The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-22
Fearful ProIogues of Trips te
 Europe
THE HUMoR OF PARTINGS
Men Who Put on a Demeanor of Brus- queness-Couple Who Cannot Part At the Last Moment of
 Sailing.
From the New York Sun.

NO, I never find myself becoming hardened to the parting scenes between the seagoers and the folks they're leav- ing behind, though I've been on the liner docks for mo% than a quarter of a cen tury now said a bluff, grizzled super i intendent of piers for one of the big transatlantic steamship companies. 'I have to turn my eyes away from such scenes just as often TOW as did when I first began to see them.
 "The parting business, however, is tempered by a good deal of humor, even in cases where the bitter tears are flow ing the hardest, and this helps a good deal. For example, it is interesting to overhear some of the little coiloIuies be- tween couples standing off by themselves from the chattery crowd
 Both the man and the woman about to be separated are really in a veritabe fever of despair, but they're doing their noblest to pretend that they're utterly indifferent even while the repressed tears are brfmming their eyes.
 Look a-here, you says the man to the woman in a sort of choked tone and with a foolish grin on his face, If you cry, you know, I'm going to beat you to death!
 Not crying gasps the woman, dabbing away at her eyes with a little wad of a handkerchief; but you stop looking at me that way or I will. Your own eyes look mighty funny
 Whose. miner says the man f1ercely, blowing his nose with a lot of unnec- essary elaboration. You're mistaken. Dust in my eye, that's all. Say, quit that. I didn't think you were such mush. Behave, won't you?
 Let me alone says the woman, trying to iron out her features. Don't you worry about me I'm alright. Why should I feel badly? Just becauses I'm going away from you? Tut, tut, how nonsensicall' and then her voice begins to quaver and he tries to say something, and his voice is shal1y and giveawayish. too. and then they both reach out fur lively and grab a-hold of each others hands, imagining that they're getting away with it without anybody seeing them, and presently, In spite of their fight, they're blubbering to beat the band and still trying to be laughy and non chalant about it between gasps.
 Its entertaining, too, sometimes to hear a man cuss between his teeth over the fact that he just can't keep the tears back when he's about to separate from the woamn who is everything to him. Only a fortnight or so a go I saw and heard case like that.
 "A big bruiser of an athleteic man who looked like stock broker who kept himself in physical trim was sending his pretty little five-foot wife away with some folks. They allowed their party to go aboard and stayed on the pier over l by some bales to have 1t out They were both in pretty bad way over the separating business.
 Presently saw the little woman's 8 hands covering her eyes and her shoul- 6ers began to shake in a silent sort of way The big chap patted her on the arm and said things to her in a low tone. but 1t was no use Her misery had become too strong for her and she was past help ing She just had to cry.
 'IIe saw that and then he looked up and glanced around in a despairing sort of a way and began to tug at his mous- tache. Then of sudden three of four huge drops splashed from his eyes on to his coat and he brushed angrily at his eyes and growled in his throat like a bear. He took up a trudge-big strides ID and down in front of his little wife, who sat on box. her face still covered and her shoulders still shaking. and I heard him growing to himself as he knuckled at his eyes.
 " Danged yap. that's what I am,' he muttered hoarsely to himself as he walked up and down, flourishing his walking stick Softly. Mush slob. Pin head. Ought to be in the Old Woman's home Making an ass of myself Prom ised myself I wouldn't do this. Lummox.
 " Here I am pickering and boohooing around here like big fool rum, hey? Make a man sick. Disgusting. Silly. Demned rot Nothing in 1t.
 She's only going away on boat for two or three months. blast 1t all, and I'm not years old and suffering from a birching and, damnitall, what's the mat ter with me anyhow and he knuckled another big batch of tears out of his eyes and pulled out relays of fresh hand kerchiefs from different pockets and blew his nose like a siren whistle and then he went back to where his little wife was sitting and made out to bully her some thing terrific, but she paid not the slight est attention to him and then he just caved< and sat down on the box beside her and put an arm around her and be- came just as limp and wretched as she was.
 "The men often try to put on that brus- que, choppy manner with the women folks they're about to part with in order to cover up their real feelings but it's not often that they get away with IL when the final wrenchng moment comes. P Last summer I saw a man try that play who deceived even me at 1t. For quite while considered him mean sort of a hound. He seemed to be in a thorough pe/~h, snarly humor from the minute he got out of the auto with his pretty sad eyed wife and he flatly refused to go aboard with her to see her snugly fixed in her cabin
 " Nope he said to her grouchfly when she asked him to board the steamer with her; nothing like that. I should say not. Whats the use? Mighty busy morning for me anyhow Got to be at the office in IS minutes glaring at his watch, or I'll miss fire on big deal.
 |" 'You'll be all right. Oh, say, stop that shifting, won't you? Don't be so infer naly imbeci1e before folks.
 You're not going to be executed, you know. You're just going off on a bully trip for yourself. and you're blamed lucky at that, to be able to go-luckier than am, that have to stick behind here and grind. Now, look-a-here, behave that red eyed stuff, won't you, and act like somebody grown up
 "I overheard all this and lot more, and says I to myself, studying that fel- low: You're an ornery sort of cur mudgeon, to talk that way to your wife when you're about to part from her, and the way she seems to feel about the part ing too for by this time her eyes were simply streaming.
 "She asked him again to go aboard the VXyHITH