The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-11-27
From Appleton's Journal
BY the Thickness of a
Button.

"Ah! there you come at last, do your The
punch has had full head of steam on this
long Time" cried old engineer Zimmerman
TO several sturdy figures, who, deep buried in
thick furs, that left only red noses and geam-
ing eyes exposed, came putting and stamping
and covered with snow into the engineers
loom at Burelitz.
1t is New Years eve, and the table in the
engineers room is covered with an execution
ally neat white cloth, and on it, next the stove,
stands the mighty bowl at which old Zim-
hermann is vigorously working; while the
clouds of steam that rise from it, and the
empty rum. TASKS that stand by it, leave no
doubt that its contents are devoted to go at
high pressure into Threats of boiler-iron-a
genuine engineers punch.
"That devil! Uncle Zimmerman; hard
old Sylvester's day this, eh?" cried the new
corners shaking off the snow and pulling off
furs, jackets, caps and onter boots.
"What do you sugar-babies know of hard
days in your glass houses, on your machines
that rock you with their easy springs as gen.
tie as if you were in your nurses arms? You
ought to have stood with us back in $50 and
40 on the little machines that went so hard
and jolting you felt every jog of the rails from
the soles of your feet up under your caps, and
that wouldn't bulge foot if the snow lay
hand's-breadth deep on the rails; and then
we stood all out-of-doors, night and day,
without screen or shelter, summer and win
ter, the hottest day in July and the coolest
day in December, without any protection but
your coats and buffalo-outside coat, that
had been well drubbed, 1 tell you, by the
storms. That was something like hard times.
But what do you know about it? For that
matter, what's the worst you have TO do to
what they've put our Hennig through here
to-day, who has come off A 1 from his exam
nation? And here he is now."
"Hallo! old fellow. How was it? How
did it go? Did they make you sweat? Come.
EXPLANATIONS poured on the newcomer from
all sides.
''Less noise, therep' broke in the harsh
voice of old Zimmerman. "Sit down? Yes !!
Punch? No! Hornig and Franz aren't here
yet. They are coming in with the freight.
1t is twenty minutes behind now, and must
be in in minute or two more. Glass and
glass about for all, that's fair play"
swell, now" began the young candidate,
wiping from his forehead the Precipitation,
that broke out afresh at the recollection,
"they gave it to me well, can tell you. 1
was examined by the new rules, you know.
There sat row of chaps, guess rod long,
and nary one Of 'em except our engine-mas-
ter, did ever see on an engine or in a shop.
And our engine-master wasn't the worst,
either. They questioned me sharp, that's a
fact, right up to the handle. But one could
understand them, and give them some sort of
reasonable answers. But what the other fell
lows asked me didn't more than half under
stand. 'Twan't any railroad lingo they used !;
and what they were driving at-well, yes,
know-Pd looked it up in the books Superin-
tendent Herzel lent me, Just to be able to an
NQunr onufhipn IF in
never had any occasion for it, and don't be-
lieve ever shall il live to be hundred"
sand what in thunder was it all, then ?"
began one of the crowd, lighting his cigar,
just as the door was suddenly thrown open.
A cloud of snow burst in. and out of it en-
erged the dim forms of two new arIvals-the
expected engineers of the two engines that
had brought in the belated freight train.
"Bravo! Glad you've got herep was the
greeting that met them. CHOW pass round
the punch, and let's have the solids il from
what's-his-name's."
"Here's bit of roast for one thing" cried
one of the last arrived, and raised to view a
half-saorched hare, that he held up by the
hind-egs.
"Where did you get that creature? And
what are you going to do with him?"
"This fellow wished to do himself the hon
or OF making a part of Hennig's treat to-
night, but probably was in too much of
hurry, and did himself little too brown"
laughed the possessor of the hare. The red
lights of my Pluto routed him out of the
hole in the snow where he sat crouched on
the bank as comfortable as you please, and he
began to run wager with our train. For
two or three minutes, perhaps, l saw the stu
pid, little black rascal Swimming over the
snow in the second track alongside the en-
CINE. I gave short riff! That scared him;
he put on squirt, got ahead into the red
light of the signal lantern-perhaps that
blinded him-he doubled before the engine as
he would before dog, right across the track
looked to the other side to see when he
would come in sight again, but he didn't ap-
pear. l thought he was either killed or had
run back under the train, and forgot the Great
ure. But when we'd got to Seestadt, and
the CRATE of my engine was being cleaned out,
the fellow down underneath there with the
poker called out from the ash-hole: 'Hor-
mig, Hornig, you've brought roast with you.
I believe the fire of the Pluto has scorched
the fellows brains. Come down and seev
Sure enough, as true as l sit here, there lay
my hare underneath in my ash-box, dead and
half stewed. The ash-box must have caught
him on the jump. He was in hurry to be
roasted"
Loud laughter followed the young engi-
neer's story.
Snow laugh, will you, you stupid block
heads, at the poor beastp' growled thinner
mann, as he filled the glasses; ''because you
don't know, what a cursed pleasant feeling
one has under an ash-box."
"And do you know that then % cried sew
eral voices in tones of strong doubt.
VI know everything, as you rascals know
right well, and have been through every
thing that can happen between the under
side OF the rails and the top of the smoke
stack"
"But you havn't been been in the ash
box? 2" laughed the company, little derisivc-
'sNot exactly" replied the old man, very
gravely, "but under it, and partly too, very
near in it. But tell you, I've been by when
splendid train of magnificent cars, full of
people in high spirits, with one jolt-before
you could lift your hand to your pipe or
light match-was nothing but heap of
kindling-wood and broken screws and pieces
of axles and wheels,out Of which came groans
and cries for help, while despairing men
stood round it wringing their hands; and
locomotives, like kittens on a roof, leaping
down the bank, and rolled once, twice, three
times over and over, wheels up and smoke
stack underneath, and all was steam, frag-
ments, fire, kissing, and shrieks; but never
III ufo anu Thirty years TallrOaQlng mas my
heart stood SO still as it did under the ASH
box"
"Tell us about it, Uncle Zim, "tell us p
cried voices one could see were used to max
ing themselves heard above the clatter, rattle
and clank of the locomotive.
swell, well ! I'll do it," he replied, as he
slowly undid his tobacco pouch and began to
fill his short pipe, "though don't like to go
over the story. To this day there's always
something turns over under the third rib
here when I think of it.
"You see, boys the hands that worked
this punch in those days came near being
the hands OF widow then, and my Carl and
Julia wern't born yet, though you might
even then have called me Stout Franz"
But what's that to do with it uncle %
asked the circle.
swell, then, in the DIS name light
up. your plagued elegant cigars again. They
suit you dolls in glass cases, as the short pipe
suits us stout fellows under the free heavens.
Pass the glasses this way, and then hold your
saw till get through.
ut was upon New Years eve in the wear
1874, thirty good years ago and devil of
storm, driving snow and sleet mixed together.
I was young fellow; I'd been married about
a year. You know the station is horrible
place for service. Let storm come which
way it will it always sweeps clean across the
square that's open and level as the top of
This table Tn toward the town there is a lit-