St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-09-23
LADY BRooME's STORY.
How q Train of Nlsf0Ftunes In Mln-
Ing Finally Reached = Fer.
tunatc Climax.
Lady Broome tells this interesting

Lady Broome tells this interesting
story:
".rl,is man had reached the very last
of his resources without finding speck
of gold, and although men in such cx-
tremity are always Kind and helpful
to each other he could not expect any
one to share such fast dwindling stores
with him. There was nothing for it.
therefore. but to turn back on the NOR
row, while a mouthful of food was
still left, and to retrace his steps as
best he might to the nearest port. He
dwelt with a good deal of rough pathos
on the despair of that last days fruit
less work, which left him too weak and
exhausted to carry his heavy tools back
to the spot they called camp. So he
just flung them down and, as he said,
staggered over the two or three miles
of scrub covered desert. guided by the
smoke of the campfire. Next morning
early, after a great deal of sleep and
very little food, he braced himself
up to go back and fetch his tools, al
though he carefully explained that he
could not have taken the trouble to do
this il he had not felt that his pick
and barrow were about his only pos
sessions, and might fetch the price of
a meal or two when it came to the
last.
II have often wondered since if the
impression of the Divine mercy and
goodness which was SO strong in the
mans mind just then has ever worn
off. He dwelt with self-accusing hor-
ror on how he had rallied at his lucks at
fate. at everything, as he stumbled
back that hot morning over his tracks
OF the day before. The way seemed
twice as long. for, as he said, his heart
was too heavy to carry At last he
saw his, barrow and pick standing on
the fiat plain, little way off. and was
wearily dragging on toward them,
when he caught his toe against stone
deeply imbedded in the sand. and fell
down. His voice sank to a sort of awe
struck whisper, as if he were almost
ut confession, as he said: We'll, ma am.
if you'd believe me, l cursed awful. I
felt as if it was too hard altogether to
bear. To think that 1 should go and
nearly break my toe against the only
stone in the district, and with all these
miles to travel back! So i lay there
like Jobs friend and cursed God and
wanted to die. After bit felt like
passionate child who kicks and
breaks the thing which has hurt him.
and l had to beat that stone before /
could feel quiet. But it was too firm
in the sand for my hands to get it up.
so in my rage l set out quite briskly
with the pick to break up that stone,
il it took all my strength. 1t was pretty
deep set in the ground. l assure you,
ma am; but at last got it up. and here
it is-solid gold. and nearly as big as
a baby's head. Now. ma am, L ask you,
did l deserve this?
ssHe almost banged the rather dirty
looking lump down on the table be-
fore me as he spoke. and it certainly
was a wonderful sight. and still more
wonderful weight. lie told me he had
searched about the neighborhood of
that nugget all day. but there was not
the faintest trace of any more gold.
So, as he had no time to lose on ac-
count of the shortness of the food and
water supply. he just started back to
the coast, which he reached quite safe
ly, and came straight down to Perth
in the first steamer. The principal
bank had advanced him s 500 on his
nugget. but il would probably prove
to be worth twice as much. l asked
him what he was going to do. and was
sorry to hear that he intended to go
back to England at once and set up
a shop or farm-1 forget which
among his own people. OF course. it
was not for me to dissuade him. but
l felt it was a pity to lose such good
sort of man out of the colony. for he
was not spending his money in cham
pagne and card playing. as all the
very few successful gold finders did
in those first days.-Cornhill Maga-