Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1899-06-14
A BABY. a.' '
PASSENGER.
BY BRAN sTOKER.
a-s-- A..

west OF ire hOcgleb OfeI rQbu Dt
Which threatened to jerk ont our teel
wi,h every loose-laid sleeper on II
line. sr1
Travelling in that part Of the 'worl,
certainly in the days speak Of, vs.
pretty hard. The travellers were most
men, all over worked, all overanxiou
and intolerant Of anything which hind
cred their work or intexfesed with til
measure OF their reposs!- IN nigh
Journeys the berths Of thesleeping cor
\ were made up early, and all the nigh
i trains were sleeping cars, the only thin
to be done was to turn in at once an,
Q try and sleep away the tine. Az mos
OF the men were usually tired ont will
9 tho days work. thsarrangemsnt suited
everybody. You can understand tina
? on such journeys women and children
were disturbing elements. Fortunate.
ly they were, as night travellers, rare,
and the women, with that consideration
for the needs Of their men folks which
l have always noticed in American f.
male workers, used to devote themselves
to keeping the little ones quiet. j.
| The weather was harsh, and sneez-
g and coughing was The order Of the
Day. This made tie people IN the
S g per, all men, irritable; oil the more
that as the most of them were con-
'ribuiing to tie general course Of
unds coming muffled through quilts
al d curtains, it was impossible to single
out any special offender for general er.
'cration. After awhile, however, the
cha sc OF posture from standing or /
SittinA to lying down began to have
zone kind OF soothing effect, and new /
sounds OF occasional snoring began to |
vary the monotony of irritation. Pres
ontl' the train stopped at a way station;
- en- ensued prolonged spell Of shunt-
i G BIT edward and forward with the
unc itSinty Of jerkiness which is 50
'eculia'l y disturbing to imperfect sleep;
al hen two newcomers entered the
etper, man and baby. The baby
W young, quite young enough to be
dehantly ignorant and intolerapt OF all
nles and regulations regarding the
mmon good. 1t played for its own
and alone, and as it was extremely
'pgy and gifted with exceptionally
o" erful lungs, the fact Of its presence
lndi emotional condition, even though
he latter afforded mystery as to its
al" s., were Immediately apparent. The
n ring ceased, and its place was taken a
" muttered grunts and growIs; the y
ouShing ceemed to increase With the "
c ewed irritation, and everywhere was y
lie rustling Of ill-at-ease and impotent ,
Inanity. Curtains were pulled II
ngrily aside, the rings shrieking VIC Il
'usly on the brass rods and cleaning ia
,es and hardening mouths glared G
avagely at the intruder Oh our quiet, L
L ~
'r so we now had tardily come to IN I'll
der him and it. The newcomer did ID
ot seem to take The l. asst notice of th
lything, and went ma stolid way to
ying to quiet tie child, shifting it ht
ON one arm to'the other, dangling it he
and down, ani rocking it sideways. be
All bibles mil nant; the natural
cke lness Of man, as elaborated ut the mi
imtval curse, Gems to find an un- tn
ulteruted effect in their expressions ga
fee ing. So
The ba' y wa peculiarly fine speci- mi
'n OF lis ella =. 1t seemed to have no Ho'
injunction vi n ever, no parental re- sol
ect, n atural affection, no mitisa- =
n in the natural virulence of it's ram
r. 1t screamed, it roared, it squall- {
bel owe ). The root ideas of
'fanity, CT obGcenity, of blasphemy
re m ng'ed in its tone. It beat with
clinched fists its fathers face. it :
we'd at his eyes with twitching Eng
, it used Lis head as an engine with
ich to budet him. It kicked, il r
gglsd, it writhed, it twisted itself b
serpentine commissions, till every E
and then, what with its vocal and
SECULAR exertions, it threatened to
black in the face! All the time
stolid father simply tried TO keep ,ef
uiet with eternal changes of posture, =
with whispered words. -.sa p >'' tn
There, now, pet" "Hush; lie still, ~
one" Crest, dear one, restP He tn
q big, lanky, patient looking, an Is IS
II man, with great rough hands and ti'
nous feet, which he shifted about Se
q spoke, SO that man and child to- 70.
er seemed Otsrnally restless. F, ev,
-