Los Angeles herald., 1892-04-24
PUNCH'S EXAMPLE.

The first class smoking carriage wa,
the emptiest in the whole train. anC
even this was hot to suffocation, because
my only companion denied me more
than inch of open window. His chest
he explained curtly, was susceptible. ,
,As we crawled westward through the
sglariDg country, the suns rays beat Oh
the carriage roof till l seemed to bt
crushed under an anvil, counting ths
strokes. had dropped my book and
was staring listlessly out of the window
At the other end of the compartment
my fellow passenger had pulled down
all the blinds and hidden his face be.
hind The Western Morning News. He
was red faced, choleric little man OF
about sixty, with salient stomach, a
prodigious nose, to which he carried
snuff about once in two minutes, and a
marked deformity of the shoulders. For
comfort. and also perhaps to hide this
hump, he rested his back in the angle
by the window. He wore black al
:paca coat, high stock, white waistcoat
and trousers of shepherds plaid. On no
definite grounds, guessed him to be a
lawyer and unmarried.
Just before entering the station at
Lostwithiel our train passed between
tho white gates Of level crossing. A
moment before had caught sight of the
i''George" dropping from the church
spire, and at the crossing l saw it was
regatta day in the little town. The road
was full OF people and lined with sweet
standings, and by the near end of the
bridge Punch and Judy show was just
closing performance. The orchestra
had unlcosed his drum and fallen to
mopping the back of his neck with the
red handkerchief that had previously
bound the pan pipes to his chin. A
crowd hung around, and among it l
noted several men and women in black,
hideous blots in the pervading sunshine
/ The station platform was thronged as
we drew up, and it was clear at once
that all the carriages in the train would
be besieged without regard to class. By
some chance, however, we were disre-
garded and escape seemed likely till the
very last moment. The guards whistle
was between his lips, when l heard a
iSliDQb, blltl CllC vi lWO lChlIlllc SCItdLuS
and party of seven or eight came tear
ing out of the booking Office. Every one
of them was dressed in complete black.
They were, i'll fact, the people had seen
staring at the Punch and Judy show.
A moment later the door of our COM
partnent opened and we were invaded.
They tumbled in over my legs, painting,
1o1,r-hir,u 1oi1 oo11ir<r tn norh
other to hurry-an old man, two youths,
four middle aged women and little
girl about four years old. My choleric
fellow passenger leaped up, choking
with wrath, and shouted to the guard.
But the door was slammed on his indig-
nation, and we moved off. He sat back,
purple above his stock, rescued his
malacca walking stick from under the
coat tails of subsiding youth, stuck it
upright between his knees and gfared
around at the intruders. They were still
possessed with excitement over their
narrow escape and unconscious of Of
fense. One of the women dropped into
the corner seat and took the little girl
On her lap. The child's dusty boots
rubbed against the old gontlemans trou-
sers. He shifted his position, grunted,
md took snuff furiously.
THAT was nibby jibby," the old man
of the party observed, while his eye wan-
derod around for q seat.
! II thought Z should ha' died." said a
robust woman, with wart on her cheek
and yard of Grape hanging from her
bonnet. Cant zee find nowhere to sit,
uncle!"
Reckon l must shift pom your lap,
Susannah." This was said with a
chuckle, and the woman Uttered.
..What new tangled game be this O. the
Great Westerns. Arms to the seats, !
declare. Well have to sit intimate, my
dears"
"'Tis first class" another woman an
nounced in an awed whisper. Il saw it
i'pon the door, You don't think they'll
fine u.s."
"'T all comes of our stoppin to glare
at that Punch an Judy" the old fellow
went on, after | had shown them how
to turn back the arm rests and they We're
settled in something like comfort. "But
I never could refrain from that antic-
tho feels condemned, too, in a way
an poor Thomas laid in earth no later
than II this mornin. But in the midst
of life we are in death"
Il don't remember more successful
buryin," said the woman with the wart.
That was part luck, you see-it bei1
regatta day an the fun O the fair not
properly begun. saw lot at the
ce1netery l didn't know by face, an
;rcckon they was mostly excursionists
that caught sight Of a funeral an fol
lowed it, to fill up the time"
4 well, it all added"
"Oh, aye; Thomas was beautifully
inferred"
I The heat in the carriage by this time
was hardly more overpowering than the
lsrnell of Grape, broadcloth and camphor
The youth who had wedged himself
next to me carried large packet Of
s1fairing," which he had bought at one
of the sweet stalls. He began to inser
1t into his side pocket, and in his strug
giles drove an elbow sharply into my
Lribs. l shifted my position little.
"Toms wife would ha' felt it a source
To- pride, had she lived"
But ceased to listen; for in moving
4 had happened to glance at the farther
lend of the carriage, and there my at
}tention was arrested by a curious little
piece of pantonime. The little girl-a