The sun., 1896-08-17

An Object Lesson 10 Women Who Csurp
Smokers Seats In the Cars.

An Object Lesson 10 Women Who rsurp
| Smoker'r seats In the Cars.
| In a Fulton street trolley car bound down
| town in Brooklyn yesterday morning there sat
in the third seat from the rear end young
man who was smoking large, fat, black cigar
Of the Havana with every outward symp-
| tom OF keen enjoyment and satisfaction. He
occupied the In side end of the seat and another
man sat at the other end. Tho young man
took of his hat and threw back his head to
enjoy the brisk cool breeze. The frivolous
| smoke curled up about his head and drifted
lazily away, sometimes forward, sometimes
back, sometimes across the car sometimes out
at the side, easily following the shifting air
currents as the breeze was DETECTED this way
or that by the buildings or the irregular street
| opanings.
The car stopped at Tompkins avenue and
two women climbed up on the running board
at til, front end. There were plenty OF seats
forward, but the women worked along down
the car until they came to the third seat from
the rear. Then they climoed in, brushing
past the elderly man at the end and crowding
in between him and the young smoker at the
inside end of the seat. The women were young
and more than indifferently pleasing. More
over, they were vivacious and smiling. They
bore in their arms a multitude Of bundles and
ono CeTTleu an enOrmOus DOx 10 W0lcn enc
held fast by means Of an ingenious contrivance
Of many strings wrapped around and about II.
Women. bundles, and men were more than
enough to fill the seat OF .anv trolley car, but
the women didn't mind. They cheerfully
rhuoked somo of the bundles into the empty
seat ahead Of them, jammed the rest down be-
side or between themselves, aud straiRhtway
began u soul. .edifying discussion OF Sally Jonea
ana her shittless habits Of dress.
In the philosophy OF wOmaukind thar0 IL
nothing SO perpieElng. so far beyond the dark,
uninthSmabie n,a depths Of mystery n as the 'In. I'm
empty seats in the front end Of an open street
car TO settle herself. lugaage and all. in the
cramped quarters beyond which smoking 10 not
permitted. II there is u single circumstance
which likes the determination OF a hesitating
that she cannot endure tobacco smoke. Such
n woman lights on q seat in the smokers end
as surely and as swiftly as bird hasteth to
the snare"
The young women of whom this is written
demonstrated. their membership in the great
sisterhood within one minute after they were
settled in tn" seat next the young man who
was smoking. The young man inhaled deep
smoke % ara vsErSn5 agra G' pu % Of wDd % whirIes VI 1he
smoke up over the wire buttressed fortifca-
tiois of the balloon sleeves of the Young wo-
man next him and wrapped it In oinging folds
about her face. There was gurgle. gasp,
"0h-oh!" exclaimed the young woman when
she could get her breath; that's awful.
can't endure tobacco"
eyes, but he made no sign that he heard. He
looked steadily in front Of him, and perhaps
dure tobacco had crowded into a smokers
seat. Perhaps. too he Thought OF how he had
preached to the women folk Of his own family
on the avoidance of that sin. |; may be that
lie determined 10 giN this young woman an
object lesson in thouGhuuiness, or coinmon
sense. or sefshness. or whatever you choose
TO call il, ana whichever suits your beliefs or
rreiydices. At any rate, he sat perfectly still
Until just "a the car was passing side street
he blew another great cloud OF smoke from
his big black cigar.
The canricious gust that whistled down the
side street blew tho smoke full in the face Of
the tObaCcO-hatiug young woman. She fairly
snorted with anger. and In tone that not a
passenger in the car could hoip hearing she
described TO her companion the mean, CON
temptlbc, low-down character of tho men
who would persist in sIEONing in car where
there were ladies. She commented upon tho
probable circumstances OF his birth and up
lie OF such man. Niien ncklc puff of wind
winding in and out along the street caught a
enveloped her head In il. she gaspcd a lit
and chnked. and the Tears came into her eyes,
hmoks 70 make anybody, even woman, cry.
She whipped outa fan and piled it vigor-
ously, but the perverse wind contested the
series OF rapid long sweeps with her fan that
the young womau's head emerged from the
smoke. Then she turned directly on the man:
You are blowing your V lie smoke directly
in my face" she snapped ont. III you were a
gentleman you would have stopped IL long
The young man turned toward her and
amazenIsnt shone in his face He bowed
grayely and tipped his nat.
Pardon me. madam, lie said sowly and
that blows the smoke, in Your face, not /.
On behalf OF tho wind l apologize"
He faced about again and blew out o great
ring or smoke. Just rs she opened her mouth
10 reply the wicked wind caught the smoke
and filled her mouth with II. For the in.
both hands In protest. Then she caught her
We'll, Of all the impertlneucs." she az
claimed. II never In my life"
surely, madam" put in the Young man,
you cannot expect mo to control the wind.
am not versed In the lore of tho weather,
and have meyer made personal ipvestigation
rents. | remember 10 have read in my early
youth that the wind bloweth where II list
eth. and have always aoceptod that deolara-
tion as one of the truths of nature without
demanding or desiring demopstration OF It.
II is, I believe, perfectly capable of demon
the wind will carry smoke with It wherever iS
goes. In fact, / believe"
But the woman had had enough. She had
watched him with eyes that opened wider
and wider as his sounding sentences rolled
out At last she interrupted with;
There was sharp ring Of the beil and
the car stopped A6sOlpts silence prevailed
as the two women gathered mp their bun
dies and climbed down.
AZ the conductor gave tho bell 1tEAp two
srS-r yanks the young man lot out Q fino
ring Of smoke, and the conductor gave him
. slow knowing wink.
COart CAIsAaAPs This Nag.