Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1895-01-17
A BRITISH SPAT.
One of the Charming Amenities 20
Travel on an English cailroad.

One of the Charming Amenities 10
Travel on an English cailroad.
soThere are several things that strika
the American traveller on English rail.
roads as being curious" said q 70
turned New Yorker to a New York Sun
reporter, 'but none more so than +bo
custom that obtains of the passengers
talking at each other. There is a slid
ing window set in the door at each
end of the transverse compartment no
you know, and there is no other airbo,a
in the whole outfit. The persons who
sit by these door windows control tho
ventilation of the compartment. Cen
orally, too, there is a diversity of opin.
ion on the subject of ventilation hn-
tween those who sit by the window.
the party who travels with his back ~
the engine declaring in favor of hayinr
the window open, while the other man
who would sit in the draught is in favor
of having the window closed The stu.
pid faults of construction are primarily
responsible for these Inconvenience
but the Briton perpetuates them by re.
fusing to attempt anything in the lima
of concession. Nobody ever, or rarely
ever, thinks of appealing to fellow.
passengers idea of the fitness Of
things, and they content themselves
with growing at each other or else
appealing to the guard and talking ar
each other through that official
/ saw a very amusing Instance Of
this while travelling on the Great West
ID T
gers in a second-class car, the otbnr
being a chunky, middle-aged man
with Il very red face, stubby. iron.
gray muStache, and the bluest blua
necktie | ever saw. At one station
Bath, think it was, a third passenger
got into our compartment. This WAS
a lady, also of middle age as prim
chilly and severe as a new granite
gravestOne in a snowstorm, Both the
gentleman and myself had been sitting
with our backs to the engine and with
the windows way down. so that there
was plenty of fresh air for both of lis
without our being in it.
when the lady got in it was on the
other fellows end of the compartment
arranged her parcels and her cage and
herself on the seat opposite him, facing
the engine. AS soon as the train start
ed the wind rushed in and nearly blew
the tail feathers out of her parrot. She
at once reached over and pulled the
window up. The fellow, who had
been watching her over the top of his
inc IL
the window down. Out Streamed tho
ribbons of her bonnet, away spread
the tail feathers of her parrot, and I'D
flew the window. This sort of thing
was kept up continuously, with short
intervals of glazing at each other but
without a word, until the next station
was reached.
THE fellow damned the window
dOWn-it happened to be an up spell
and yelled for the guard.
Look ERE, guard, he cried, as soon
as that official presented himself. ham
[ to be smothered to death because
there 'appens to be a rheumatic ole
critter in ere who caunt bear a breath
of fresh hair?'
"'Mr. Guard screamed the lady,
there is no reason, even if l am unpro-
tected, why l should be insulted by a
rough-faced brute
$50 they went at it hammer and
tongs, larruping each other over the
guards back until the gentleman
knocked the lady out by telling the
guard that he knew it was against the
company's rules to allow parrots in the
passengers compartments and threat
ening to report him unless he imme'
diately took the thing away. At that
the conductor whispered to the lady,
and Selling the parrot and parcels she
hurried away with him, evidently to
some promised seclusion, giving her
late antagonist q Parthian shot as she
swept out about travelling hogs 1t
was the funniest thing I ever saw and
certainly could never have happened,
any where outside of an English rail-
road"