The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-02-12
A NIGHT I'm A FIRsT-Cr.Ass RAIL
a WAY CARRIAGE.

with my HUSBAND W At"t1' tbfnrs
wedding tour. Since then many o,ass If
have changed. AS LOOK In .n1 eh color
NAV be that my face has not 50 nf that
as IL had then, but the nne rw a had only
iourney remains as fresh as
set out yesterday. ; o+berd dow ana
twe"' hard TO kindle the embers Of my
lost enthusiasm, but l might as Wen nope
70 change my steady sober self into the
happy, laughing girl OF twenty years ago.
1t was, as l said before, our wedding
ton and we had loitered so long and SO
pleasantly on the way, that although it was
summer when We started, winter was fast
closing in before we could make up our
minds to quit Paris, and follow out our
original plan of wintering in Italy. An
uncle Of my husbands was living in Mar
settles, and that was to be our first resting
place. 1t was Christmas eve before our
last purchases were finally made, and we
and u belongings were whizzing down in
en- express train to Marseilles. / car per-
fectly recall my feeling on the morning of
the oath Of December in the year IS.
1t was bitterly cold when we left Paris,
showing and hailipg heavily at intervals,
and all the bright weather we had been
ENJOYING for weeks was gone. / felt gloomy
and depressed, and as if a new chapter in
nv life were about to begin. I was very
sorry to leave Paris, and felt very ner-
vous ut meeting relations quite new
to me; and being, moreover, not 8 lit,
tie spoiled by the exclusive devotion OF
my husband, l felt slightly aggrieved and
decidedly jealous at the evident pleasure
with which he was looking forward to
meeting his own people. He grew ami
mated in bis description of his favorite
cousin, Emily, and expressed 8 strongdesire
that VIC should be like sisters and as for
Charley, be was the handsomest and incest
fellow in the world, and so on, until the
shortness Of my answers and the general
sulkiness OF my manner damped his ardor,
and my Having recourse to the usual femi-
nine cloak for iil-humor, a headache, finally
reduced him to silence. The winters day
slowly wore away. We tried to get through
the weary hours by all the usual travelling
articles. We read assiduously the little
green volumes Of fiction popular along the
French line we ate and drank at the
regulation stations, and we took the regu-
lation little snatches Of uncomfortable
sleep. So the hours went by, and it was
almost dark when We came pulling and
whiZzing into the grand Lyons station,
about 7 o'clock.
Hitherto we had been free from fellow
passengers, much to my enjoyment; but
here we were Joined by q lady. She was
much wrapped up in shawls, and her IRA
yelling hood was closely drawn over her
face. Her dark eyes cleaned litfully from
under it with an unnatural brightness.
Her mouth had a cold, sarcastic express
sion, aud a Soupc0n Of a moustache dis
figured her upper lip. When she spoke,
in answer to some slight civility OF my
husbands, her voice was hard and repul-
siye, Nv husband made several efforts to
enter into conversation, but she received
them 50 coldly that we left her to herself.
Sill she kept a furtive and cat-like watch
unon us, which had an irritating effect
upon my nerves. After q time my hus-
band fell asleep, but do what I would, I
could not, although worn out with fatigue,
follow his example.
was in that excited state of mind when
tribes assume an unnatural Importance,
and although 10 some it may appear al
most laughable, yet | am sure a nervous
reader will understand me when I say
llluL lIit IlD.Ohcu o5llluSSo u luC Snt iloSO1
the regular breathing Of my husband, the
uuceasing swing, swing of the lamp above
my head, and, above all, the presence of
our fellow passenger in the corner, be-
came to me perfectly intolerable. at
last, I resolutely shut my eyes, and after
atime fell into a kind Of semi-unconscious-
ness.
While in this state it seemed to me that
our opposite neighbor performed the most
extraordinary antics. | thought she lay
at the bottom of the carriage and dragged
herself slowly and stealthily towards US.
She got gradually nearer and nearer; her
face came quite close to mine her breath
was hot on my cheek her hand was on
nv mouth I gave a loud, piercing shrek,
and opened my eyes. The elderly lady
was in her place by the window, looking q
little Hurried and agitated but that was
10 be accounted for by my startling her.
Nv husband was much alarmed, and could
not account for the nervous tremor which
seemed to have seized upon me. l chung
close to him, and whispered the cause of
my fright.
AS / spoke in English, l thought myself
secure but l felt her cold eyes upon me,
and my husbands assurances that it was
only a dream failed to calm me. She was
most anxious in her inquiries about me.
She had been looking at me asleep, she
said, and saw that | was struggling with a
nightmare or bad dream; at the first sta
ton l ought to have some strengthening
tisane or coffee. After this she became
quite lively and chatty, but her converse
ton was to me more unpleasant than her
ci)apnn She kant m IN nnnplSlnp fra nf
questions as to where we were coming
~from-whore were We going to. She was
herself an officers widow in Lyons, and
was going to see her sou at Marseilles. 1t
provoked me exceedingly to see that my
husband considered her an intelligent and
rather agreeable companion. He told her
all our plans, and they got on together
very pleasantly.
Later, on we came into a large station.
"Here," said our fe~llow-traveller, after
consulting with great attention the Rail
toay Guide, " we are to wait twenty mi
nutes. l would recommend that Monsieur
would alight and get Madame a cup of
good strong coffee, and the same for me, if
Monsieur would have the kindness"
l felt the most curious dislike to be left
alone, but l was ashamed to give utterance
to such a childish fear, and my husband
was too anxious to get me the coffee to
listen to my assurance that did not want
it.. I strained my head out ofthe window,
but soon lost sight of him in the darkness.
Thought I felt the ~premonitory jerk of
the train, and / looked round a~nxiously.
The bell rang out loudly, and / started to
my feet imam agony. "Sit down." said
oon,n,n;on nuiatIy Hthat 10 nofbinr ,,