Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1906-04-27
HER SAD EXPERIENCE

then proceeded with a series of Jerks
to get under way again. During the
brief interval a well-dressed woman
climbed aboard and made her way.
as listed by Intermittent grasps at the
straps, to the vacant seat in the far
end of the car She sank into it with
a sigh of evident relief; then she
opened her shopping bag, hunted
around in it for awhile and took out
hve-dollar note and four pennies.
A vain search for the fifth penny fol
lowed, while the conductor waited
lmpatiently. With an appealing look
she handed him the note
Cant do it, madam sorry, but l
-" a woman's voice interrupted him.
why, my dear, I'm so glad to see
you. When did you get on? | was
so interested in this book that |
didn't see you. You need just one
penny? You poor dearl Here's one.
Now tell me all about yourself.
haven't seen you for perfect ages, and
you look all tired out
The other woman smiled a wan lit
tie smile and seemed ready to cry.
Mary Thompson, you and that
penny have saved me from having an
attack of Mysteries right here and
now If I'd had to face one more dis
agreeable thing to-day I'd have given
right up"
Mary Thompson looked a little
alarmed and a good deal interested,
but she gave her friends hand a sym
pathetic squeeze and settled herself
to hear the worst
I've just been to the station to see
my husbands cousin off. She's been
with us for four days, stopped on her
way out west, and such a time as I've
had!
THE morning after she came she
said she wanted to see Fifth avenue,
and we started out bright and early
to go uptown in a stage The first
one that came along was one that had
high seat on top, back of the driver,
that could only be reached by climb
ing up the front wheel. She is very
short and inclined to be stout. and is
anything but agile, but she insisted on
climbing up there. Was afraid she
would miss seeing something if she
rode inside. | didn't know her then
as well as I did three days later, or l
should have fatty refused.
I'VE got up there without much diff
ficulty. and l suppose l ought to be
glad that she enjoyed the ride. 1t was
good deal more than | did. She put
her arm around me and Rugged me
tight all the way to Seventy ninth
street because she's subject to dizzi-
ness and was afraid she'd fall off. and
by the time we got there she knew as
much as the driver about the swell
houses on the avenue, and he knew
more about her than I ever dreamed
of knowing. for her democratic spirit
is only equaled by her gift of
speech"
Mary Thompson smiled looked ont
to see how far downtown they were,
and then resumed her sympathetic lis
tener attitude.
But, my dear" the other woman
continued, you ought to have seen
us getting down. You know that IN
less you start to climb down from the
top of those wretched old stages you
might as we'll fall off at once for the
little iron steps aren't big enough to
change from one foot to the other
after once you make the start. | got
down first and then she came, or rath-
er she tried to come-of course with
the wrong foot foremost
She had a terrible time getting
down as far as the top Of the wheel,
but there she baked. The driver and
did our best to help her, but she
hung on to him with both hands, while
she stood on top of the wheel on one
foot and waved the other wildly in the
air and begged MS to put it somewhere
for her. | took hold of it and tried
to bring 1t down to the hub. but she
wasn't long enough to reach IT, and
she was afraid to let go of that poor
driver BY this time the rest of the
passengers had became interested, and
two or three of them had their heads
out of the windows and were offering
suggestions, and the inevitable crowd
of small boys was beginning to gath
er. She might have perched there yet
if one of the horses hadn't switched
at fly with his tail.
The old harness ratified little, and
she got panic-stricken and thought
they were going to run away. With
out any warning she let go of the
driver and sat down plump on my
shoulder. and slid to the ground. The
small bovs cheered and the passengers
grinned, and she thought 1t was
funny!
I'VE went into the Metropolitan
museum, where I thought I'd have a
chance to recover my equilibrium
while she looked at the pictures. She
did look at them. and I suppose they
must have made some sort of an I'm
preston on her, but she talked inces-
sanity about the pictures that she saw