The inhabitants of Shady Grove , Furness Vale, were greatly alarmed early on Sunday morning to hear of a neighbour's child being lost. It appears Mr James Sharples, foreman tailor to Mr. Mosscrop of Whaley Bridge, went to Stockport on Saturday afternoon to buy a dresser, leaving by the quarter to three train, and taking with him his daughter Polly, aged about five years. On arriving at Stockport he purchased his dresser, and a good bed of flocks, as he is about to leave the neighbourhood for a colder region, (Kinder Scout, near Hayfield) he means taking care of James by creeping over head in his bed of flock after snipping hours. How the child came to be lost is a mystery. After paying for his dresser he went to see his brother Jack and stayed gilling rather too long; on arriving at the station the train was gone, so James would go and have another gill wi' Jack, leaving little Polly at the station , in the waiting room, consoling her with a few goodies, and telling her he would be back directly. Bad luck! He stayed rather too long wi' Jack again, giving him a few styles of broad cloth, and now and then a song; on arriving at the station about midnight, he found that his train had gone before ten o'clock, and his daughter too; the child having been found by a Mr. Cook, of Chapel-en-le-Frith, nearly heart-broken, he brought her along with him and took her to his own home, Chapel station, sending her home on Sunday morning to her mother, who was nearly heart-broken with the loss of her child, and to make things more sad for Martha, Jimmy never turned up till Sunday night, after being rambling about nearly all day in Stockport, in search of his child, besides sending the bellman round the town and outskirts, and giving her description to the police, and offering a good reward for her restoration. On arriving at Furness and finding that his lost child had landed safe at home, he took a run jump into the Soldier Dick, and there gave them his horrible journey of buying the dresser. When he wakened out Sunday morning his yed opened and shut, and tears rolled down his cheeks as big as t'quart pot on th' table, he shed a gallon o' tears he wor shure. It wor biggest trouble he ever had in his life, sin he wor wed to their Matt. He said haum sure I'm daft, he said if it had bin anybody else, haw should ha' laft up my sleeve, bur it wines button. So he went home arm in arm wi' their Matt.
