Little Falls transcript., 1880-01-30
ADOCTOR'S STORY.
BY ASHLEY H. BALDWIN.

I was proceeding by the South Western
Railway to visit friend and former pa
tient resident at Portsmouth, It is not
often that medical man gets holiday,
ard but for the kindness Off fellow prac-
titioner In making my practice for a fort
night, should not have had this oppor-
tunity Of enjoy ing the sea- breezes
The train by which 1 started was an
early one, and, having procured my
ticket, l took my place in a second class
carriage, and lit my cigar, for it was a
smoking carriage. On entering it, was
surprised-and think, naturally so-to
find the further corner of it occupied by
lady.
"Oho!" said 7, inward!y; 'somo fast
American demoiselle who desires to in
dulge in cigarette.'
On observation, however, it appeared
to me that the features ofmy fellow-trav-
eler did not bear upon them that i'm
| preston of cuteness which marks Ameri-
can nationality. She had soft brown
| eyes, full, round face, and a profusion
of chestnut hair. She was dressed in a
plain gray travelling suit, bound with
white braid, and wore straw hat.
"Maybe German" I soliloqu1zed;
''they are terrible smokers"
Bnt again it occurred to me that pos
sibly the young lady might be neither
American or German, but had got into
the carriage without noticing that It was
one reserved for smokers. Under this
impression, bowed slightly to her say
ing:
II fear my cigar may annoy you. Per-
haps you are not aware that this is a
smoking accompaniment"
"Oh yes" she answered, with a slight
German accent; ''yes, yes, yes, yes?'
There was something peculiar in her
slow, deliberate utterance, and the tour
times-repeated monosyllable. There was
dreamy look, too, in the speakers eyes,
as if her mind was pre-occupied. How
ever, the train was now in motion, and l
had nothing for it but to enscouce my
self in my corner, look out of my window,
and take birds eye view OF the sur
rsunding house-tops.
For abort time this was we'll enough !;
but began at last to weary of the mo-
notony of such an amusement, We Eng
lishmen, as rule, are SO reserved and
unsociable that we shrink into ourselves,
and every fresh addition to the occupants
of railway carriage or an omnibus is re-
ceived with black looks and sort of
tacit intimation that he has no right
whatsoever to enter. Now am free to
confess that, whatever my failings, want
of sociability is not one of them, and
determined to try and engage my cons
panion in little conversation. There
could be no improperly in man OF my
age Il was thirty eighty endeavoripg to
beguile the tedium of a long journey by
conversing with a fellow traveller, a
young girl-possibly schoolgirl-and
possibly not out of her teens. 1t was
therefore, with an almost paternal feel
| ing that I addressed her.
"There are not many passengers by
this train,' I remarked.
1.-TWO thousand and three" was the
answer that started my equanimity.
I looked at the speaker to find mis-
chievous smile dancing in her eyes or
lurking at the corner Of her mouth. Moth
ing of the sort. She was perfectly seri-
GUS, even stern, and her eyes had still
the same dreamy, faraway look in them.
Every absent minded, or else in love
I thought 70 myself. However I tried
again.. = @54>
"I think we shall have fine day for
our Journey" ventured to remark.
| She turned upon me with that despair
ing, yet restless look that we see tn a
trapped rat.
"How you talk, talk, talk!" she sid,
Indignantly.
/ tD,,% 4ol ED
care you made" she screamed, IN a
| tone Of such intensified shrillness, and
with such an awful hungry look in her
/ eyes, that the truth at once flashed upon
| me like an inspiration. -
She was mad! s.Hs. - 4. 10y (
Medical man as / am, feeling of hor-
ror overcame me when I retledted that
was shut up alone in acarriage Of q train,
travelling at express speed, with luna
tic. True, l was a strong man, she only
girl. But it is inconceivable what ex-
treme strength is possessed by many OF
the insane. I have known woman thus
afflicted require two, and even three pow
erful men to restrain her during one of
her paroxysms.
/ However, I endeavored to keep as cool
as possible as looked the young girl
steadily in the face. She looked at me
/ tor a minute or SO without quailipg;
then she sank back in her corner, re-
4 sumed her apathetic posture. and sat
i gazing out Of the window, with the far
i away look in her eyes, as if no such per
son as myself was in existence.
1 stPoor girlr' thought; and began
i to speculate who and Whsi she could be,
i and how she came TO be travelling alone.
4 Could she have escaped from an asylum
4 If SO, how came she to be possessed OF
i sufficient funds to procure railway
ticket2 / had some experience in ssmad
cases. and / knew that the most ont.
8