The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1880-11-24
sI.LLrINu.UAK IYKANIS.
A Discussion of thr Wnys ana he""" "
tha CoiOred Porter.


Every sleeping-car is nomlnally III !
charge of n special conductor, gorge
Gus being, with an ornamented cap wiio
disappears from view when the trah
starts and is not seen again Ililll morn
ING, The real despot Of the sleepln9-car
is the colored porter, who, as soon as inc
conductor has gone into another car 10
make himself comfortable, assumes UNI
limited authority. The moment II IS
dark, he puts his passengers to bed. NO
matter how anxious II passenger may DC
to sit M until ten o'clock III order 10 pur-
sue mn innocent conversation with
young lady, the porter approaches nm nm
and remarks: eve want to make up inc
bed. now, sab ~ With the ablectnesS OF
spirit characteristic OF American traVei-
ers the unfortunate man never dreams
of djsputing the porters authority, but
rises promptly and balances himself I'M
cosiIy AGAINST a neighboring berth while
his bed is put in order. The object OF
the porter in thus requiring his passen-
GERS to 90 to bed early is easily per
ceiyed. The sooner they are out OF me
wov fine sooner he can 60 to bed himself;
What to him is the wall OF the wretchea
traveller WHO'S thrust into sitting. perm
hours before he can by any pobsloilIi.Vy
90 10 sleep? What cares he for the diS-
appointmcnt Of the young man ana inc
yoIlup woman who had expected to ENJOY
each others society during the evening!
He knows that il he orders the passeh-
gers to go to bed they will not dare 10
disobcy him, and his own personal com
fort is the only object which Is dear 10
him AS soon as the passengers are III
bed, the porter takes away theif SHOES
not necessarily with view to blackehing
them, but as u guarantee that they VIII
NOT get ont of bed without PERMISSION:
These shoes he takes to his private pea
,, ot fine end of the car, where he spends n
little time in mixing them, and then pre-
pores for sleep As a rule the porter
dccs not snore, because he holds that the
= duty of snoring properly belongs to the
:, messengers. IT, however, as sometimes
, bapvens, no passenger volunteers u
enlrn fine porter demonstrates the lear
~ full power Of the African nose by SloriiiI
. with Il sustained vi8or that no orolnII.
travelling noso can hope to emulate. be
:. fore going to sleep the porter has, o
J course closed all the ventilators II 1t
y summer, and stirred up the fire II 1t
~ winter. thus making sure that ms VIC
}" fms yInll suffer from heat and gam
little sleep as possible for Their money .iS
What with the heat and the noise I'll
messengers rarely manage to TALL aslee
,. before twelve o'clock, by which time u
IS porter, refreshed by his nap, rouses nm N
& self and begins his midnight round II
g. stops at every berth, and shaking u
n sleeping passenger, wakes him up to as
in him; " Was it you, sab, that was wan
ID inc TO get out here?" OF course, no OF
Or wants to get out, as the porter perfect
is we'll knows, but it is part OF his ilen
d, ish system to wake everybody at MI
ed niQht, and thus prevent them IRON io
ri nrttinp their miserles III sleep. Wh'
rs his midnight round is finished the port
he rrt,lrus to his den and takes sound ma
IN Long experience has taught HIM that
tic passenger who is walked up Mt mldnl8
Of will fall asleep again at three O'Clock
all m. Accordingly, he sleeps until neal
he four o'clock, when he begins with MAJ
$50 nant delight the process OF getting
in passengers ont Of bed. lie informs eve
lid one that "Were most there, sab !!
without attaching the slightest mean
Id. TO the word "there and that 1--WE
id, waiting to put them beds away. ne
rs, sab /" The meek passenger, helieVl
the that he must be at the point OF arrlV'
yhe Mt the station where breakfast was to
Dul had, dresses hurricdly, spends hall
at hour in II general shoe exchange with
OF fellow travellers, and then finds that
the has three long hours to wait before
to- can have any breakfast At this pc
IN he generally loses his patience and u
language in regard to sleepng-car
,ng ters which can not be defended by a
rab tere moralists; but, nevertheless, WI
the the porter comes to him and dema
her fifty cents for having mixed the she
ear he pays him without daring to hint
ftcr he deserves the most ingenious de
ing TINT the ablest inonisitor ever ln"eh'