The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1877-02-15
RAILROAD TRAPEZE.

Slm1l2, MAKING pay OF the hundred coal
cars it drew swiftly along, with its eyes
piercing the darkness rs a noon day sun;
with its breath of fleecy steam and heart
of volcanic fire, and John TIathrop stood
with hand upon whistle and throttle
waiting the signal to ''go ahead
1t WAS midnight, and the dead of
winter. The music of the Christmas
bells had died away, the glad acclaim
that welcomed the New Year had been
husiled, and the holy lessons of Love,
Charity and Good Will that had been
preached and sung were fast being for
gotten in the rush and roar Of business,
in running the mad race for wealth and
following the spendthrift dictum Of ever
changing fashion.
The spasmodic charity that breaks
oiit at such times had run its course.
The poor had been warmed and fed and
made happy for day, and would be
sacrccly thought of until the year had
completed its cycle, and the holly aid
ivy and evergreens were twined and
festooned again in parlor and hall, and
wreathed about the notices Of Christian
remembrance hung upon the wallis.
Plenty had glorified itself in the giving,
and poverty and vice and crime must
live upon the recollection of what they
had received until the coming of another
Christmas and the tlawning Of another
year. Aye, wealth had given and plum
ed itself upon ito Iberality. In aims
house and prison a hearty feast had been
spread. The duty of the rich had been
done, and-well-nothing more could
be expected Of them Fashion had
held fairs, and given balls, and made
Itself merry while indulging in ostenta-
tlous aitnsgiylng, because it WAS "the
proper thing to do"-and subsided. The
sensation of the thing was over, all its
attractiyeness lost, and Mrs. Grundy
and Flora A[cFbmsey and the rest of
the creme de Ia creme must think of
forgetfuiness Of others sufferings comes
how soon the spasm of yearly charity
passes-how speedily the heart of hu-
mainly again turns into stone But
''the ponr yo have always with you,"
and can they not be helped at any time?
That may not be sound philosophy in
the eyes OF Heaven, but IL is in the eyes
of fashion.
John Lathrop, engineer of No. SO was
thinking of tie Sc things in a somewhat
cynical manner as he peered cut of the
cab-window into the biting cold and
sleet- -burdened air thinking of the hard
wlnter-the almost starvation prices to
which wages had been reduced, and.
more than all, of his humble house and
bright-eyed Little boy of half a dozen
Years, who was then dreaming that
''papa" would be home to breakfast and
spend the next Gay Sunday with them
cts hard to be poor" he said, brush
ing the icy frost from his heavy beard
and mustache, ''and it does seem as if
the company might be a little more
liberal after the way they worked US and
piled up stamps during the Centennial.
But
':John, here's tramp" sang out the
fireman from the interior of the water
tank.
'EThat's nothing new" was the an
swer. ''They were as plenty all sum
mer as blackberries.
But the poor fellows Lalf starved
and frozen, and begs so hard for
ride"
ride? Humphl And get sent up
for thirty days if any of the big guns of
the road find it out ~
The light from lie open furnace door
shone full upon the face of the tramp
as he stepped from the desolate, icy
tank where he had paused to gain some
thing of shet +, even if little of warmth.
\ rapid sign passed between him and
the engineer, and the latter continued:
''Come aboard. I'll take the chances.
| don't think the conductor will give me
away, and mighty clear Of the brakes
men showing their faces more than they
can possibly help such ;s night as this.
Anyhow, I'm not going to leave q fel-
low-being to starve and freeze to death,
for all the railroad companies this side
of Canada. Blessed if [ dol Come
aboard, old fellow"
The tramp obeyed the summons, and
his scanty clothing aud numbed hands
ana feet and pinched-up face told how
sadly he was in need of warmth and
food. The roaring furnace speedily
supplied the one, and the dinner pals
of the engineer and fireman the other,
though they wor' re to fast until
morning and wot ,aa Y miss their hot
coffee,
Two shrieLs of the whistle, tug at
the lever, and No. 50 started and shot
away with the long train following be-
hind Ike an immense black serpent,
over air line and around curves, and
through tannel and across bridge. Then
John Lathrop had time to more closely
scri.talize and talk to his unpaying pas
sengcr. The mystic sign that had pass
ed between them told OF brotherhood
ana paved the way to his thinning well
of him.
'sYou aren't used to tramping, and
hain't been very long at it. said John,
laughing quietly at the rapid manner