The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-10-12

She Held the End Seat of the Car, but
Her Finish Came.
Washington Post.

washington TOSl.
'I saw something distinctly unique in
the way of feminine--er-I was going to say
swinishnesS, but ii let it go at selfishness'
said a Washingtonian who is notorious for
the infrequency with which he emitS
sounds from his facial orifice unless be has
occasion to say something. 81 boarded an
incoming F-street car over in Georgetown,
taking the outside position of the only va
cant seat. A couple of squares later on a
square jawed woman with a tip-tilted nose
i Immediately recognized her skirted
person whose portrait l had often seen
printed in the newspapers in connection
with the mothers congresses and other out
fits of that character-Started to board the
car at the spot where l was sitting. If /
ever was end-seat hog L cut out being
one a long time ago, and so j moved over
and let her take the outside seat. She be-
slowed upon me sort of smile of disdain.
good thing you are. to be sure" and / could
observe how acutely she enjoyed the shad-
ow of gloom which crossed the conductors
face when she gave him pennies as fare.
AT the very next corner a very old, blind
woman started to get into our seat-all of
the others were nearly full, but as yet that
seat of ours held only two L moved over
to the third place, and / naturally expected
that the square-jawed woman to whom L
Lad surrendered the outside seat would, in
her turn. move over and make room on the
outside for the old woman with crutches.
Did she? Well, not any more than Helen
of Troy ever took in washing or Cleopatra
made a business of picking up carpet rags,
scroonched in to let the old woman with
the crutches by There was, at that,
spiteful look on her map over the fact that
the crippled old woman had had the nerve
to want to get into the seat at all. Two
corners farther on an old palsied man,
dressed in the old style, with high collar
and stock and all that, saw the vacant
space in that seat of ours, and he. too. had
10 struggle as best he could past the
square-jawed woman TO whom 1 had so
freely passed over the end seat. The old
crutcheS Il
and made room for the old man next to the
just nachully mean woman on the outside.
But something always happens to give
people of her sort dent. When the car
reached Fourteenth street and New York
avenue a robust, middle aged woman with
a market basket saw that there were only
four in our seat and that all of the rest
of the seats held five. She swung herself
on board with her basket held over her
arm The woman on the outside glared at
There's no room in this seat she snap
ped, angrily, at the woman with the market
basket.
with an expression of calm surprise for
moment. Then she said:
% They hain't, hey? Well you don't never
want L git no sech idee as that-a-one in
your pighead, Cynthia-theres room right
where you're sittin this minnit. and thatIl
be good enough for me-, and she deliber--
ately pushed the mean woman over and
crushed herself into the outside position
and never felt so much like applauding
out of theater as 1 did right then.
Its easy to see what kind of training
you have had snarled the woman who had
been effectively displaced.
"'You needn't lose no sleep botherin'
bout my rearin. was the calm reply of the
woman with the market basket. Il know
one place where | wasn't raised and that's
a hogpen. and that's heap moren can be
said by hull lot of sashayin female crit
tiers what go a-fiatin' up an down maxim
holy shows o. their Manners
1.-The mean woman left the car at Ninth
III hnr tint fl.1 -fsI
air But she was carrying the loser-out's
pennant all the same"