Year: 1875

a Young man then, and strong one.
/ did good deal OF travelling through
the State of Pennsylvania, going from
county town to county town from the
beginning of the year to the close. l
was pleasant business enough, for there
was less railroading to be done then
than now, and more staging, and not
infreuuently lCug lies on canal boats
in the summer time. I was not often
hurried on my trips and took my own
time. My exact business at the coun-
ty seats consisted of hunting up titles
to obscure, wild lands, paying taxes
upon them and in getting them in
good condition for immediate sale.


In consequence of the nature of this
business knew a good deal about the
topography of Pennsylvania, and a
good deal that, at the time, was worth
knowing acout its roads and its inns.
All of the latter were bad, but some
were better than others. One of the
worst of them was at Tamaqua, and
possibly it is there yet, though when L
last slept under its roof it was in alto
getther such lamentable condition nj
decay, and its roof was such a very
leaky roof indeed, that l doubt not it
long ago disappeared cut of the sight
of men, and possibly out of their MEM
ories also-Tamaqua having achieved
a railroad since, and, of course, grown
as only railroad towns do grow.


/ arrived there in that December OF
1856, on Monday afternoon, which
was quite as cold and disagreeable a
Monday afternoon as / remember to
| have known, though, when compared
with the Tuesday that followed, it
might be considered rather warm than
otherwise. | was half frozen when l
/ got there, and was not quite thawed
/ out when left, for l had yielded to a
! burning curiosity to visit a cOal-mine,
and fancy that Tamaqua is nothing
but a coal-mine, with a thousand
mouths that every morning swallow
as many thousand miners and diSgOrge
them every night. 1t was then, and l
think it is now, very black and sooty
/ place, with a canal in front of it; a hill
| behind it, and the huge mine l have
spoken of under it. 1t was not only
black and sooty itself, but its people
were similarly black and sooty; and so
were its horses, or rather its mules, for
| it seemed to have few of the former and
a great many of the latter. Even its
dogs and cats partook of the general
soOtiness, and were evidently greatly
depressed by it. l was very cold when
! | went down into the mine-which had
its shaft Just behind the hotel-and l
was colder still when 1 came out of it.
l went to bed cold, and got up cold,
so cold indeed that l thought L would
never be warm any more. When l
! int hn r.
room, / looked out of the window and
saw that the ground was covered deep
with snow, and that it was still snow
ing as if it meant to exhaust the whole
winters supply in five minutes or so,
being very greatly pressed to do it i'm
mediately. l drank my cold, black
coffee. and ate my cold, tough beef
steak in gloomy silence, thinking more
than l had done for long time before
Of home, of its pleasant cheer and
warmth, and of the loving boys and
girls in it, who were even then, no
doubt, expecting my speedy coming,
fer this was already the morning of
Tuesday, and Thursday would be
ChriStras,s- -pay.-In that home l was
st. Nicholas himself, for it was that
brought home in the night the brave
tree, with its spreading green branch
es; it was that planted it firmly in
the middle of the wide parlor; it was 1
that found the infinite variety of toys,
cakes, bon tons and glittering baubles
which covered ii; it was that placed
the ever-beautiful image of the Christ
Child on the topmost bOugh; l that
lighted the many-colOred tapers, and l
that, at the auspicious moment, sud-
denly threw open the foiding-doOrs and
let in the children to behold the glory
of that wondr0us Christmas miracle.
In my frequent journeyings through
the State, | had seen many places
which wanted to get away from quick
ly, but never saw another that l want
ed to turn my back upon so much as
Tamaqua. 1t was not in any manner
a pleasant place, and beside, if these
nepheWs and niaceS of mine were to
have a Christmas tree at all in this
year, 1856, thought must go home
as fast as | could travel. | had come
to Tamaqua in stage, and l must go
away from it in stage-nOt to Phila-
delphia, exactly, but to the next rail-
road town, and that was distant, l
knew not how far.


arose, shivering, from the dreary
breakfast, and hunted up the landlord
of the inn. He was easily found, and
was ne better or warmer-lOOking a
man than his accommodations prom
ised him to be. | paid his eXtravagant
charges, and then informed him that 1
wished to reach as quickly as possible
the nearest railroad station, and to
take the first train for the East.
Nhn or iS q
um is twenty-five miles distant; you
cannot get there before night, IT at ali.
think you won't get there at ALL


All this was spoken reflectively, and
with deliberation.


If can get there by ten O'Clock to-
night, can l make the eastern express"
You can. but doubt if you can get
there at ALL


'Why?' I asked.


He was not man to waste words.
He only said:


The stage won't go-On account Of
the Storm


Are you sure of that?' l venture to
ask.


Quite sure,' and he closed his lips
with a snap, as if he knew all about 1t.


Who owns the stage"


i do he replied. And L won't let
it go, because the road lies over that
mountain yonder; it runs close to the
edges of precipices several hundred
feet high, it is rough and slippery, the
snow is deep now, and getting deeper
every minute, and don't believe any
horse could pull through it,


thought of the little children wait
ing for me yonder; of their disappoint-
ment if did not come. Then l said:
i am very anxious to go, and am
willing to ray well for being taken


The landlord leaning over the bar,
| asked:i


How much?'


l told him what 1 was willing to
pay.


'I'lI go get the stage ready he said.
After a II, 1t was only the higher price
hp had heen waiting for