The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-10-07
A Thrilling Railway Incident in Ger
many.

A European correspondent OF the Bos-
ton Advertiser tells this touching story in
a pleasant way:
It was third-class carriage. She was
a pleasant-faced young woman, going,
| 1 think, for the first time after her mar
riage, to visit her parents in her old 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
farewell. I always watch with great
interest the farewell 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 I were permitted to open the second
volume of an interesting romance, and
allowed to read only one short scene in
this, and asked to guess as nearly as pos
sible 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 Or four 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 to us
also in such a natural, coquettish, con-
descending way that we were quite in
love with the charming little lassie, and
begged her mother not to check her in
nocent advances to us.
When we had been travelling together
for two or three hours, and began to feel
quite like old acquaintance, while the
train was going at full speed, the mother
half rose from her seat to place the little
girl, who had left her glace again, on the
opposite seat. How it happened 1 have
never understood, it was one of those ac-
cidents which seem impossible, and, in
fact, only happen once in hundred thou
sand times; but just as she stood half
erect, holding her sleeping babe upon one
arm and her little frolicsome maiden
somewhat awkwardly on the other, the
little girl made one of her sudden, quick
movements, and in an instant she was
gone from our eyes.
What moment! The poor mother
stood fixed and rigid in exactly the same
attitude, her arms 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 lis much longer than it really
was. Then the young mother seemed
to come to herself, and made a sudden
movement as if she would spring through
the window after her vanished darling,
now far away. 1 caught her quickly
fast and held herwhilc 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 ex-
citement to do all that was possible; the
guard came, the train was stopped, and
the mother, without speaking to one of
US, or even looking at us, left the train,
supporting herself on the arm of the
sympathizing guard, while he held the
sleeping baby fast in the other.
Of course the train must 60 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 bereaved mother
Telegraph to us at next station" said
one of the railroad functionaries to the
guard. eyes, yes, to be sure to do it I'M
mediately," cried dozen voices for in
some mysterious way the news OF the
accident had run through the train as II
by electricity, and a long row of sympa-
thizing faces watched from the carriage
the disappearing of the mother and the
guard.
It will take her half an hour to reach
the SPOT, and it is Just thirty-fve 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 dlsa-
greeable old gentlemen possible; scarce
" answering polite question from q
neighbor, and then in the shortest and
sruffest manner possible; he had seemed
Completely absorbed by his newspaper
and his snuf-box, not having noticed the
little fairy in any way except to glance
at her now and then with q savage ex-
preston as her clear, childish 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 for
cible than ornamental.
There was young would-be dandy in
one corner; ig ght :, straw colored gloves,
q slender cane, an infant moustache, and
an eyeglass stuck in one eye, seemed to
be in his opinion, tokens Of vast superb
ority over the other travellers; and spoke
very little, except occasionally to make
some supercilious remark or ask some
question about third-class 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 fa1ed. What a
chanceahad come over him now; the eye
glass hung dangling hither, and thlther !;
with the kid gloves, of which he had
been so dainty, he had grasped the dusty
facing of the door, and was straining 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 "Telc-
| s.....> L. .a;nInl ErnruhndN who can