The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1873-07-10
CATCHING THE EARLY TRAIN.

Max Adeler. writing in the Satur-
day evening Post, says: one of the
greatest delights of boarding in the
country for the summer is the plea
sure man derives from his efforts
to catch the morning train by which
he must reach the city and his place
of business. When he gets out of
bed he looks at his watch, and finds
that he has plenty of tine, SO he
dresses leisurely, and sits down to
breakfast in calm serene state OF
mind. Just as he cracks his first
egg he hears the up train. He starts,
jerks out his watch, compares 1t with
the clock, and finds that it is eleven
minutes too slow, and that he has on
ly four minutes in which to get to
The depot. In a fearful hurry he
tries to scoop the egg out OF the
shell, but it burns his fingers, and the
skin is tough, and after tooling with
it moment, 1t mashes into a hope
less mass, and he gets his hands
smeared he drops the whole thing
in disgust, grabs hot roll, and
scalds his mouth with quick mouth
full of coffee, then he stutfs his roll
into his mouth, while his wife hands
him his satchel, and tells him she
thinks she hears the whistle. He
plunges madly around the room tor
his umbrella then kisses his wife as
we'll as he can with his mouth full,
says goodbye to the children, in a
lump and makes for the door. Just as
he gets to the gate he finds that
he has forgotten his duster. and be
charges back after it, snatches it up,
and tears down the walk in frenzy.
He doesn't like to run through the
village, because that would be un-
dignified, but walks furiously. He
goes faster and faster. Halt way
down he does hear the whistle, for
certain. He wants to run, but he
knows that he will start up that yell
low dog there by the sidewalk if he
does. Then he actually sees the
train coming 10 at the depot, and he
feels that he must make rush. lie
does. The yellow dog becomes ex-
cited and tears after him. six other
dogs join in the chase. one after the
other and bark furiously and frolIc
around his legs. Small boys contli-
butte to the excitement as he goes
past by whistling on their fingers
and the men at work on the new
meeting house knock off TO look at
him and laugh. He feels ridiculous
but he must catch that tram. He
gets desperate when he has to slack
up until two or three women, who
are on the sidewalk discussing the
servant girl question and the price of
butter, scatter to 1T him pass. He
arrives within one hundred Yards IF
the depot with dust flying in the
wind, coat tails horizontal and the
yellow dog nipping at his heels, just
as the train begins to move. He puts
on extra pressure, and resolves to
make that tram or perish He gains
it just as the last car is going past.
He seizes the hand rail, and is vio-
lently jerked around once or twice,
but finally lands on the step on his
knees, and is hauled in by his coat
collar by the brakeman, hot, mad
and dusty, with trousers torn across
the knees, his shins bruised and two
or three ribs in his umbrella broken.
Just as he gets comfortably into the
car, the train stops, backs up on the
siding, and lays there for half an
hour while the engineer fixes brok
en- valve. Then he is madden than
ever, and determines he will move in
town to morrow, and swesrs, while
he looks out of the window and sees
the dogs that followed him engaged
In contest over a bone which the
yellow dog found on the platform OF
the station; and he registers silent
VOW to devote his first holiday to
hunting up that dog, and Draining
him with a club.