Year: 1873

| any message, ma am, Whatever Is
the mater of it. Haven't dropped
your badly out of the window, any
where, have ye?"


"Land O mercy, no! but you see
this little creetur on my lap; she's
somebody's baby that got up nd
went out to the Springfield depot to
fix about her trunk that she'd sent
ahead nd l wanted to know if
she'd got aboard maybe long with
the baggage, or if she'd got left, OF
how about it,"


Decidedly case of desertion,
conductor put in Madame"


Mrs. Tucker was mad. ] do not
shrink from using the expression,
for she told me so herself after
ward. She was mad; her color
blazed up suddenly, and her eyes
fl shed. I secretly rubbed my
hands with joy, for saw that my
adversary was about to get her
deserts.


81 don't see why you need to
keep saying that, Miss r'-(here
was a scientific touch, for Madame
was not in her first youth, and
WINGED but the best of women
can sting under pressure, like other
honey-bees y 81 shouldn't care my
self to take that sort O view of a
feller. critterj but / s'spose you're
dreadful sickly, and that's kinder
spilin' to the temper, l know /;
makes folks Grabbed"


never saw a woman so neatly
finished Before! Madame closed
her beautiful mouth, and curled its
deep corners in an utterly indie
sclibable expression of contemp'
and disgust. But she subsidized, ant
pretty soon we all nodded for the
conductor left the scene in the mid
die of Mrs. fuckers solo, anC
that worthy woman slept the sleeI
of the just till we arrived at Wor
cester. But here q new complica.
ton awaited us. The conductor
announced that we should have tc
spend the rest of the night there
for freight train had run off the
track 10 miles beyond, and We
could not get by at least before five


in the morning. So we all swarm


ed over to the Bay State House


Madame's husband and mother, one


on each side of her, burdened with
all her luxuries, among which
now perceived a cushion and three
novels in a shawl-strap, with a foot.
stool hanging therefron. 1t was
pleasant to hear her fret all the
way through the clinging fog.
Somebody's baby never woke once,
hut before we left the station Mrs.
Tucker grabbed the unhappy con-
ductor and exhorted him if a tele-
gram came to send it to her right
away she still clung to the hope
that baby's mother had got into
another car and would turn up like
Mr.. Micawber's fortune, at the last
minute. AS for the small boy who
sat beside me, | could not hut OBJ
serve that he sat perfectly still till |
was Just going out of the door, with
one green eye fixed upon my mo-
tions as soon as he felt safe, he
snatched his cap and fed like an
alarmed rabbit directly the other
way. He lived in Worcester, and
have wondered he didn't return
with a big brother and inflict some
kind of revenge on me per-
haps he hadn't one. But l snatch
ed fearful Joy from the consider
alton that / had reduced one object
ionable boy to the verge of distract
ion and good behavior my life was
not altogether in vain. / am sorry
to state, that when we got to the
hotel they could not give one sleepy
soul a place to rest, except the
ample parlors, for there had been a
regatta there the day before, and
inst now the hordes of barbarian
students had subsided from their
annual row and rampage, the sub
dued and sleepy servants were
picking up broken crockery, bat
tered candlesticks, cigar ends, bits
of furniture and shattered gas
shades the infective police force
still fingered about the door and
took it out in swearing, having out
lived their usefulness some time.
So we all camped out in the par
lors. Madame Moi possessed her
self of the easiest sofa and stretch
ed herself at length, while her hus-
band sat on the floor and her mo-
ther sat on foot-stool beside her.
Mrs. Tucker got chair in the cor
ner, and somebody's baby, at last
aroused by the air, motion and
lights, ligted its head and began to
roar nightly. In vain did the
poor woman trot, and dance, and
hug it; it yelled the louder still.
Madame stopped her ears and closed
her eyes in vain. At last she went
into a genuine hysteric fit, and
then the nights campaign began.
/ observed that all the getlemen
Except her husband), with the
pusillanimity of their sex, fed from
the scene of action at once. / did
hear one, a man of evident expert
ence, growl under his breath;


"Better put her under the hy-
drant :" but the rest folded their
coats like the Arabs and as silently
stole away. ! don't mean stole in
the sense in which Arabs do steal,