The herald., 1895-09-10
WOMAN ON
CABLE CARS
She Does Some Things
That Seem Very
Queer
HOW SHE PAYS HER FARE
The Types Of the Street.Car Woman
Are Many and varled.-.The
Girls Who litter
and Giggle
HOW SHE PAYS HER FARE

"Wait till the car stops - lock out!
Wait till the-Gse wniz! There goes an
other OF em."
Then the conductor gets off and takes
the name and address, of a woman with
a flushed face and dazed manner, with
her bonnet over one eye, and boarding
his car again goes around with..his note
book. persistently getting names and ad-
dresses of witnesses. because
"She'n.mako me trouble like as not. s"
But if a woman has her own peculiar
way of leaving car she also has her own
method of entering it.
In summer when open cars are running
she stands some half-duzen yards below
the crossing, and scans with an eagle eye
each car as it passes. in search of th e
most eligible seat. and when the last car
draws up opposite her and she sees that
the front seats are filled she rushes wildly
toward the rear. Climbs the step and is
about TO participate herself into the seat
devoted to smokers when the conductor
sings out:
"Seat. on the next car front. ma am. -
She beats hasty retreat and makes
for the forward car. On she way 1t
grip" 50 she makes rush in that
direction. finds the seats all filled. and
turns back to the middle car, where she
drops into a seat IN breathless condition
and highly indignant frame of mind at
what she terms ''the stupidity OF these
conductors"
Asa general rule the street car woman
carries fiat, oblong pocketbook, with an
ornate silver clasp. 1t has been asserted
with some show of authority that these
pocketbooks, while outwardly indicating
vast wealth within. generally contain one
glove buttoner, two hairpins. several
samples OF dress goods and ooe dime. Be
this as it may, the first proceeding of the
street car woman after taking her seat is
to open her pocketbook and anxiously ex-
pIore its depths with her forehneer, pre-
sumably to assure herself that the dime
is still there; then the pocektbook is
closed with q snap and placed in her lap,
to be taken up moment afterward on
the appearance Of the conductor with
little Hurry indicative of the idea that he
was not expected.
The types OF the street car woman are
many and varied, says the Times Herald
of Chicago. The type most often met
with is the woman who takes the whole
car into her confidence as to her personal
and domestic affairr. The conversation
may be interesting to the speaker and
possibly to her friend, but the rest OF the
passengers hardly care to hear that Brid-
get is Just been dismi sed because she IN
sisted on going out for the whole day on
Thursday, whereas she should have been
contented with an afternoon and returned
in time to get dinner. or how Minnie $
teacher thinks her quite the brightest
girl in her class and says that her brain
is really too active, or that Mr.. Brown is
so careless dropping his cigarette ashes
over the floor and never thinks of the
damage to the new carpets. or how the
sewing girl lis really too slow for any
thing and expects to come to the table,
my uear," or that the prizes at Mrs. Oh
ney's last progressive euohre were down
right shabby and could not have cost
more than 81.
little more interesting are the girls
who giegle and exchange condolences
with other girls, for "mauy things are
pard oned to youth,' AMI even the severe
looking old man with spectacles has been
seen to smile behind bis newspaper when
Kittie tells Lou what Bob said last night,
and Lou informs Kittie that Charlie looks
just sweet on his bicycle. and she Is going
out for a ride with him next Saturday,
and then kittie whispers something
which causes Lou to blush and giggle
more violently than ever and calculate /:
"Oh, nonsense; you are such tease. "
Then they both giggled, and because
they are Young and their eyes bright. ana
their cheeks pink. and their lips rosy.
the passengers smile sympathizingly and
exchange amused glances. whereas the