Year: 1875

him say, " Poor fellow" to some one a
he turned away.


We came upcn the biler quite half {
dozen yards out of its place, ripped right
across where the rivets WENT while, a:
for the engine, it was one curious bit Of
iron tangle-rods and bars and pieces ol
iron and brass twisted and turned and
bent about, like so much string and the
great fly-wheel was broken into a half
dozen pieces.


This showed us now where the great
cellar-like place-the stoke-hole - was
and we worked now down toward that
but still clearing the way, for how could
L tell whore the child might be ? But il
was weary, slow work every now and
then rigging up shears, and fastening W
rope and pulley, and sheaf, to haul NJ
some great piece of iron or beam, and
willing as every one was, we made very
little progress in the dark night.


Once we had to batter down wall
with scaflold pole; for the police de-
clared it to be unsafe, and the sergean,
would not lot us work near it until it was
down and all the while l was raging
like madman at the check. But it was
no use and the man was right. He was
doing his duty, and, not like me, search
ing for the little crushed form of my darl-
ing in the cruel ruins. The people made
me worse, for they would talk and say
what they thought, so that l could hear.
One would say she might yet be alive, an
other would shake his head, and so on
when | kept stopping in spite of all l
tried not listening to what they said, and
it all seemed so much lost time.


The engine room was now cleaned, and
in spite of my trembling and horror a,
every big piece was disturbed nothing
had been found; but all at once, as W,
were trying to clear behind the biler, anC
get down to the stoke-hoe one Of the mel
gave Il cry. l caught at the man nearest
to me, and then lights, rubbish, the
strange wild scene, all seemed to rur
around me and l should have fallen dowr
only the man held me up, and some one
brought me some brandy.


was myself again directly, and stun.
bling over the bricks to where a knot Of
men had collected, and policeman had
his bulls-eye lantern open, and they were
stopping to look at something that lay
just under beam they had raised-tc
the left of where expected she would be
found.


Smashed" l heard some one, with
his back to me, say and then some one
else, &c Poor little thing, she must have
run past here"


Then with my throat dry and my eyes
staring, crept up and thrust two men
aside, right and left, when the others
made way for me without speaking, and
when | got close up | covered my face
with my hands and softly knelt down.


The policeman said something, and
some one else spoke cheerily, but could
not hear what they said, for my every
thought was now upon what was going
to see. And now, for the first time, the
great binding tears came gushing from
my eyes, SO that when l slowly took
down first one hand and then the other, |
was blinded and could not see for few
moments till stopping little lower,
there, smashed and 1attened, covered
with mortar and dust, was 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-it was so different sight
to what expected to see ; and then l
leaped up and laughed and shouted and
danced-the relief was so great.


Come on I" cried again and then,
for an hour or more we were at it, work
ing away till the light began to come in
the East and tell US it was day


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 that trotted
backward and forward every day with
my dinner basin. She was too little to do
it, but then, bless you, that was our pride I;
for my wife combed and brushed and
dressed her up on purpose. And fine and
proud we used TO be Of the little thing,
going and coming-so old-fashioned.
Why, lots Of heads used to be thrust out
to watch her, and seeing how pretty and
artlcss and young she was, we used to feel
that every one would try and protect her
and it was so. Time after time, that
night, | saw motherly-looking women
that l did not know, with their aprons to
their eyes, sobbing ard crying; and
though didn't notice ii then, | remem-
bered 1t we'll enough afterward-ah and
always shall, while the way some Of the
men worked-well-to-d men, who would
have thought themselves insulted il you
had offered 'em five shillings for their
nights job-showed how my poor little
darling had won the hearts OF all around,
Often and often since, too, / could have
stopped this one ard shook hands with
that one for their kindness only there's
always that shut-upness about an English
man that seems TO make him all heart at /
\ time Of sorrow, and piece of solid |
at any other time.


Well, IT was now just upon morning,
md we were all worked up to a pitch Of
excitement that nothing could be like
We had been expecting to come upon the
'oor child all the afternoon and night
'ut now there could be no doubt of it.
'he must be here for we were now down