The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-06-03

sumed an expression half of delighted
surprise and half OF astouutied fright
There were misls in the eyes of the elder
postmlstress of Sohonk; and perhaps
these accounted for bOOd of strange and
oYerpowering recOllections. The name
of the canal boat, "rhe Ranger danced
before her eyes like a tanning beacon
from out the dim and shadowy past. The
kindly perplexed face before her, the
snOrting Of the laborng tug; the strange
scene OF the floating village upon the
stream; the weird mountains on either
side; even the tiny light flashing up the
companion way from the cabin; swept
mo ner memory along with the ghOSIy
form and presence of a baby sister,
dredml uleyed, and loving father, a
host OF long forgotten childhood wraiths
( from the lands Of pain and peace; all in
! tensltied by the penI-up emotions of this
one eyenttul pay; until. as her hands
were oQtstreJched appealngly TO the
woman IN the hatchway, she fell uucOn-
scious prone in her stout and motherly
arms.
When next she heard voices, they came
as II from afar through a delicious dream
lano Ofrest and peace as she lay upon one
! OF the little cabin hunks. A kind faced
old woman was bathing her head with
camphor. and the horny palms of a
shaggy old man were cha ing her
hands in rude anu unaffected vigor and
| tenderness.
Pop Tillman,'' said the old lady sol
| EMMY, IF this IN, an tn I'm as slid
aStern IN tn little canoe, ain I ghostesses,
| they re tesh an blood darters of that
| Doctor Mercer, as went with US an his
! children & tn CatskillS, an as never
come back fur his valise"
Fudge on ghostesses - responded the
| husband grlmly. 'Spo sen they be the
| doctors dar-ers' Jess keer fur this un.
! TNn haV IN y IL
an don't bother furder. All you wimmeu
| folks seems I jump at ennything mys-
| teri quicker nor a hungry tow path
mule q todder' She's come to. Don't
let her go OF agin, Jerushy."
With this the wise old captain of The
| Ranger took his pipe and went on deck
for bit of promenade in the balmy even
! ing air.
His wife, with a "Poor, poor dear!''
and a commiserating LOOK al the little
| figure upon the bunk, went straightway
| to the locker, ana securing a moldy old
valise, brought it back and set it down
| with some decision upon the cabin table,
WHATS yer name, dearie ?" she sooth-
| 1ngly inquired, as she supported the girl
! with her stout and freckled arm.
Sister Van Brunt'
NO faint, nuther," retorted the
! woman, lifting her up in her lap before
| the table. "Recollec', now. Whar was
| We jess twelve year ago this month?
| Whar was yer little baby sister7 Whar
was yer NICE, purity father tn doctor
| Whar was The Ranger" Whar was me
an my old mani An whar was this
valise as I've KEEP these long years,
| peerin in faces from Budaler Z York for
! Jh rlghttul owner, an mOurnin' fur YOU
| two mites as though Jerushy llllman gin
| We both life from her own 0reast2"
Here the good woman rocked back and
| forth, paUting, kissing aud caressing the
| wanderer as though she had recovered
| her own long-lost child
| Yer name amt no Sister Van Brunt,
! dearie Yer names Victoria Mercer, an
/ yer sister, thar-%I know'd her. Whatever
| smart men folks sez!-iS Alice Mercer:
| an If these old musty papers an things
| SEE what's true, if yer poor fathers dead,
| We ought to own more land long tn Hud-
| son than tow can sail past in hours -
| What need to repeat the questions and
| answers which followed to depict the
! Joy OF the girl in the new light and life
| that so suddenly dawned upon her; the
| revelation Of her past and of her plans,
! hopes and purposes to the sympathetic
! woman beside her; the Kindly, motherly
| promises of aid when they should have
| reached the great city: or the forgivable
tauntings for the victory of female in
| stinct and wisdom over the ruder male
| conclusions, bestowed by Jerushy Till
man upon her shaggy, good-natured hus-
| band as she consigned him to loneliness
| in the little cabin for the night, and
made the snuggest of beds for herself
| and the wanderer beneath tine ragged old
| tarpaulin above
Then, as the night set low and deep
upon the mountain and stream and the
! stars famed in the arc above. the girl
! lying upon the protecting arm of the elder
| woman, with throb0ing brain, but peace
! full heart, thought and thought and lis
| tened; thought of the myriad things
| happy and sad out of the strange, weird
| past, of myriad possibilities in the I'M
| tried future before her; and listened,
| listened, drowsily and more drowsily to
! the complaining creakings of the tow :"
! the grand, deep-chested breathings of the
monster which drew them, from whose
flaming nostrils now and then great
| plumes of fire trailed backward and above /;
TO the lazy tapping of ghostly passing
sails, as though Hendrick Hudson, in one
| OF his twentY-year vigils, were speeding
| by in some'specter Half Moon; to the bay
ing of alert dogs, which upon either ebon
! shore, ENORMOUSLY protested against their
| weird and sluggish passage; to the faint
and fainter voices of the hundreds of
! humans about them, quieting like the
| gradual settling to rest of gossiping birds
in deep night coverts until, as passed the
| tow into wider waters, Victoria
! Mercer, erst elder postmistrcss of Sohonk.
glided away upon the stream and tide of
| perfect happiness and peace TO the shore
less sea Of dreams
What befell her of dauntless purpose
and simple faith in the great city was
briefly narrated in pleasant paragraph
appearing in one OF the New York dailies,
nearly five years later, under the caption
of Romance in Everyday Life
Frequenters of the vicinity of Coentes slip
! Will recall the sudden diSapp 3orance from
| that section of the city, some three years
| since, OF an interesting character Familiarity
! known as Little Sister Van Brunt." In her
| vocation of seller OF crullers and coffee, her
! dlminuttve stature win5ome ways and seri
! Gus though uncOuscio S innocence, capJivated
/ all who knew her. Whence she came and her
/ history remained equally a mystery to the
! IN iplsltlve, Legend had it that. like many
! another she was attracted to the fascina-
tons and opportunities of city life from some
| remote rural spot along the hudson. in COM
pany with the canal folk among the lows
me rough. but hosPltable men and women of
1 the locality were greatly attached TO the lit
| tie wolf She YVES allowed free use of
| their caoln stoves on which to cook her
| crullers and coffee; and during the season of
| canal navigation some one OF the scores of
| boats ways lying in the slip awaiting their
| "berths' and discharge of cargo. was her
| Temporary home. 1t is said that during the
two years in which the fair cruller seller re
/ matneo at Coentes slip. her industry re-
| wald ed her with such handsome profit that a