Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-12-09

THE PASS.
estimated. A travelling man stated to
me yesterday, as he rubbed up special
gas tip which he uses at hotels where the
tip has been economically pinched to-
gether by the landlord. that he had oh
served very often, not only that sleep
failed to refresh, but actually seemed in
furious.
For instance, last evening | went to
bed as happy as lark. and this morning
when / woke up the first feeling that
came over me was one of the deepest
sadness. | lay it to sleep. Sleep is over
estimated. Last night | never felt more
kindly toward every one. | remember
of hugging the night clerk, a man whom
/ now loathe. Why was it: Sleep.
Sleep had changed Inc from a glad,
merry hearted boy, whose songs enliv-
ened the night like the silvery music of
a gentle waterfall, to the pessimistic and
austere cynic you see before you. To-
night | will guard against this much
talked of sleep. Twill stay up all night"
/ got up at 2:30 a. IN. yesterday and
thought of his remark. If anything can
be more injurious than sleep think it
is early rising. Early rising and an lily
lighted (this word l got at fall open
ing in Chicago an lily lighted stairway
threw me at Benton Harbor and injured
my ankle so that could not get to the
depot without assistance. At that hour
it was impossible to get Il carriage, for
the city was yet young, like the newborn
day itself. The clerk tried to rouse every
or any livery stable in town, but he could
not.
Meantime lay moaning in the arms
- of an attendant Ny breath came in
quick but yet invisibly checked pants
The train would be due in eight min
utes. What to do? Anon heard dull
thud rs the clerk broke in the door of a
blacksmith shop and pulled ont piano
box bdggy valued at $3.50.
Hastily placing me in this with the
aid of my attendant and valet, he started
on a run for toe station, neighing joy
ously as he met Il team that he recog-
nized. In trice, or possibly trice and
a half. we were there. WAS taken out
and placed in berth. where / moaned
the balance of the night away; but
cannot be too grateful to the clerk of the
hotel at Benton Harbor, where this mel
ancholy accident occurred, for he showed
tact, ability and kindness, to say moth
ing of the fact that | found him to he
thoroughly gentle and good roadster.
As he left US l wrang mis- hand two
times (for ice water aud, turning away
my head so that he could not see my
tears. / presented him with my auto
graph. When get home am going to
send him a nice new red hy net for next
summer.
The fight from Benton Harbor was
not much ike our triumphant entry in
the evening. All the previous day we
had battled against disaster and delay.
As we left Manistee the engine broke
down 80 that we could only use one side
Of 1t. Rapidly we lost time. Once we
lost over three-quarte-s of an hour in
less than twenty minutes. This meant
that we would fail to connect at Grand
Rapids, and so miss Benton Harbor.
where we had agreed to lecture to a man
for whom we lad a great deal of respect.
Every time We stopped we had TO look
out or we would be on the dead point
of the engine. and then it would take
half an hour with a pinchbar and some
profanity to start again.
Finally we got desperate. told the
conductor how we were situated and
asked him If he could hold the Grand
Rapids train. He seemed to fear he
could not, as we were already three
hours late and rapidly falling farther
back into the early fall. However, he
said that all would be well.
1t is very trying to sit and suffer that
way, knowing that there has been an
advance sale of So, with the chances of a
door sale running it up to 81 or $11.50,
and that bitter disappointment is likely
to fall upon people who have come from
distance-''our best people too.
When we got to Grand Rapids an or
der was there from Superintendent Con-
ley to provide as with a special engine,
baggage car and coach, and in fifteen
minutes we were travelling at high
rate of speed toward our destination.
Dear reader, did you ever travel by
means of your own special train? If not
you do not know what real, keen enjoy
Dsut and vanity is Tor sre, rathert W.