Evening star., 1903-07-01
IN THE MATRON'S ROOM.
Scenes and Incidents at the Railway
Station.

Train for Charlottesville. Lynchburg,
Danville Train on track 2. All aboard"
The leathern-lunged caller at the Penn
sylvania station had just finished calling
twice in each Of the waiting rooms at the
9th street station the next train to depart.
"Now, it won't be two minutes" remark
ed the night matron of the woman's wait
Ing room, until some woman comes up to
me and asks If that train Is in yet. 1t must
be excitement. He Is one of the best call
ers I ever heard. and yet there are lots of
women who say they can't understand a
word he says.
"Sights down here? You just stay a
| while. Some nights am so busy hardly
get to sit down a minute Then. again.
everything will be nice and easy. Some
things see are pathetic. / remember not
long ago four little children coming up
from Virginia on their way to the orphan
asylum. The eldest who was in charge,
was boy perhaps of eight years Poor lit
tie tad! Besides the two younger ones.
who could walk. he had a two months old
baby that he carried. To see that little
chap hold that baby and feed 1t from its
bottle was enough to make the tears come.
Tagged, all OF them, so they couldn't get
lost. See things down here? Oh dea. me,
yes
Zone of the matrons down here had an
awful experience with crazy woman The
woman had gone into the inner room with
her. and then. suddenly seizing her, PIN
ioned her into the store closet, threatening
to kill her If she did not help her to escape
from her husband. The matron was clever
enough to promise this. and SO obtained her
release. Another insane woman who was
here one night believed that everything that
happened was the Lords will That was
her favorite expression. It's the Lords
will That woman had to stay with the
matron almost all night. Now. between 1
and there are no trains in or out. and
things get pretty still. The matron was
dead for sleep. but did not dare even to
dOze, for fear the crazy woman would take
that she should kill her. A third woman,
who must have been denented, cursed her
husband to me frightfuliy. and vowed she
was going to leave him."
'Is thee the lady policeman" asked a
Quakeress recently. Are you the boss"
is frequent question. Sometimes she is
called the caretaker.' and again Mrs. Ma
tron.' What do you do here?" she Is
asked often. Just look after this valise a
moment while buy my ticket. won't you?"
is common request.
1.-The woman with several small children
must have hard time travelling" was sug-
gested-
Eyes, but it seems as if one is just as hard
as lot. 1t depends on the mother. There's
a woman who's walked the floor for an
hour with her one baby, and the other day
a woman with seven stayed here for two
hours and when they left they were just
as quiet and orderly as II they had been
asleep all the time.
"No, haven't much time to read You
see, there is always somebody beginning to
eat lunch and have to explain that she
must go TO the room at the other end OF
the station If she wants to do that.
IT'S astonishing the kind Of clothes many
women wear to travel in. One girl came In
here one day with trailing pink silk dress
on ready for a party. Another one had
a light foulard trimmed with lace. In my
mind folks show what they are by dressing
suitably for q journey.
"The old women who como here alone are