Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1890-09-12
A RAILROAD EPISODE.
How . DespOndent Man Was Left Alon
In This Cold and Cruel World.


How . Despondent Man Was Left Alone
in This Cold and Cruel World.
[ A Michigan Central railroad train was
hustling along toward Chicago at the
rate OF forty miles an hour, when a
brassy faced, middle-aged man suddenly
jumped to. his feet in the reclining-chair
Ear and glanced hastily and defiantly
around as though; daring any onetoSre-
strain him. Flinging off his overcoat, and.
compressing lfissalfpss with the airsof
man whose mind is made UP, he rushed
to the door, jerked 1T open, and screech'
sd outas he. turned around and facedthe
pther passengers,w 4
''Farewell, Avain+worldw
Some of the passengers glanced over
the tops of their newspapers toward
him, Others looked at him with languid
interest while the man nearest the door
threw up his arms z and ysspnssdE ap's Z fright
fully. as ,yarp..g ~
Theaman stepped out tothe Gar plat,
form thrust his. head back. into the car,
and again yelled out: 10 ." - ~
Farewell, vain world, I go hence"
Nobody seemed to care. whether he
went hence or to some other place, and
look of bitter disappointment came
into the brassy face of the would-be
suicide. He again thrust his head into
the car and wildly shrieked out.
Goodbye, forever"
$50 long, my friend; let US know when
you get there, replied the man who had
yawned as he quietly closed the car
door and sat down, u.-
The desperate man on the platform
fattened his nose against the car win
dow, and gazed in moodily at the tran
| quill passengers. p 4''ss ''''ai'-.ssz
~ Waving a final adieu he flung
off his coat, threw up his arms, and
sat down on the platform. Then he
crawled up to the keyhole of the door to
gaze through it on the, horror. and re-
morse STRICKEN faces of the men and
women who had deliberately permitted
a human being to go to destruction.
But there wasn't single horror
stricken passenger to look upon. Sew
efal of them were giggling immoderate-
ly, and the cold-blooded, yawning pas
senger was indicating by signs to the
y others that the s''fare-well-vain-world' y
man had not gone hence, butwas still in
New York State.
Finally he came sneaking back into
! the car with combined look of sadness
and madness on his care-worn face,
which grow. gloomier when nobody
rushed forward to ask the cause of his
desperation. Nobody passed the hat for
his relief; nobody begged him to confide
Tin them; no purse was made up; nothing
turned out as he had thought it would.
Singing himself into the seat he had
vacated, the man hissed out to the
wretch in front of him, who was swaying
to and fro with rude and ill-concealed
laughter:
Laugh, now, hang ye! Oh, laugh
why don't ye If ye had single drol
of the milk of human kindness in your
breast ye wouldn't see any thing funny
In the suicide of fellow-being, You'd
bid him pause and" AM
"Ticketsl Ticketsv' cried the con
ductor, appearing suddenly and min
ute ;laterhe was saying to the man who
had saved himself from the death of {
suicide: .t ... & g rssssss
''Lookee here, my friend, this is the
third time within month that I have
caught you trying to dead-head it ovel
this road. The last time you was try
ing to work the boat-ticket and pocket
book and dying-wife racket on the pas
sengers, and know from your disap
pointed look that you've been mp tc
I Something now that amt panned out 81
well, so off We go!'
A jerk of the bell, sudden stopping
Of the train a quick appearance of {
brawny brakeman a slight scuffie nea,
the door, and the gloomy passenger hat
indeed gone. flying from the platform
and the train had gone on, leaving hin
alone in this cold, vain and cruel world
IN. Y. Tribune.