother sat down in a seat near the
door OF the car, and put her parcels
around where they would lie without
falling. and then loosened the strings
of her bonnet.
II don't want my bonnet off" said
the little girl, and all the passengers
heard her. They had not yet left the
depot in the great city, and most OF
the people had children of their own
at home, so they did not mind her.
II want a drink of water, " said the
little girl a moment later. The people
could hear her mother saying som e.
thing in a low tone, and they all knew
the water tank was at the farther en- d
of the car, but that didn't make any
difference. Il want a drink of water, "
repeated tine little girl, growing
louder and louder each time. till her
mother got up and led her down the
long aisle past people who were just
disposing their luggage, crowding
around other people who were just
disposlne themselves, and so on to the
tank. When they came back a young
man had taken their seat, and
the mother had to move up a little
way.
''Why don't he let us sit there?' de.
mauded the little girl, with an accent
on the relative pronoun which be-
came a general arrangement OF the
culprit.
Il don't want to look out of the
window she continued; there isn't
anything to see. Why don't the train
go on?n
Her tones were so shrill and pene-
trating that no one could forget her
even for q moment.
"There is a man with apples. 1
want an apple
They could hear the mother talking
again in hat same soft tone, but the
little girl was relentless. Il want
some of his apples
She was so persistent about it that
the mother bought a basket of fruit
of the station boy who passed through
the train just before it started, and
sold at a crushing price whatever he
had to offer.
When the train was under way they
hoped they had heard the last of her,
but all of a sudden she declared her
intention of sitting on the other side
of the car. There vas no vacant seat
there, but that made no difference, and
she kept up the complaining till a
young man got up and went forward,
giving her the vacant seat and wish
ing she might fall out of the window.
But even this surrender did not
satisfy her long. She wanted the
blind down and the curtain up; she
wanted her mother to buy a book
when the train fiend caIne around;
she wanted more fruit from the basket
and she wanted another drink. She
was so constant that every one in the
car hated the very sound of her voice,
and said, "Drat the young one, any
way" When she went up for a third
drink of water she stumbled and fell.
1t couldn't have hurt her much, but
she screamed and cried, and got up
cropping her way back to the seat, her
yellow hair tangled and her face all
smeared with orange juice and candy
and dust, her clothing ruinpled and
her pinafore soiled, and her mouth
wide open under the streaming eyes.
And she hadn't a friend in the car.
But after that she went to sleep.
The nervous woman at the front of
VIC GdA EGcDG0 1iC 1CilCl, anu lllt
heavy man who had two seats grunted
his satisfaction and glared around as
if words were useless in the face of
such freedom from annoyance. The
young man who sat by the young
in the middle of the car said
THANK Godr and hoped the child
might never wake up. And the poor
tired mother sInoothed the pillow
and sat in the littlest bit of the end
of the seat, and tucked the cloak
about her darling, and kept very still
lest she should be disturbed.
1t was nearly two hours after when
she walked up. AT first no one knew
her sleep had ended. Then they
began to be aware of a silvery little
voice, of a waking but comforting
presence, and they found it was that
same little girl. The nervous woman
looked around and saw her cooling to
mother, and patting her face and
nesting close against her
Deep where the heart throbs sink and swell.
And she murmured, 1.-THE dear little
thing
The large man watched her for quite
a while, and wondered if she would
come and ride with him. The trip
was growing very tedious.
The young man sitting with the
young woman reached over the back
of his seat and handed her a vegetable
ivory toy, with red and blue bangles,
the last n left in the train fiend's
box.
She got up after a time and went
forward ~falteringly, clinging to the
ends OF the seats and smiling in every
ones face, her cheeks bright with
some mysterious washing, her eyes
alight with restfulness and health, her
apron spick and span, and her yellow
hair falling in the sweetest Of waves.