Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1866-12-21
Alistellaneuns Selettions.
WHAT AN ENGINEER TOLD.

TOdu WAS ldlIli 1No IIdNoiSu OFeT IL every
day, or nearly every day, of my life.
For good while I've had the same en-
gine in charge-the San Francisco-the
prettiest engine on the road, and as well
managed, if ! say it, as the best.
1t was Southwestern road, running
we will say from A. to L. At A. my good
old mother lived at z. l had the sweetest
little wife under the sun, and baby and
l always had dollar or two put by for a
rainy day. l was an odd kind of a man.
Being shut up with the engine, watching
with all your eyes and heart and soul, in
side and out, don't make man talkative.
Ny wifes name was Josephine, and l
called her Jo, Some people called me un.
sociable, and couldn't understand how a
man could feel friendly without saying ten
words an hour. So, though l had few
old friends-dear ones tool did not have
so many acquaintance as most people, and
did not care to have. The house which
held my wife and baby was the dearest
place on earth to me, except the old house
which held my mother up in A.
never belonged to a club, or mixed my
self up with any stranger in any such way,
and never should if it had not been for
CRANKY. You see CRANKY was one of the
shareholders, handsome, snowy fellow.
l liked to talk with him, and we were
friends. He often rode from T. to A., and
back again, and once be said:
"You ought to belong to the Scientific
Club, Gueldon."
"Never heard of it" said l.
81 am a member" said he "We meet
once fortnight and have a jolly good
time. We want thinking men like you.
We have some among US now. III pro-
pose you, if you like"
| was fond of such things, and had
idea that l fancied might be worth some
thing. But then an engineer don't have
night and days to himself, and the club
would have one evening fortnight from
Jo said:
"I''ll ask her. If she likes it, yes2"
"Ask whom 2" said he.
'Jo.," said |.
'If every man had asked his wife, every
mans wife would have said, cant spare
you, my DEAR and we should have had
no club at al" said CRANKY.
+ But made no answer. At home | told
Jo. She said:
81 shall miss you, Ned; but you love
such things, and then if CRANKY belongs
to it, they must be superior men,"
"No doubt" said !.
at isn't everybody who could be made
a member" said Jo. "Why of course you
must say yes"
So said yes, and CRANKY proposed
me. Thursday fortnight l went with
him to the rooms. There were some men
with brains there, and some without. The
real business of the evening was the sup
per, and so it was every evening.
I'd always been temperate man. ac-
tually did not know what effect wine
would have upon me; but coming to drink
more of it than ever had at the club ia
bic, l found it put the steam on. After SO
many glasses I wanted to talk; after so
many more | did.
l seemed like somebody else, the words
were so ready. My little ideas came out
and were listened to, | made sharp hits; l
INDUCED in repartee; l told stories; l even
came to puns. heard somebody say to
CRANKY :-"By George, that's man worth
knowing. / thought him dull at first"
Yet knew it was better to be quiet Ned
Guelden, with his ten words an hour, than
the wine-made wit was.
l was sure of it when, three hours after,
l stumbled up stairs to find Jo. waiting for
me, with her babe on her breast.
"You've been deceiving me-" said 10.
81 suspected it, but wasn't sure. A
scientific club couldn't smell like bar
room."
(Which means l do" said l waving in
the middle of the room like signal flag
at a station, and seeing two Joes.
"And look like one," said Jo.; and she
went and locked herself and the baby up
in the spare bed-oom.
Ned" said she, "do you think
a thing so much like bottled-up and
stamped-down demon as steam is, is fit
to be put into the hands of drunken
man? And some day, mark my words,
the time will come when not only Thurs !
day night but all the days of the week
will be the same. I've often heard you
wonder what the feelings of an engineer
who has about the same as murdered |
a train full of people must be, and you will
know if You don't stop where you are. A
steady hand and clear head have been
your blessings all these years. Don't
throw them away, Ned. If you don't