Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1921-06-02
The Baby.

OF the great trunk lines Of rail. 'ne
the Middle States, filled as us,,, IN
through passengers. Thev -. ".h
the most part silent, each abso-s. '.'
MS own thoughts. There We. IN
great railway magnates. on ,bs;. ,''
to New York to consul, - "eY
deal" there were commerce,
elers with their leather valises -,
them; there were merchants ,,n..IH
farmers glancing over their no..
reading the papers, doing; tber. ms ~
richly dressed, supercilious.ro,,,-SS
woman, who with her child and .,.,,
sat little apart from the res. -
were chattering, giddy school.ci-rs
old negro "aunty," and asleep q, -.
back of the car a bloated, shabb, ~,
man smelling of whiskey. Tbesc 49,.
pie, gathered out of all classes 49,
intercourse; they looked askanco 49,,
indiHerently at each other.
The train, with a Shrek and
came to full stop in the mids. Of -.
mountains. For few minutes the 10.
sengers sat undisturbed with the r,,-,
faith of the American in the rowo- -,
officials TO set all things right A. -.
train continued stationary. howeye, ors
man after another went out.
They returned with tidinps ,b,.
bridge had given away, and tb,, -.
train would be detained for tue,r.
or fifteen hours.
mere was a general outcry of annoy.
ance and vexation. 1t was near non,
every one wanted luncheon. Each ma,
insisted that his business was urpe,,
and could not be delayed. One I'M.
woman in the corner, with a baby in her
arms, began to weep unnoticed Tho
other woman complained more or less
loudly. For a few minutes, every fare
was clouded, and the car was filled
with a babel of angry voices. Present.
ly somebody noticed the mother cry.
ing over her child, and spoke to her.
"Oh, my BABY" she sobbed. at is
sick, and hoped to get home in an
hour! think it is dyingm
There was startled silence. Then
an elderly gentleman at the back OF
the car came forward. 81 am phvsi.
cian," he said. "Let me see the child"
1t was dangerously i'll, and in need
of active treatment. The naughty wo-
man who had hitherto held herself
aloof was the first to speak; she had
a box of mustard plasters in her satch-
ell, and she tore UP her fine handker-
chiefs for bandages. The old negro
woman quietly went out, kindled
fire on the roadside, and heated some
water to give the child hot bath.
One woman knelt and chafed its
feet; another made a bed for it with
shawls. The porter brought pillows;
a Hebrew drummer produced from his
bag bottle of laudanum, for which
the doctor expressed wish, and even
the poor drunkard at the back of the
car urged his flask of brandy on the
mother, as being ga first-rate med.
cine, ma'am" He looked at the child
for a minute and turned away. I'm
poor loafer," he said, "but kin feel
for the baby as much as any of YOU"
| In the course Of three or four hours
the child was relieved, and fell into
a sweet sleep. But before that time
the passengers in the car had all be-
come its nurses and kinSfork. ~nen
it was out of danger, and lying calmly
in its mothers arms, they went cuf
to the grassy bank by the side OF the
river, and improvised picnic.
Some of the men had found farm
house a mile or two away, and brought
bread and ham; few of the other
passengers opened their satchels ana
produced some dainty morSeI. Inc
Jew had ported chicken; Presoy-
terian minister, oranges; farmer
passing had cheese. There was but
little of each article as it was hand.
ed around, but there was abundance OF
goodwill. They talked, told stories
and one or two who had good VOICES
sang.
When, late in the evening, the en-
CINE pulled and whistled, and the con-
ductor shouted, "All aboard" com.
pany of friendly companions CROWDED
into the car, and when they partea'
few hours later, it was with many
hearty hand-shakes and a general eA'
change of good wishes. =,
"What good, kindly folks they al
we're" said the grateful little no'".'
"But I believe if it had not been foF
my sick baby they would never nave
7 fo,,,I oooL otbar out ~