Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-05-01

at his pleasure, or he may take a hot
oyster or a bite Of cold chicken, with a
cup Of coffee or glass, at Poughkeep-
sle Then, after five hours of delight
fol travel, although the mercury has
lowered about zero all day, he arrives
in Albany before the sun sets. and ia
presently housed.
So luxurious is the travel of TO-DAY !
1t dehes Jack Frost, and he has but
two revenges. He may snap the rail.
or he may build barricade of snow.
Yet in the event of serious accident or
obstruction the remedy on we'll ordered
road is so simple that the respected an.
cestor who traveled in 1910, If he could
only know it, would be full of admir.-
tion, and possibly regret his premature
translation. Thus in the great
January thaw and rain of this year the
smoothly continuous train, which stops
only half dozen times between Rosh-
ester and New York, had nearly reach
ed the Stockport bridge, little above
the city of Hudson, upon the Hudson
river when it stopped quietly. One Of
the passengers who was reading when the
train stopped, looked out and saw where
1t was, and remembering other winter.
when the bridge had been swept .wav
by the drifting ice, knew at once the
probable difficulty. 1t was as he sup
posed--the bridge was gone. Fancy
that travelling ancestor in 1910 stopped
In his journey to Albany by the loss of
bridge when the thaw had made the
ice too weak to bear ! Imagine the in
finite delays. doubts, consultations. ex-
pedlents, inexpressibls discomforts
But his comfortable descendant sat
quietly reading until the difficulty
should disappear. The conductor tele-
graPhed for orders to Albany. He re-
celved directions to return, and the
tram rolled steadily back again until it
stood in the Albany station, upon the
ARCHITECTURAL glories and comforts of
which, indeed, that ancestor might in
dulge in some dry criticism. But
scarcely Was the train stopped, when,
before there could be that disturbing
wonder what next 2" with the stimuli
taneous disappearance of every one who
could answer the question, the door
opened and proclamation was made
that the train, including that very car,
would proceed by the way of Chatham
-Four Corners to New York.
Then the bewildered ancestor would
have seen his descendants fastening to
little window to say to their wives and
mothers, a hundred and fiftv miles away,
that they would not arrive until later
hour; and some modern wag would
have told him that nowadays a man
could not easily travel more than an
hour or two's speaking distance from
home. Now, then, times up. Would
the reverend ancestor take drop Of
tea before starting? And at the hour
the train rolled off again, moving gent
ly toward Chatham, out of time !; gent
ly back again to Hudson, below the
broken bridge, having made violent
acute angle; and then steadily and
smoothly it wound along the edge of
the frozen river, in the moonlight, and
reached New York in the early morn
ing. This is the way in which to-day
We 60 to and from Albany, in the most
rigorous season. Contrast it with the
journeys of our grandfathers thither!
And with what unimaginable comfort
and rapidity will our grandfather's
great-grandchileren make the same
journey !-Editor's Easy Chair, IN
Harper's Magazine for april.