The age-herald., 1900-06-08
IN HOTEL LOBBTES AND ELSEWHERE

Astrologer Raphael's prophecies for this day, Thursday. June 8, 1900:
 "An unfortunate day; be very careful"
 'Thou hast chequered birthday and wilt experience many annoyances, both in thy business and family affairs; see that thou .dost not speculate, and beware of sickness"
 "A child born on this day should keep in the employ of others, and not attempt any business on it's own account"
 Engines seem to have life and mental intelligence like men, and in various ways appear to partake of human character, said Locomotive Engineer Harry Glenn, one of the most expert engine drivers making runs in and out of Birmingham. MT. Glenns regular run is between Birmingham ana Decatur, over the Louisville and Nashville road. Engines have moods, glad or other wise, and are well or sick, tired or fresh and lively. The moment l begin handling an engine I know how the engine feels. It answers my touch by means of its own, and if there is a screw loose, or anything not right, it tells me so. There is every thing in knowing how to deal with any and every particular engine, and every man on a division knows all about every engine. There are amongst the engines some special favorites, just as there are amongst men and women and horses, and so on. Some engines are regular belles, with many ad- mirers, whilst others are wall-flow- CTS, not to be taken out unless you are re- quired to. But generally if you start out well with any engine it will start out well with you. When you take charge of an engine for your run, you must oil it care fully, sort O gently, not shake the can at 1t and hurry aboard. Sometimes when I am climbing Hartsell hill, say, drawing heavy load and trying to make good time with express freight, like watermelons or fruit, the engine will speak to me perfectly plainly, saying, Til do it, I'll do it, I'll do it, I'll do it, I'll do it, Tlldoit, Tlldoit, Illdoit Plldoitr Then 1 know we'll get through on time. But now and then the en- zine may not be in particularly good form, or not feeling well, and have a specially hard load to pull. Then it says, Ican'tdoit, lean tdoit, lean tdoit, I-can't-do-it, I-can't -do--it, 1 can't do it!' That is enough to make me know that l can't run a record that night, so l settle down to hard work; for when an engine labors heavily it makes heavy engineers work. You feel like you want to help pull the big load stringing out down the hill far behind you"
 One night coming out of Decatur I was given strange engine, and of the fellows told me it wasn't much for heavy loads or speed. The conductor believed the train wasn't very heavy, and he thought we could make the run in good time. l gave the engine several taps with the oil can, and mounted to the cab. 1 touched it, much as to say 'howdy,' and the answer was all I could have wished. The engine responded nobly started and kept it up all the way. we hit Hartsell hil a-nying, and down the slope in and out and around about, we made splendid time hitting all the hills as if they were snowbanks that melted. We hit Culman hill with a great roar and as we flew down south my fire man says to me, Did you see dem one legged women? We is sho flying! Dem wo- men looked like da was one-legged.' On we went the engine calling to me, I'lldoit, I'lldoit,' and seeming to laugh over the good time we were having. We hit Blount Springs, and Newcastle, and presently we hit Birmingham thirteen minutes ahead of what was thought to be the best we could do. But they gave us a clear track all the way through. That is what they have to do frequently with emergency or express freight. In another week we shall be into the watermelon business, and for about month work will be mighty heavy Watermelons make hard pulling, and by the middle of July we shall have handled maybe a hundred trains of them. But I don't mind. 1 love my work, I love an en- zine. l am never happy, never feel thor oughly good off my engine And I like a run with hills and curves; they make it interesting. For a time I had run out of Ft. Wayne for nearly hundred miles, al- most perfectly level and perfectly straight, and it got to be so monotonous that I got a job on another division"
 ''It is the healthiest of all work-that of an engineer. I had job in the ticket off, flee at Bowling Green, and was getting $125 month. But l was weak and puny, and never felt well; and so l decided to make a change for my health. I gave up my place in the ticket office, and took a job as fireman on an engine. That was more than a dozen years ago, and since then haven't had a days sickness, and haven't known physical suffering, except that during week or so l felt bilious and sort O let down. My weight has increased maybe fifty or sixty pounds, and l am the healthiest, heartiest, happiest man you know! An engineers life has it's rough side, its discomforts, but it also has it's smooth, bright and happy side, and that's the side 1 see!'
 Our steamed contemporary, the Con- gressional Record, will suspend publication now that congress has quit its foolishness," said the heavy editor with much satisfac- tion and complacency "The bound vol umes of this sessions Record will run to nearly 5000 pages, or thereabouts, and I am convinced that there isn't above thir- teen and a half pages of wisdom. It is chiefly a monument of rubbish to vain bab- blement of the babblers-a little wisdom, d little virtue, little real patriotism and a mountainous accumulation of jobbery pol cNifo h