Year: 1874

Once We had to stop and batter down .
wall with scahold pole for tbs Hqiiee
declared it to be unsafe, and the Sergeant
would not let us work near it till N was
down ; and all the while ! was raging like
q mailman at the check. But it was of Ne
use, and the man was right. He was do
ing his duty, and not like me, searching
for the little crushed form Of my darling
in the cruel ruins. The people made me
worse, for they would talk and say what
they thought, so that could hear. One
would say she might still be alive, another
would shake his head, and so on wllBn /
! kept stopping. in spite Of all ! tried not,
listening to what they said, and It all
seemed So much lost time


The enginc-roum was now cleared, ana,
| in spite of my trembling and horror, ~
every biz piece was disturbed, nothing had
been found but all at once, as we aere
trying to clear behind the biler, and get
down to the stoke-holc, one Of the men
gave cry. | caught 1t the man nearest
| to me, AMI then liShts, rubbish, -
strange wild scene, all seenaed tp rhn
round nssks and ahpnld -haEs sallcB, 0iszy
ythe man held me up, and some one brought
me some brandy.


was myself directly and, stumbling
over the bricks to where a knot uf men
had collected, AMI policeman had his
hulrs-eye lantern open, and they were
STOPPING to hook AZ something that lay Just
under a beam they had ralsed-to the left
Of where | expected she would be found


Smashed, ! heard some one, with his
back to me. say ; and then some one else
Poor little thing, she must have run past
here III


Then, With my throat dry and my eyes
staring, crept up and thrust two Iaen
aside, right aud left, when the others
made way for me without speaking, and,
! when | got close up. | covered my face
with my hands, aud softly knelt down.
1 The policeman said something, and some
one else spoke cheerily but ] coudn [
hear what they said, for my every thought
was upon what was Z ing to see. And
now, for the first tins, the great, binding
tears came rushing from my eyes, SO that
when slowly took down first one hand
and then another, ! was blinded, and could
not see for few moments till. STOPPING a
! little lower, there. smashed and tiatteued,
covered with mortar and dust, Vas my old
red cotton Handkerchief, tied round the
basin and plate that held my dinner,
dropped here by my little darling.
For few moments ! was, as it were,
struck dumb 1t was so different a sight
To what | had expected 70 see and then
| leaped up and laughed and shou ed, and
danced-the relief was SO great.


Come on :" ! cried again, and then,
for an hour or more, We were at it, work
lng away till the light began to come in
the east, and tell us that 1t Was day
break


Late as it was, plenty Of people had
stopped all the time for, somehow or an
other, hundreds had got to know the little
bright, golden haired thing had trotted
backwards and forwards every day with
my dinner basin. She was too little To do
it, but then, bless you. that WIS our pride;
for the wife combed, and brushed, and
dressed her up on purpose. And iue and
proud we used to be 1f the little thing,
going and coming 50 old-fashioned.
Why, lots Of heads used 70 be thrust out
t. watch her and seeing how pretty, and
artless, and young she was, We used tn feeA,
that every one would try and protect her
and it was So Time after time, that night,
] saw motherly looking women, that ! did
not know, with their aprons tu their eyes,
sObhlng and crying and though | didn't
notice 1t then. | remembered it web
enough afterwards ah and always shall
while the way IN which some of the men
worked well-to do men, sho would have
thought themselves msulted If You Il offered
EN- , shIllings for their nights Job
showed how my poor little darling had
Won the hearts Uf all around. Often and
often, too, could have stopped this one
aud shook hands with that one for their
kindness only there's always that shut
upness about an Englishman that seems to
make him all heart at a time nf sorrow,
and piece Of solid buntncss at every
other time.


Well, it was now Just upon morning,
and We were all worked ~ to pitch Of
excitement that nothing could be like We
had been expecting to come upon the poor
child all the afternoon and night, but now
there could be no doubt Of it. She must
be here for we were now down in the
stoke e-hole, working again with more vigur
than had been shown for hours. Mems
faces were flushed, and their teeth set.
They didn't talk, only III whispers and
the stuH went flying ont as fast AS others
could take it away.


Easy, easy" the Sergeant Of police
kept saying, as he and two Of his men kept
us well lit with the strong light Of their
lanterns.


But the men tore on, till at last the
place was about cleared out, and we had
got to a mass Of brick wall sloping against
one side, and little wood work on the
other side, along with some rubbish.


And now was the exciting time, as we
went, four Of us, at the brick wall, dragged
at it, and raised it when some women up
above shrieked out, and We stood trem-
bling, for it had crumbled down and lay
all Of heap where We had raised it from.


Quick ~ shouted, huskily.


And we tore tlfe bricks away till there
was hardly a scrap left, and we stood star
ing at one another.


why, she amt here, after all - says a
policeman.


Elm blest, says another.


Bat | couldn't speak, for ! did net
know what to do but stood staring about
as if | expected next to see the little dar-
ling come running up again unhurt.


Try there, says the 5 rgeant.


Then he turned on his light into a dark

corner, where the bits of wood lay, and
darted across and threw back two or three
pieces, when ! gave cry, and fell on my
knees again. For there VA no mistake
this time had uncovered little foot,
and there was the little white sock all
blood stained and felt a great sob rise
from my br asst AS | stopped down and
kissed the little red spot


STEADY, said the Sergeant and then
quickly, as l knelt there, they reached
over me, and lifted piece after piece away,
till there, in the gray light Of the morning,
| was looking upon the little motionless
figure, lying there with her golden hair,
as had fancied, dsbbled in blood from a
cut in her little white forehead, where the
blood had run, but now lay hard and dry.
Covered with blood and scraps Of mortar,
Sha Law stretched nut thor. auJ 1 faIt -