The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1889-04-12

heaven kept me from tho endless perdi
ton of hating the original. u never
came twice In immediate succession, but
at intervals of n few weeks, when Il
would seem to have accumulated power
to expand. and, under circumstances Of
ingenious devilishness, II made its ap
pearance, In many instances was fort
innate enough to have some ready excuse
on hand for our delay, but sometimes
the prodigy vanished before slackened
speed, and then no excuse was needed
but when that was not the case, as most
frequently 1t happened, and ! was aban'
doned to my own devices, and the be-
wilderment and CONSERVATION OF the
train, it began to be believed among the
employees that had become hard fel'
low. Shortly following upon that ] was
summoned by the superintendent and
reprimanded for my intemperance-l
who had never drunk drop in my life
-doggedly promised him better fashions,
for had explained things what director
of them all, asked myself, would have
suffered crazy man to take out the
night express from Waterway
Meanwhile, owing solely to these at
fairs, my marriage had been indefinitely
postponed; for, OF course, while liable to
these Authorizations and visitations. !
was no fit subject for the assumption OF
new bonds and duties. Margaret re.
manned as she had ever been-an angel
of mercy; she soothed me, solaced me,
and we took counsel together how best
to overcome my difficulties; but finally,
when all our expedients seemed futile,
she imperatively babe me resign my stu
alton, for she felt that we were MUIR
derers, thousand times multiplied, In
continuing to hold SO many lives in risk
with the possibilities to which might be
driven by my mad fantasies
This command and entreaty Of hers
was after time when I had seen the
face more wildly than before, more
beautiful, more human, more piteous.
We were coming along an inclined
plane, with the brakes down; at the foot
Of it the track ran curving over the
mighty trestle work of the Windriver
valley. It was impossible to stop the
train, for it descended already without
steam; and ahead of us lay the long,
slow curve of the trestle work, asa
sheer abutment Of 200 feet, filed in with
sliding sand-it rose above the low, broad
fields that slept, all purple and peaceful,
in the silver flood of moonlight at that
fearful depth beneath us.
There was but a single alternative; l
could throw the Black Bess and her train
from the track as we touched the curve,
and we should be dust before the valley
could feel us or the river cover us; or,
with the face before me, must crash
over and through that one dear thing of
all my heart.
knew, in an intimate and under con-
seriousness, that was deceived; but, do
what would, it came to me as if were
experiencing it myself, all the annihilat-
ing terror that must Overwhelm the suf-
ferer as that black monster and its red
hot eye advanced with the laundering
tread and shook her frame bodily and her
soul with vast fear. l heard, in my
fancy, her shrill shrieks, as she struggled
vainly to rise, and escape, and flee, and
knew that it was vainly. I felt-almost
with positive and physical pain Of my
own-the breaking and grinding Of the
bone, and then-I should have done it
had reached out my hand to do it
when, suddenly, the fair, pale face rose
from the way like dew cloud, the float
ing garments Of the late PROSTATE form
were gathered together, all had dissap-
peared- -and we slid gently upon the
trestle-work, and wound our way over
its spider line, till kindly woods beyond
took us into safety and shelter.
stood, then, powerless, and could not
have lifted my hand to my face to wipe
off the beads Of cold sweat there. It
seems, perhaps, in the rehearsal, a little
thing to have endured; but I can tell you
that it was the tortures of the damned.
The men and women who had given
their lives into my hand that night,
never knew how, for one moment, that
hand, loosening its grasp, hesitated, and
held them over the precipice and gulf of
death, while they gazed out and down,
and admired the beauty Of the world,
and felt their life and enjoyed their
breath.
1t was then Margaret said l must leave
the railroad; had no right longer to
play at fast and loose with the destinies
of others; each time l stepped upon my
platform was a sin. The wear and tear
Of travel, and night travel at that, she
said, had broken up my nervous system,
which, added to my previous shock al
ready sustained, might produce irrepar-
able misfortunes, if did not leave
everything, and come down and rest
with her at her mothers.
This last was pleasant enOugh--rest in
that happy house, the low-roofed old
standing on it's verdant knoll,
that always shone like some broad carpet
of greenest velvet embroidered with all
the golden sunshine of summer, the
house where everything was ordered to
the music Of peace and quietness-but
then, by and by, there was time for
that.
Was it devil driving me on to stay?
or was it my natural manliness refusing
to yield to a devil and begging for one
more trial?-I declined to go; still said
and took my train out Of Water
wey. I was so thoroughly myself on
every other topic, that I could not be-
lieve in monomania upon this one.
invented an apology to myself for every
time that yielded to my pursuer-the
reflection of the moon in some ditch of
still water, the lantern of crossing in
The woods, the round, white signboard
Of switch, the signal balls upon draw
BRIDGE affirmed that in similarly de-
ceptive lights and shadows they would
have affected every man in the same
way as that in which I was affected.
But, at last, the tormenter grew insup-
portable; it followed me from station to
station, as some great, winged, singing
thing pursues racer, it's play on my
an, of;o,,c hn,,rr n II tho mora fOrcih1o fhok