Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-09-28


ton, for glass of whiskcy: it was bit
terly cold winters night, which SCENE,
AN excuse for it but | warned him tha
there was no time to get it, and there wa,
not. The carriage door had hardly clusct
behind him when the train went ON.
| was very sorry for the poor lad, ant
knowing that to be left at so wretchcd {
place without ones luggage would be ~
additional annoyance, with great presence
of mind ! threw ont OF the window every.
thing he possessed his portmantcau
hat box and railway rug, even 10 his nm.
brella. can see them now, black on tho
snow-covcred line, where he could not
iail to see them from the platform. Then
we tlundered on for about twenty miles,
when the train stopped again, and who
should present himself at the window oi
the carriage but the young man himseii
i beg your pardon, he said, for let
ting the cold air in, but / see it is thc
wrong compartment. | thought | had
left my luggage here.
80 you did, ] said but ! chuckol i,
out. I'm very gorry, but | thought We
had left you behind. did it all for the
best
l'Andy you've done itpretty completely, was
his dry reply.
When we had tclegrnphed to the Inst
station he got IN again and explained mat
tiers. He was studying civil engineering.
it seemed. and had bribed the engine man
to let him drive MS for mile or two. A.
tins was contrary to regulations, the man
was afraid to let him Join him mt Perth,
bnt told him to Jump ON at the first small
station we came to, which he accordingly
did. 1t was lesson to him not TO brcul,
the company's bylaws, and to me not to
he so fond rs | used to he of exercising my
presence of mind"
After this homily, and my own previous
experience of what comes of promptucss
and presence of mind, the reader will
think that | mysclf-moi quj roWS poric-
would ut least never fall into n mistake of
that kind again. Yet this happened to
me only last week.
had taken hurried lunch ut my club.
before going to Brighton, and, finding it
to be rather late, had flung myself into
the first hanson mt the door, with an inn
patient "To Victoria" The man drove
of, but slowly his horse seemed tired.
and after n few yards came to IL full stop
"What is the mattcr?' | exclaimed with
some irritation. 81 am the matter. cri,u
II well known voice it was It great friend
of mine, who hal stopped the cab. JUS.
to shake hands. His quick eve saw some
thing beside myself il it. "Why dp you
travel with two umbrellas" he inquired, l,
like japanese gentleman of rank wi.h
n couple of swords =
Then | perceived that the man who
had Just got out of the hanson ut the
club had lett lis umbrella behind him.
OF course / might have left it where 1t
was, but, with great presence Of mind. it
struck me that it would be better to in-
trust it to friend (who was bound for
the club to give it 30 the porter, Tor the
owner, who would thereby recover it a,
once. | therefore dill SO, and with the
consciousness Of having performed n good
action, and also manifested 10 slight nclt-
men on the spur of thc moment, we droy e
on.
On arriving at Victoria, I rendered the
cuhman cig!teunpencc. "Wha. is this
iUr = he inquired with IN indignation
which, considering his actual fare was a
shilling, did him, I thought, great credit.
at is just fifty per cent. above what ]
owe you," | said, "you very impudCnt
fellow"
"What - he cried, in voice that
brought quite little crowd around us !;
"eighteenpence from the Temple !"
"Ihe Temple! ] came from the No
gatherium Club, you scoundrcl.
"Thcn that's not your umbrella" he
exclaimed cxcitcdly, pointing to that ar
ticle, my own property, which | held in
my hand.
"pardon me, said sarcastca,ly, "but
those are my initials" And | held up
the handle foy his inspection.
"Thcn. where is the umbrella tlat was
in tho cab?'
1t was reilly rather difficult to explain :
my real reason for returning the article
by my friend was that ! had doubts of
the cabmaus honesty, but could not tell
him that. So l. had to narrute to a bv
this time considerable audience, includ-
ing policeman, who was looking ut me
with great suspicion, that | had sent the
article away by friend, for the purpos c
of returning it to its owner.
"Oh, Mdrs pretty story" cried the
cabman, (and | felt that it was so, and
would be worth telling). "Just look af-
ter this party, policeman.
knows. | had suffered before from INV
prcnt presence of mind
]