Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-12-10
SHNESS REWARDED,
How a Greedy Traveller Was Forced to
to Yield the Seats.

to Yield the Seats.
The subject of the ethics of polite
ness as manifested by travellers in
yielding or reta ming their car seats
forms never ending topic OF CONVEX
satlon among those who have occasion
to study the various phases of the
problem.
In connection with the subject a
commercial traveller gives an nlustra-
ton OF an event that recently came to
his attention. 1t occurred one day
last autumn on an accommodation
train running on the Pennsylvania rail
road between Columbus Ohio, and In
dianapolis. and was as follows:
The train was entirely inadequate
to accommodate the Travellers said
the speaker. ut had come through
from Pittsburg, and the passenger car
was already well filed when I entered
it at Columbus. There were but few
vacant places.
The first seat l espied was by the
side of one of those human hogs that
one encounters more frequently upon
railroad train than anywhere else.
He had carefully spread his overcoat,
gripsack and sundry other articles on
the seat by his side so as to make it
inaccessible to another passenger.
IL did not like the man looks, but
as the car was crowded l approached
him to ask if the seat was taken Be-
fore | could put the question he look
ed up and said grufiiy, This seat is ia
ken, sir. | was rather surprised at
his adding the word sir, and | knew
that he lied when he made the other
statement. However it did not trou-
bic me much, as | readily found an
unocoupied place.
while | was journeying along
heard the hog tell fifteen separate and
distinct lies in order to retain the seat.
He varied the formula somewhat At
one time it was a wave of the hand
and a glance at the rear of the car to
Indicate that the occupant of the seat
was in the smoking car. Another
time, to the inquiry of a mild-man-
nered and timid questioner, he replied
with stolid stare.
81 was tempted to crawl up behind
him, to call him a liar and then thrash
him. | did nothing of the sort how
ever, and eventually I had nv re-
venge.
1T came in the shape of a big
red-faced countryman, who boarded
the train at a way station. The new
conner weighed fully 25O pounds, and
from his soiled clothing l judged he
worked in a slaughter house or some
thing equally savory.
''As luck would have it, the only
vacant seat was the one beside the sell
fish hog. AS the other human porcine
halted the guardian OF the latter said:
This seat is -
That's all right said the sweet
smelling heavyweight as he pumped
himself with a heavy thud beside the
occupant. i guess III keep it till the
other fellow comes along
Our selfish traveller started to blus-
ter, but the red-faced rufian soon took
that out of him by sundry threats Of
violence.
CATER while the second barbarian
grew good humored He told funny
y oASCuoISS anu pOheu tne urSb nOS
in the ribs as he himself went Off with
long-continued rounds of coarse laugh
ter. He wanted to know where his
companion came from and where he
was going. He spat tobacco juice
across him out Of the window, or ex-
perforated upon the floor near the first
travellers effects.
ut was easy to see that the original
hog was the most miserable man in
the world.
cat last the latter could stand it no
longer. He crawled out Of his seat
gathered up his traps and entered the
smoking car where for forty miles he
alternated between standing and occu-
plying a most uncomfortable seat on
woodbox. New York Herald.