Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-27
SAD, SAD, VERY SAD

little Michigan village. nearly ready to
start on the long journey to the Atlantic
seaboard. 1t only awaited few final
crates of the deectabIe purple fruit to be
loaded into the last car. The caboose
already had been s,tched on to the freight.
the huge engine was painting impatiently
far up in front and the train crew stood
waiting for the word.
In the long shed in which the packing of
the huckleberries was done by hundreds OF
deft-handed girls Bertha Gtapp. by COM
mon consent the most beautiful and win
some maiden of the lot. worked Industrious
ly. at her table. scraping the rich-hued ber-
ries into the boxes with the aid of short
ruler. and adroitly stutfing them in at the
sides with her white but slightly berry
stained fingers.
Suddenly she paused in her work and
looked up and out of the little window into
the woods, where the trees swayed in the
dying afternoon breeze.
and to think the girl mused that
these little berries that We so thoughtlessly
pack will presently be on their way, over
the far-stretChed rails to that beautiful
section where the big cities are built upon
the edge of the heaving sea-and l have
never seen the sea!-and where the people
rarely or never think of going to bed and
where the lights at right
she paused, and passed her hand over her
lovely violet eyes with a little gesture OF
despair.
"Ah me-" she murmured. 81 suppose it
shall come to pass that | shall never see
these fanious cities. Helas! it is to be my
fate TO live and die here in this quiet little
hamlet with never any one to tell me now
pretty my hair Island | have pretty hair
she declared to herself with a moue. And
all of that gorgeousness of the east of which
have heard so much, and all of the SPLEEN
did aad gallant and noble young men
Suddenly her eyes were Illuminated with
an idea
Il declare. T shall do it," she said. almost
aloud u shall SHALL shaur'
rurtively. the beautiful Bertha glanced
about to see if the stern hard-featured
forewonan was watching her. But the
forewoman at the other end of the
building. and that part of 1t was all right.
The table at which she worked was COW
cred with white wrapping paper. The win
some Bertha tore a cover from the side of
this. and. taking from her back hair the
lead pencil with which she registered the
number Of boxes Of huckleberries which she
packed she scrawled this little note on the
piece of paper:
IF a high-rninded, noble-souled. gallant
hearted young gentleman should come into
possession of this bit of writing, he may
know that she who pencils it is Bertha Git
app of Dry Crick. Mich. girl of eighteen.
who knows how to cook, sew. wash and
iron and take care of children. and who
(she writes it with a BLUSH Is declared by
her friends to be the lovelest girl in all
Michigan. And she is eager to be free from
the hopeless bondage of living in Dry
Crlck. Mich. BERTHA GITAPP."
Resolutely. yet with many forebodings.
and a certain latent fear of the conse-
Quences that might ensue. the beautiful
Bertha placed the naive little note at the
bottom of the next box which she was to
pack with huckleberres. covered them over
with the rich purple fruit and had just
succeeded in finishing the daring little VEN
dow ha~
aisle
A few hours later the long freight train.
filled to the gun'ls with huskleberries. was
on It's journey toward the land of the rising
sun.
There was a museful light in dainty little
Berthas eyes for days and days and weeks
and weeks.
"Who knows?" she kept repeating to
herself How often have l read of 1t
happening In that glorious way?"
For the guleless child had often. as she
unused seen it printed In the Dry Crick
kazoo and other great metropolitan dailies.
on the woman's page. how this or that
lovely young wurkin' girl. living In remote
settlements. had written such a little note
as she had sent-written such note on the
surface OF an egg. or across the top OF
tub OF butter. or even the white surface
of washed turnip. and how the message
had .nfallibiy fallen into the hands of
some noble youth. usually the wealthy and
heartfree young son of some famous com
mission merchant. and how he had either
written to the sender of the message or
packed up his kit and boarded the first
train to hunt her up, and how 1t was case
of love at first sight on both sides. and
how they were married In the little village
church. few weeks later, all of the girls
friends horribly jealous of her in her
ivorysatiu wedding gown. with the large
diamond pendant presented to her by the
father OF the groom. and how
Yes yes. the naive child Of the buckle
oF Mchio hQ6 ffan
these fascinating stories. and now she had
herself taken the great chance. and SO she
was waiting. waiting. waiting with her
soul in her eyes, and
And all like that.
But somehow OF another. Bertha didn t
get break. The thing didn't work out her
way. Somebody must have staked her to a
bunch of jonahdoo evil eye or something.
for
About six days after the departure of the
long fast freight train for the east CHIMNEY
Awkwan. who got four'n half week for
sorting over berries and such like In a
Jersey City produce dump. picked up box
Of huckleberries. turned them into his
ham-iike mitt with deft twist to see II
there was a phony bottom to the box. and
his eye caught sight Of the sacred little
scrawl that the lovely and ingenious Bertha
had written and placed there. CHIMNEY
wasn't much on readin' writin. but he took
this berry-soiled missive to the light and
mumbed the words over one by one and
ne scratched his red head, tugged at his
basket sleeve protectors and spat effusively
of tobacco juice at yaller dog lying on the
sidewalk and. said CHIMNEY to himself:
"Bg dey've sure got de fresh Gerties
workin' in desc rube burgs. hey? I'm layin'
tree hunnered t one dat If youse was t.
git fash at dis skoit youse 'ud pipe 1t
dat she had freckles as big as desc berries
all over her chart. an tree warts on de side
on her bcak, an glass eye. and dat she 8
a hunnered and nineteen years old. Desc
caiicoes gimme a pain in de lid!" and
CHIMNEY crunched the piece Of paper up in
his hand and tossed 1t into the street. Then
he went on sorting huckleberries.
And the beautiful violet-eyed. wistful Ber-
tina? What of her?
Well. Bertha has read the last line in
Monte Cristo," and she's still on the
Job of waiting and hoping.
Imagination as q Cure.
FROM the Dundee Advertiser.
1t is conceded by scientists that magma
ton has much power as a curative agent.
concrete example occurred in tn" ex-