The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1893-12-22

band. For Augusta to give it out
that she was going so far to visit some
one she had never seen, and start off 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 queer! And such cold as she
has brought back with her! Well,
it will be mercy if it doesn't end in
pneumonia and carry her off. But,
then, Augustus head was always full
of the queerest crotchets," she ended,
breathlessly, land you never could tell
what she was going to do next"
That Augusta Van ALLEN was eccen-
trio to a degree was the unanimous
opinion of her nearest relatives. But to
many poor soul she seemed a verita-
BILE angel of mercy-if a small, middle
aged angel can be imagined, in widows
cap and spectacles! In reality, the lit
tie woman had a passion for doing
mice things for others, and being
blessed with a 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 pleasant surprise.
Her plan for this particular holiday
season had been to make Merry
Christmas" for the family of a poor
and distant cousin. She had never seen
this cousin, nor any of her family, but
she 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,
and hoods Of various sizes, and many
other nice and appropriate things, and
had SO crammed the chinkS with books
and dolls and paint boxes and tin toys
and trumpets, that the porters who put
it on board the train vowed it must be
loaded down with lead
When Mrs. Van ALIENS sister had
heard that she was going to travel two
hundred miles in midwinter and take
Henrietta NARROW by surprise. instead
of spending her Christmas comfortably
and soberly at home with them, she
had solemnly declared to her husband
that she thought Augusta must be
crazy, to which he had made the saga
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 went well, though the storm
steadily increased in viole nee, until
just before noon, when the 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 Alien was
sitting, and for while she amused her.
self by studying them with kindly eyes.
But by and by, when they began to
give louder expression to their disap-
pointment at the delay, she came to the
rescue, and with her CHEEKY temper and
the contents of her liberally-stocked
lunch basket, she succeeded in quieting
the complaints and raising the spirits
of most of the respondent snowbound
mothers and their uneasy children.
At first they had all expected that
the engine would be able to push its
way through the drift and go on in the
course of a few hours; but it soon be-
came apparent that there was no pos
sibility of getting through that night
1t even began to be limited that it
would be impossible to proceed on the
following day, unless the storm abated.
And there were rumors. too, that the
fuel was running low, and that there
were no provisions on board.
At this the murmurs of the blockaded
travellers grew loud again, for it was
not pleasant prospect to be obliged
to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas
day cold and hungry in a snow-drift
In deserted part of the country.
The afternoon wore slowly on. There
was NO communication with the out
side world, for the storm had beaten
down the telegraph wires, and the for
aging party which had started out
some hours before had not returned.
Mrs. Van Allen, all this time, went
fitting from group to group. dropping
crumbs Of comfort on every side, aud
enaeavoF.eg to replace complaints
with at ieaat . ksmhisnce o. contsas.
But tha Hessf ohiIafsu weys trstHug