The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-03-13

young thing. few squares above Wash
ington street the car stopped for woman
who spied the vacancy and made for the
seat. She got as far as the running board
and she tilted there for a moment and pre-
pared to advance further. A billow of or
candle rufiles filled the space before her and
the sweet young thing TO whom the ruff
fies were hung sat stOlidly In her corner
with far-away gaze, offering neither 10
move nor TO draw in a sufficient number OF
reefs in the ruffies TO admit the newcomer:
The impatient conductor reached a hand
for the bell rope. "All aboardt he shouted
warningiy. Still no sign from the organdie-
ruffied one. Whereupon the newcomer took
the initiative, plowed into the ruffies with
both feet and got herself triumphantly into
the seat beyond the sweet young thing, who
favored her with indignant thunder-cloud
glances all the way up the street.
And you can just believe l tramped on
her ruffies as hard as l could and took all
the time could to doing IT.. was the proud
assertion of the other woman later.
Sometimes the woman who holds the end
seat with all the dcggedness with which
Horatius of old looked after the bridge ia
vors you with an explanation as to why she
keeps it. Il am going only few squares,
IL frequently the apologize remark of the
end-seater, after she has forced a litter
conner TO crawl over her. Why she thinks
that il is any easier 10 have some one
and frequently some two or three-climb
over her that she may be able 10 slip out
at her journeys end than ii is to move
along. and at the end 70 do all the climbing
herself is another of the things that no.
body knows. But she has paid for her little
street-car ticket and OF course she has a
right to choose her own place
ALL THE YEAR ROUND.
The passengers of the summer cars are
not the only ones who show strange char
acteristics, however. Funny little bits of
warped human nature crop out in the closed
cars of the winter time just about as often
as they do in the summertide chariots.
Most people who ride in the big cars pro-
vided by generous street-car management
prefer the little crosswise seats to the
lengthwise ones at the rear. They are so
much more coy and they are usually
filled up long before the other seats are
full In addition TO the preference there is
another feeling about the seats that ii is
safe 10 say nine out of every ten women
have.
II don't mind bit having somebody come
in and drop down in the other half of my
nice, coy little seat when the car is getting
at least half taken" is one girls declara-
ton. But" she adds it fairly makes me
boil when there are some seats entirely va
cant and some one comes and planks her
self down beside me. / have feeling some
how that that seat is just as much my
castle as ever any Englishman's house is
his until all the rest are taken, and il is all
can do to keep from asking the interioper
what she means by il. The other day l
was going downtown and the crowd In the
car thinned out of course, at Ohio street
/ was looking out the window when / felt
somebody drop into the seat beside me. In
stantly 1 thought the idea of that woman
getting in here and sitting down with me
Mei-when there are all those seats vacant,
and turned and fairly glared at her. You
can magine how 1 felt when looked into
the dancing eyes. of a woman whom | adj
mre immensely and 10 whom | had been
trying to be my charminsest for the past
few months
There is one kind of woman who never
closes the car door. If she happens to get
out in front. MY husband told me never
to try TO close that door because il is too
dangerous explains one woman. He says
that | am too likely TO shut my skirt in
with IL. and fall down the steps" 1t is
frequently little awkward for a woman to
swing the door shut behind her and though
its dangerousness may be a question with
more than one side, she doesn't deserve
much blame IL she doesn't do II. But the
woman who refuses TO close the door when
she gets in is another matter. She is not
numerous, but she Is not unknown. One
of her class climbed up the front steps of
car one chilly, windy day not long ago
and the blast of cold wind that came in
with her made the passengers SILVER. In
side the car she paused, put out her hand
TO close the door-but. With her fingers on
the handle. she hesitated. III let the
conductor do that-it's his business to-
no remarked Her remark was addressed