News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-11-25
The Train Boy.
A LITTLE STORY SHOWING THAT THERE
Is HUMAN KINDNESS IN THIS WORLD.
[From the Chicago Horald.I

Yesterday l left Minneapolis at 7 7:15
on my usual evening trip. AS / went
through the train with basket Of fruit
young man laying stretched out on
two seats, with PAIR Of crutches beside
him, stopped me and inquired the price
of grapes. l told him and then he said
to me:
81 have been in the news business
myself. A few weeks ago l was coming
into Eau Claire, on the Omaha road. |
was standi g on the last step of the
car with papers. When the train struck
a half open switch it jolted SO that 1
fell off. The train men picked me up
and brought me to St Paul, where |
was twenty one DAYS in the hospital
The doctors found that las all broken
up inside. My hips ana legs are in Ter
rible shape. / don't think l have eaten
three pounds of food since ! was hurt.
l am on my way home to die. l have
made my last trip; in fact, am now
keeping myself up on opium and NOR
phine. l am all bandaged up, and am
bleeding internally and vomiting it. l
know that l am done up"
The poor fellow said all this so quiet
| ly that it was not easy to believe that he
meant it, and yet, on watching him
closer l saw that he was suffering.
gave him q little fruit for which he
offered to pay, but l would not take any
money. l asked him why he did not
take a sleeping car. ''Oh, this is good
enough" " he replied. Then l thought
that he had no money, so / asked him
Tor his ticket, and said l would fix
him in the sleeping car He gave me
his ticket. Imagine my surprise on
seeing on each coupon, written in red
ink, the word "charity."
felt so sad to think of the poor fell
low about one thousand miles from
| home, no money and liable to die any
minute, that l went into the sleeping
car and got a kind gentleman to ex-
change a lower for an upper berth, as
all the lower berths were taken. As l
paid for the berth the conductor laugh
ingly said:
''Well how much do you make out of
this2"
Because I was train boy, you see, he
thought | must be making money out of
my kindness to other people. But he
| didn't laugh any when l replied,
almost in tears and white with anger:
"a man that will make a dollar out
of a poor dying fellow like you will
see when l bring him in here ought to
be shot, as he is not fit to live in this
world"
Well, he apologized when I carried
the oor sufferer in. , he boy was so
light that l had no trouble in carrying
him in fl ON car to car all alone. When
l came through again passenger hand
ed me ten cents.
'Hello," says I, "what's this fort"
''Oh, that's all right" said he.
But | would not take it, and he
finally said it was because l had paid
for the berth for the poor sick man.
told him | did not want the ten cents,
but he might raise u collection for the
sick boy, If he wanted to. He would not
do this, SO l went around BY this
time the passengers had seen the poor
traveller a.rA II -s1e- --4is.tis nae cry
when l found that there was so many
tender and generous men aboard. like
to see men tender and generous, even if
| am train boy, and l can tell you
what my experience and observation on
the road have taught me, and that is
that there are more good men travelling
than bad ones. Human nature amt
half as bad as it is painted.
Well, we raised a snug little sum for
the suffering boy, and when l took it to
him in his berth and told him the pas
sengers had given it to him to buy
meals and fruit with, he showed more
feeling than ever before His suffer
ings could not rouse his sensibilities like
this little act of kindness did. He made
remark then which l tn nix you ought
to put in your paper.
''It's worth something to get done up
by hard luck" said he, ''if only to dis
cover that our fellow-men are not really
so selfish as we think them"
After time he exclaimed:
"Oh, believe my bandages are slip p
ping, and know | shall bleed to death,
the car jolts SO "
There was a doctor aboard, nicely
dressed, dainty man, but he took off his
coat and dressed the poor fellows
wounds as tenderly as if the patient had
been a rich one.
After he had been fixed up he seemed
quite happy. AS took him some more
fruit and put it in his berth beside him
and bade him good bye, as it was my
station to get off, he thanked me and
said:
81 live down near St. Louis, and I
believe | shall live to get home to my
mother" THE TRAIN Boy.