The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-12-30
OUT OF TIE RUT.
An lnlident III Real Life whisl,
OSsurrcd Last Week.
TIE PATHETIC HOLIDAY STORY
man Aged Woman who Went ou Jour
uCy Tor the rlrI Time III Forty Years,
AMI saw rcemims Ln Ia Chicngo's
pu,y Strrtt,-lIrr ENrcricNCc ut Home
wa, Thu, % To" Many Women.

Was That Zoo Many NNmrh'
Chicago Evening ToS: That was
tatacr pathetic siary ct the oil $40.
man who rln away from her rich far.
MGR husbands home IN che northwest
and landed In the annex ut Harrison
s,rrt, station. The police took her In
cHa!gc--it was not m arrrsi-btcausc
the husband she had served FOR forty
years iclcgraphcd to the policemen that
she was cntgy. The old lady was found
wandering along the street. but quite
cautcnlcd, She was looking into win.
dows. was listening TO bits OF CONVEX
sntion, was fronting with calm smile
MI the marvel OF lie she had not
dreamed az. The crowd joStltd her uud
fHt did not toStlc back, She got ouI OF
the way when she could, and often took
refuge In Il doOCway or the shelter Of
projecting slgr, and even waited long
Il; the Opening Of an alley while u tide
~ NtG went rushing past, II didn't
make much difference, The time was
hot lost. There were new sights ind
rich surprises wherever sGr tanned.
There were matNClS. miracles. The open.
ing OF MANY gates iuto glJTg. wherever
she looked. Forty years she had
cooked and scrubbed and bent her
hands with wrinSlng. and Stained them
With dyclus. Forty years She cleaned
house every spring and helped butch
rr every fall. Forty yedTs shs had
planted garden IN May and had
gathered the fruits OF her growing uu-
I'll November. Forty years She had riS-
en- nj I o'clock summers ana o'clock
winters. going TO bed when she could
lind the time. Cooking, sewing. mend
ing. tending, sweeping. washing, brOii-
Ing. freezing, with an everlasting round
VI three nells 4 day 10 prepare,
enough the half OF hale I meal wla
all she ever needed She had lighted
the kitchen fire 1850 tiurS She had
spread the table $500 times She had
kept her house comedy and had raised
the unpcuHISing pigs and calves BY
hand. ..a.f
She had ridden to town about once a
month In L lumber wagon that jOItcl
her tired body md had walked to
church once n month. Thlak OK IT.
$500 meals % vicIIaiS and +S0 SER
dressed and lost three children. They
had teuseI. and disobcycd. and wound
I'd and forgotten her. She had found
Tina 10 help welcome many other little
youngsters lnto q wO"ld that didn't
want them and had wcpt and smoOthed
the canphor cloths on the faces OF al
most IA many more who had died. She
had driven the team when the blowing
was hard. had helped plant corn In the
spring and husk Il In the fall. She had
digEcd potatoes. gathered apples. hqr-
messed horses. moved hay. turned the
tanning u!ll. mendcd fences, woven
carpets, driven the cattle out OF tho
corn field and shocked wheat at hlr-
vest time. She had been the wife OF III
American farmer.
She had heard The railroad train
fuiet mornings ana evenings before 4
rain. When she wenk 10 town she had
seen the creamery. One time her hus.
band was going 10 let hes and one oil
che childrcl 70 10 4 moral meneSeri,
and congress OF biblical beasts, but tbs
nnytnS came on and 1t looked Tx,
rain and he didn't see how anyon.
could be spared from the farm for 4
day or two. She had heard there vert
lc5.0o9 people In Minneapolis Other
authority gave Il as l2S.06O But why
pile up thousands TO her? One can ada
nothing 20 infnity. Year after year silt
had SAID she was going 20 visit AIict
next foil Alice lived In Michigan ant
had written twice. In one letter Al.,C
told about the baby, who was so fat sh,
was AFRAID OK his getting the Group
When the timber was sold :here wa.
plenty OF money. but q neiShbor want.
ed 10 borrow and offered interes,
When the hogs went 10 market Their.
was money, but there were taxes L
Jay. When the wheat WAS sold s.F
hoped IL. Il day or two and asked su:u,
Questions about preparing for the Vi9!'
In the fall. But he7 husband. E.uwf
hard with the accommodating ease OF nc,
cumuladon, spoke hHrshly, and Sh,
did not mention Il aGain. though sh,
ErIeved a N:Ce. And then when III,
Palmer farm, acquired By foreclosur4
vas disposed OF by sale, and when ths
money lay there IN the house for day.
and cAyS, the temptation came upOr
her, and she opened the bureau drawer
with guilty, trembling fln6erI an!
took-she shut her eyes. there was sC
much OF lt-toCk 4 handful, and rar
away. But che didn't take It all Sh,
knew ehe wasn't entitled to any OF II
but she was sure che had not inflicted
calamity. for there was plenty stil
left n the bureau drawer.
They never knew how she got u
Chicago. They never knew how sh,
cluded the waiting police at the depot
They would have lost her utterly ~ ;
pat-olmon had not seen her hrirtint
airles-ly up and down with the tide
In hale a block OK spaCe-whIch nevcl
grew OLD 90 hct. which was nlway,
new 70 hcr-and knew she was n(a,
from home. She Wasn't really lost
That Is. she hadn't begun to worry MOI
concern herself. She had hardly bcgrrr
10 feed full OF this feast Of lnarvcIs
Sh" could see so many things withOu
wasting n cont OF her husbands mo,
ney still clutched IN her hand at tn,
corner OF her shawl. She hadn't though
OF eating. Indeed. and this WAS fal
more surprising, Hhe had not though
or cooking, and setting the table an,
calling men to dinner. She hadn'
thought Of the stock, nor wondered !
iHc potatoes would freeze, nor IL thu
pump had run down. That wasn't Il
thi5 world at nll. Even when the min
sled smells OF fresh bread and warn
pastry came UP through the grating,
OF a basement. and when she had geer
the tlhles-rea1y get and waiting-nni
was taking n long look while gliding Il
mo door Of Il restaurant. she stopped
ior at n fash all the great lamps In,
!eaped into Hight, hisslDg little. nix,
NyinS meat" she said: and the who'll
Stfect whs transformed into realm
or magic. When she next thought Oi
INC tables set and waiting. tho rcatuur,
ant had drIfLcd away somewhere and
nho couldn't find It. But she didn't
lt"k very long. She didn't care vcry
much.
When the policeman went off beat h
n'ophcd ana spoke TO her. She wa.