The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1875-09-02
A Remarkable Escape and Thrilling
Incident.


A CORRESPONDENT of the Boston Aduer-
tsser, travelling in Germany, narrates this
thrilling incident:
1t was third-class carriage She was
a pleasant-faced young woman, going, I
think, for the first time after her marriage,
to visit her parents at her Odd home, to
show them their two fine grandchildren
AT least, this was the little history built
UP for her in my own brain from word
or two that | heard between her and her
young husband at the station as he put her
into the carriage with an affectionate fare
well. always watch with great interest
the iarewells and greetings of my fellow
travellers, and have fashion of thinking
out for myself the whole story of their
previous lives from the little hints that |
get in this way. 1t is to me as if | were
permitted to open the second volume of an
interesting romance and allowed 10 read
only one short scene in this, and asked to
guess as nearly as possible from this one
scene the previous course of the story and
the characters of the actors in it.
The youngest child was an infant of
about three orfOur months old-very quiet
and good; the other was pretty, restless
little girl of three, who could not be still
single moment, and kept the careful
mother busy by her questions and wants
and childish prattle. She was not at all
bashful, and soon talked 10 us also in such
that we were quite in love with the
charming little lassie, and begged her
mother not tocheck her innocent advances
TO u.
When We had been travelling together
for two or three hours, and began to feed
quite like old acquaintance, willie the
train was going at full speed, the mother
half rose from her seat to place the little
girl, who had left her place. again on the
opposite seat. How it happened l never
understood; it was one Of those accidents
which seem impossible, and, in fact only
happens once in hundred thousand
times; but, just as she stood half-erect,
holding her sleeping babe upon one arm
and her little, froiCsome maiden some
what awkwardly on the other, the little
girl made one of her sudden, quick move
ments, and in an instant she was gone
from our eyes,
What a moment The poor mother
stood fixed and rigid in exactly the same
attitude her arm still bent as though
around her child, gazing with wide-open,
fixed eyes at the place whence she van
ished She seemed literally suddenly
turned to. stone; with the rest of us the
case was almost the same. How long this
lasted do not know; doubtless it seemed
to US much longer than it really was.
Then the young mother seemed to come
to herself, and made sudden movement
as if she would spring through the
window after her vanished darling now
tar away. l caught her quickly fast and
held her while the kind young lady who
sat opposite to me took the baby from her
arms, and we all began to talk together,
no one listening TO the other about what
was to be done for her. Somehow we
managed, in our excitement, to do all
that was possible; the guard came, the
train was stopped and the mother, with
out speaking to one of US, or even look
ing at us, left the train, supporting herself
on one arm of the sympathizing guard
while he held the still sleeping baby fast
in the other
Of course the train must 20 with in
creased speed to make up for the moment
OF delay, so there was no chance for us to
see more Of the poor bercavcd mother
"Telcgraph TO us at the next station"
said one of the railroad functionarics to
the guard. Yes, yes, he sure to do it
Immediately" cried dozen voices; for in
some mysterious way the news of the &C
cident had run through the train as if by
electricity, ana a long row Of sympathizing
faces watched from the carriage the disap.
pearing forms of the mother and the guard.
1T will take her half an hour to reach
the spot, and it is just thirty-five minutes
now to the next station" said the stout
gentleman in the corner, taking out his
watch and holding it open in his hand, his
eyes fixed upon it. He had struck me as one
of the most selfish and disagreeable old !
gentlemen possible; scarcely answering a |
polite question from a neighbOr, and then
in the shortest and grufIcst manner posi- !
BILE; he had seemed completely absorbed
by his newspaper and his snuffbox, not
having noticed the little fairy in any way
except to glance at her now and then with
Ior OH Ill
laugh had disturbed his reading. Now
his whole soul seemed TO be fixed on the
watch before him, and he "chidcd the
tardy flight of time" again and again in
words more forcibe than ornamental.
There was a young would-be dandy in
one corner; light, straw-colored gloves. a
slender cane, an infant mustache, and an
eye glass stuck in one eye, seemed to be-
in his opinion, tokens of vast superiority
over the other travellers; and he spoke
very little, except occasionally to make
some superciliOus remark or ask some
question about third-cass travelling, ap-
parently to produce on US the impression
that he was young nObleman or prince,
perhaps, in disguise, seeing for himself /,
how ordinary mortals Jared. What a /
change had come over him now; the eye.
glass hung dangling hither and thither;
with the kid gloves, of which he had been /
so dainty, he had grasped the dusty facing /
of the door, and was strainng his gaze
first backward until the poor mother was
no longer to be seen, and then forward |
to the next station, where news was TO
meet us.
Now, at last We are there; the train
halts and one Of the guards runs quickly |
into the little office over which "Tele. |
graph" is painted. Everybody who can
possibly get his or her head out of the
window, on that side, thrusts it out. There /
is moment Of intense suspense; here .
comes the guard again, with dispatch in !
his hand he stands about midway be. |
tween the ends of the train and begins to |
read it out in his clear, loud, official tones:
"Child perfectly sound; alighted on a
pile of straw in field, not two feet from |
stone WALL"
Then what scene! Every man at the !
train windows has his hat off in a mo- |
ment and is waving it and cheering as if |
he would split his throat; every woman is
buried in her pockethandkerchief, crying
and laughing together. The stout old
egotist and the vain young dandy
have thrown their arms around each
other, and are embracing with that hearti.
ness that belongs to the sons of the Water
land although they never mot hefnra ,I,;s