The morning times., 1896-12-25

CrOwds ThrOnged the DepOtS
Waiting for Loved Ones.
WAS A NIGHT OF REUNIONS
Ther2 We're Some GOdSpeeds but
Welcomes and SmileS Cheered
the ThrengS.

Christmas Eve is 10y all odds the most
iHlrTes. .ug time OF the wear at the ran
road stations. Far from being al excep-
ton q. tae rule, last night was probably
frauEla vIlh more incidents in TINS dircp-
tIun rAaI amy preyious 2irh OF December
for thr simple reason mat the city Is
yea,ly growing larger aud cuusequcn,ly
ttscruU Is al any place become greater ,nd
IInre cosmopolitan.
From noon until long an er midnight. hoth
dppols were crowded wIth eNpcctant mai
titudcs. People came and went uuJii
they reached past the hundreds 1pl ilto
the ll.E.ziuds. Tie good hunor reservoir
OF the IS. ftIon attendants was taxed 10 the
utmuSj Tor IL takes a foaIish crowd 10
ask questions as uonsensical aS they aTr
numerous. The attendants yawned anI
stretched and looked bored. tut the crowds
merely paeStioncd and waited.
short distance Travellers.
II seemed that everybody came and none
went II istrue that now and then an out
gong c> press would take score or more
from tie number but il was almost cN-
Clusively the local trains that carried the
paSseI.Eers away Those who went To their
distant homes started IN the morning, or
the DAY before. or maybe the day before
that
The crowds were distinctly a huge re
cepiiou committees They througed about
the gatoa-tbe GRO wds did The trains were
late almost to a section. a little BLACK
board over an one corner Of tie depot would
tell how uucb The crrgvd would run up
to the blackboard and look for its TarJIcu-
lar train Then IL would go and sit down.
sitting Gown, however. was tedious Some
times as long rs ten minutes would be de-
voted ru tins Inactivity. Then IL would he
on n" move again. or course IL was not
all ihc crowd at once tLat was interested
il son particular train. nUt nevertheless
it wa, ;Ac crowd al an tjn.rS that was in
tcre-fcl Iu some team.
After sitting had gIoWu moHotonous.
and ten minutes was good limit, il would
cet un af.I stretch, ja, thc attendants
did, ana strut about awhile and compare
the -'atIun clock viii ts watches ana
walk rHt 10 Tie gates After that tho
]
hags auotuer na.1 HoHr w,~ added a. tHr
latcu,s- II the train A. all events IL
was continuous performance
When the Train Game.
Ey and 10y a rlogd of steam would
rise on lH~ crisp ar ~ Jne o.Her ead ui
the 'r.ia sired Th. crowd, pr "a r"riau
81, ..rV ,.......-- 4.
woI:G Iand On Irs toe- n would get ~
clos. ta,Z .Ir, iGarJnr srip ulant~ Ny8Ilu
have 10 say politely. stand back" II
voa!I lr.#W uu IT. A1ud~ aHa turn IL head
and step uu somebody's f',.t, ANA lag
pardon, ana crowd ~ closer and look
bclgr. l tHr railing ~ Jl'. iron fence and
nudge f- r.IEl. 8HT siI yvf.i-r5.T .T and haN, a.
be told again o. stand back
al r.|s wIIle tf.e lrsfu rraId D. draw ny
closer alH rne engine Nu.lI ~ Ia~r come
a. r Hs~uH sui stand and pllI In
siirlf ll..tat8u of r1r rHH.uut fHr tHg
Er ram tad .ialr. Hl' who vuIla
eErg sf#ls &c rIlauA.l.E Cd ...-. paulTE rlllur
~ .fUEHE friends .IH rrI5rVrs HsIr
a.r.--fIH H C...'ireuf uI-.u f.lr-s. y,rs fr.,ilf.
aUF p-i-HE.s .af... sIaHL rH.. % al I-la..I
W. u.-fr 1rfea. Ir l.uf'
b f.a rrr f.. Ilr H.F.IItlau u IH,
llE E--rrr- Haf f.au made tue frs Mau
ur --..r e.. r.eu-at one Hfp0f "a lady w,
ssfs. r. Hars ahElfrs ua run ahead a
tI.r H--lU wIIa H1H lsusF-I from trrruuy
uE aHa rau f.FwarI, would reatf
Tle p.Ir ~ tnr great ~tr.d. The glf-Iuar
v..lH push Isauk fHe tTuu barrier and tflrn
Indeed rE.ra was % keeping back 10,
crowd 'E1t had by tti, time Temporarily
stepped a-wu uff Its toe.
Welcoming the Home, omers.
ANY r who has lccu IN station OF
Tie arrival af tram can imagine IN,
scenes 81 the next few minutes far better
than they can he told. The hugs, the
kI>~rS. tHe halls in the way Of the rest ol
the urar">Jedly, disHtcresyed crowd, tht
ErJ''tLBEof baggage. the smiles, the laughs
the uuuIimenIs, the departures are as
familiar the sight Of the incoming
engine uS,lf
They were unusual Christmas crow ds
that allGH;cd from the incoming trains, the
station people said. IT seemed that every
body y as coming home for the holidays
Each Car-end poured out its single file
until the scene looked for all the world
Ike "a river fed by brooks along its
course, and the stream poured steadily
down through the big gates to he eaten
up, or swallowed, or squeezed in the wait
ing crowd.
But there had TO be an end and then
cau'e the sad part Of the picture. People
began TO straggle along. The stream was
running dry. Half a score more and there
would be no passengers. The crowd hat
eyaporatcd as it carried away the mouth
OF the river 1t became "A spell Of trying
anxiety.
Rewards and Disappoint meuts.
The portion Of the crowd that was lef
would raise itself on its feet, as IL la6
done few minutes before, and turn {
gaze Of N-ray intensity on every countc
nance that came down in the fading stream
Now ana then it would be rewarded fo
DTS wait and the looked for one would
come, The last TO alight
Tie disappointment in looks, In action,
and IN feelings Of those who waited in
vain = another thing that can be una gineC
as well as told Such were TO be secl
last night. At one Of the stations an
aged woman was Secn who fairly presset
the iron bars into her face in her anxiety