Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1896-03-13

might be bank presldene or something
OF that kind, with too much fondness
for port wine. did not think 1t worth
while TO turn him out, so just cast the
horse loose, climbed the box and DIR owe
off at slow walk, keeping close to the
curbstone. j had my slouched hat on,
and when had pulled the cabby's
blankets well up to my neck l didn't
look at all out of place on the box. So
proceeded cautiously, and met with no
accident worth mentioning. All of a
sudden my passenger wakes up, and
leaning out of the window begins to
abuse me for being so slow on the road
Begging your pardon, sir, but this
here blooming fog is so thick that l
daren't drive faster than walk At
that he got very angry and said that
he'd get out and take my number, and
wouldn't pay me farthing. | was
glad enough to get rid of him, but when
he bolted round the corner ! began to
see that cabman may have things to
trouble him which we folks don't often
think about.
"Pretty soon woman hailed me, and
as the cab was moving very slowly she
managed to get the door open and to
climb inside, in spite of my telling her
that l was engaged. "A very likely
story said she. settling herself in the
cab as if she meant to stay there. You
can't refuse to take passenger when
you've got nobody she said, making as
if she was going to stir me up with her
umbrella; and you know it. You drive
me to Bloomsbury square, or I'll make
it 'ot for you'll
"Now / knew too much to get into an
argument with woman, and so drove
to Bloomsbury square. But when ] had
stopped at the number that she had
given me she did not attempt 70 get
out. She was perfectly sober, but, in
my opinion, she was stark crazy, for
she insisted that / had lost my way
and that we were not in Bloomsbury
square. l got down from my seat and
tried to argue the matter with her. !
street, where she could see Blooms
bury Square, North in large letters,
but she told me not to be impertinent
or she would summons me, and refused
to look at the corner of the street or
anything else. rang the door-bell OF
the house, but when the servant had
answered it, and looked at my fare,
she said that she didn't know her, and
went back into the house, calling out
to me from the doorstep that ought to
be ashamed of myself for being in such
state so early in the morning. got
back on the box, and wondered if every
body in London was made either drunk
or crazy by an extra thick fog.
"There was very little fog by this
time, and | made up my mind to drive
back to the place where ! had taker
the woman up, leave her on some quiet
doorstep and drive off before anyone
could stop me. 1t wasn't very long
before was back again in the Finsbury
quarter, but it wasn't very pleasan
drive, for the woman kept yelling II
me out of the window. When / got tt
Finsbury | selected good, quie
street, and then got down and tolt
. my passenger that she must get out
l OF course, she said she wouldn't do any
thing of the kind, and when she saw
that l meant business she set up vel
that promised to wake he who'll
street. About so windows went up
! and more than so men and women pu
their heads out and remarked: Fire!
! and Murder!' at the top of their lungs
9 1t was clear that this sort of thini
3 would never do; so jumped upon IN.
| more sympathy for cabmen than l ha
4 ever felt before.
Having started to scream the WON
an kept it up. Moreover, she manage
|. to pull the front window open and Sc
I to work to jab me in the ribs with he
e umbrella. The street filed up wit
L people, though where they came fror
! couldn't imagine, and some of theI
y seemed to spring up out of the groun
Z, and followed me, running alongsid
u the cab, and all the time that dreadfl
woman kept screaming murder an
l. thieves, and making other unpleasar
o personal remarks of the same genera
) character
1T would have been useless for II
g to abandon the cab and run away, fl
| would have been caught before
! could have fairly got off my box.
:, knew that a policeman would turn Il
= presently and for the first time TIL;
% morning was anxious to see one An,
i thing would be better than driving tn,
yelling demon of a woman and hayin
mob gather round me. The thin
;, went on for perhaps ten minutes longe
; when policeman arrived, and the won
~ an gave me in charge for attemptt
!. murder and general assortment
miscellaneous offenses.
:, "That policeman was an intelligel
- man. He saw at once that the woma
= was crazy, and he was evidently reat
to accept my version of the affair; b'
y when he asked me for my number al
saw that ] hadn't any he changed h
- mind, 1t certainly was suspicion
circumstance from his point OF vie
: that | didn't have any numbers; al
l., after he had asked me few question
; which | answered in way not to gi
=, him much information, for l didr
:, want to explain things before Il
:, crowd, he got into the cab, so as
-. keep the woman quiet, and told me
Is drive to the station house.
,o 'Of course. when saw the officer
charge | told him the whole story.