Trains ran only a portion of the way, and the
remainder of the distance was travelled by stage-coaches.
The distance from Maiden to Hampton is about five hundred miles. I had
not been away from home many hours before it began to grow painfully
evident that I did not have enough money to pay my fare to
Hampton. . . .
By walking, begging rides both in wagons and in the cars, in some way,
after a number of days, I reached the city of Richmond, Virginia, about
eighty-two miles from Hampton. When I reached there, tired, hungry,
and dirty; it was late in the night. I had never been in a large city
before, and this rather added to my misery. When I reached Richmond I
was completely out of money. I had not a single acquaintance in the
place, and, being unused to city ways, I did not know where to go. I
applied at several places for lodging, but they all wanted money, and
that was what I did not have. Knowing nothing else better to do, I
walked the streets. In doing this I passed by many food-stands where
fried chicken and half-moon apple pies were piled high and made to
present a most tempting appearance. At that time it seemed to me that
I would have promised all that I expected to possess in the future to
have gotten hold of one of those chicken legs or one of those pies.
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