Wilmington journal., 1876-01-07
A GERMAN RAILWAY STORY.

her IN my own brain from WORD [
two that heard between h er and he
young husband at the station, as h
put her into the carriage with an affec
tionate farewell. I always watch wit
great interest the farewells aud greet
ings my fellow-travellers, and hav
a fashion of thinking out for mysel
the whole story of their previous live
from the little hints that get in thl
way. It is to me as If 1 were per
mltted to open the second volume of Al
interesting romance, and allowed t.
read only one short scene in this aul
| asked to guess as nearly as possible
from this one scene the previous cours
of the story and the characters of th
/ actors in it.
The Youngest child was an infant o
| three or four months old-vsry quie
and good; the other was pretty. rest
| less little girl of three, who could no
be still single moment and KEPT th'
careful mother busy t,y her questions
| and wants and private prattle. Sh'
| was not at all bashful, and soon talkeC
to us also in such natural, coquettish
! coudescending way, that we were quit,
i'll love with the little lassie, and begged
her mother not to check her innocent
advances to us.
We had been travelling together fol
two or three hours, aud began to fee
like old acqusintances. The mother
half rose from her seat to place the
little girl, who had left her place again
on the opposite seat. How it hap
pened l have never understood +; il
was one of those accidents which seem
impossible but just as she stood
half erect, holding her sleeping babe
upon one arm, and her little frochlick.
some maiden somewhat awkwardly on
the other, the little girl made a sudden
movement, and in an instant was gone
rom our eyes.
What moment ! The poor mother
stood fixed and rigid in exactly the
Sc me attitude, her arm still bent as
though around her child. gazing with
wide open fixed eyes at the place
where she vanished. She seemed lit
etally suddenly turned to stone with
the rest of us the Gaze was almost
the same. How long it lasted
1 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 a sudden
movement as if she would spring
through the window after her vanished
darling, now far away. [ caught her
quickly fast and held her, while the
kind young lady who sat opposite to
mo took the Eaby 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,
without speaking to one of US, or even
looking at us, left the train, support
ing herself on one arm of the sympa-
thizing guard, while he held the still
sleeping baby fast in the other.
OF course the train must go with in
creased speed to make up for the mo-
ment of delay, so there was no chance
for US to see more of the poor bereaved
mother. Telegraph to us at the next
station said one of the railroad men
to the guard. Yes, yes, be sur, to do
it immediately cried a dozen voices
for IN some mysterious way the news
of the accident had run through the
train as if by electricity. and a long
row of sympathizing faces watched
from the carriage the disappearing
forms of the mother and the guard.
1t will take her half an hour TO reach
the spot, and it is just thirty-fve min
utes 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 CT the most selfish and dis
agreeable old gentlemen possible {;
scarcely answering polite question
from a neighbor, and then in the
shortest and grutfest manner possible;
he had seemed completely absorbed by
his newspaper and his box OF snuff,
not having noticed the little fairy in
any way except to glance at her now
and then with savage expression as
her clear childish laugh had disturbed
his reading. Now his whole soul
seemed to be fixed on the watch before
him, and he 'chided the tardy flight of
time again aud again lii words more
forcible than ornamental
There was young would be dandy
n one corner light, strawcolored
gloves, a slender cane an infant mus
tache, aid an eye-glass stuck in one
eye, seemed to be in his opinion, to-
kens Of vast superiority over the other
traveierS, aud he spoke very little ex-
cept occasionally to make some super
cllious remark or ask some question
about third-class travelling. apparently
to produce on us the impression that
he was yOnng 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 straining his gaze first
backward until the poor mother was
no longer to be seen. and then forward
to the next station where the 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
Telegraph is painted. Everybody
who can.possibly get his or her head
out Of the window on that side thrusts
it out. There is u moment of intense
suspense; here comes the guard again
with dispatch in his hand; he stands
about midway between the ends of
the train, and begins to read it out in
his clear, loud, official tones: Child
perfectly sound; alighted on pile OF
S'io" III % ACAu, IL ~ L"O 1NOC AAO" q
stone wall !
Then What scene ! Every man at
the train windows has his nat off in a
moment aud is waving it and cheer
ing as If he would split his throat
every woman is buried in her pocket
handkerchief, crying and laughing to-
gether. The stout old egotist aud the
vain youngdandy have throwntb cir arms
around each other, and are embracing
with that heartiness that belongs to
the sons of the Vaterland, although
they never met before this morning.
The stiff old maid in the corner has
shaken my hands in both hers SO many
times that feel they are quite sore.
All the inhabitants of the little vii
lage come running around the train
what is 1t Where is he? Ts it tbs
Kaiser himself, or is it the Kronpriz ?
they asked in bewildered excitement
at the sight of ours.
But all the Kaisers and Kronprinzes
in Europe put together could not have
aroused the flood of feeling that surgeG
through that train. It was sympathy