Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1893-12-21

band. "For Augusta to give 1t out
that she was going SO far to visit some
one she had never seen, and start oil in
spite of our remonstrances upon the
appointed day. and then suddenly to
reappear and admit she hadn't been
where she said she was going, but yet
TO keep her whereabouts for those two
days secret from us--I tell you, it's
very qucerl And such a cold as she
has brought back with herl Well,
it will be mercy if it doesn't end in
pneumonia and carry her off But,
then. Augusta's head was always full
of the queerest crotchets," she ended,
brcathlessly, "and you never could tell
what she was going to do next"
That Augusta Van Alien was ecccn-
tric to degree was the unanimous
opinion of her nearest relatives. But to
many q poor soul she seemed verita-
bic angel of mercy--if o small, middle.
aged angel can be imagined, in widows
cap and spectacles! In reality, the lit
tie woman had passion for doing
mice things for others, and being
blessed with liberal portion Of this
worlds goods she was able to follow
her generous inclinations, and was
never so happy as when planning to
give some one o pleasant surprise.
Her plan for this particular holiday
season had been to make Merry
Christmas" for the family Of poor
md distant cousin. She had never seen
this cousin, nor any Of her family, but
Ishe had somehow managed to learn the
names and ages Of her eight children
and she had solidly packed huge box
with comfortable jackets and shawls,
ind hoods OF various sizes, and many
other nice and appropriate things, and
had so crammed the chinlSs with books
and dolls and paint boxes and tin toys
and trumpcts, that the porters who put
1t on board the train vowed it must be
LOADED down with lead
Aen w. IN Aliens sister had
going to travel two
Rvrinter and take
surprise, instead
Fistmas comfortably
Il<uIMpmc VIII them, Sne
- kSlemnly declared to her husband
that she thought Augusta must be
crazy, to which he had made the saga
cious reply that for crazy woman his
sister-in-law certainly seemed able to
manage her own affairs remarkably
well.
Early on the morning Of the day
before Christmas, Mrs Van Allen, with
her unwieldy box of gifts, had started
on her journey in a gentle snowstorm;
and all wcnt we'll, though tho storm
steadily increased in violence, uatil
just before noon, when tho engine ran
into an enormous drift and there stuck
fast.
Soon all the women and children on
the train had been gathered together
in the car where Mrs Van Allen was
sitting, and for awhile she amused her
self by studying them withlsindly eyes.
But by and by, when they begun to
gisa o louder expression to their disap-
Ipointment at the delay, sho came to tho
lHrcscue, nd with her cheery temper and
ents Of her literally stocked
lxet. she succeeded in quieting
plants and raising the spirits
81 the despondent snowbound
Ind their uneasy children.
81 they had all expected that
be would be able to push Its
bugh the drift and go ON in the
u few hours; but 1t soon be-
parent that there was no pos
bf getting through that night.
began to be limited that Il
impossible to proceed on the
day. unless the storm abated.
Nere rumors. too, that the
\ing low, and that there
" on board
\urs Of the blockaded
kagain, for it was