The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-04-05
(By Mrs. Russell Codman)


 The station was crowded; after some difficulty I found an unoccupied seat, and I sat down and watched the peo- Die surrounding me, passing to and fro.
 An Italian couple with six child ren and an infinite variety of bundles sat opposite me and they looked as if they had already sat there for hours. The children rolled and clamored about the seats until one or two of them mercifulIy fell asleep, The father end mother ap- | peared so inert and stupefied that I 1 wondered how they would know when and where their train would start 1 then noticed an elderly woman | ! coming down our aisle; she was 1 dressed in faded green suit, and | carried only little bag which she | nervously clutehed. She looked about | in a troubled, agitated way, and sec ing an empty seat next the Italians, 1 l she sank down apparently exhausted. | Repeatedly she glanced at the clock, i 1 and then with trembling fingers. she | drew out from her bag a. pair of/b1ack l cotton gloves, and a black veil badly 1 crumpIed. UnskiIlfuI1y she tied the | veil around her green plush hat, and l it dropped in irregular folds about i her worn, unhappy face. In this 1 nasty aoornInent Of a veil of mourn
 ing, l divined a sudden call to a
 oeathbed, call no doubt, that came
 too late; and while my plying eyes read these signs of evident distress l wished I could do something for
 her.
 An unpleasant1y strong perfume.
 oreW my attention to a girl sitting in one seat beyond mine. She was dressed in the latest style of the most l ridiculous of recent fashions Her
 nat hid one eye, and her hair cover eo poth ears and the greater portion or her cheeks. While her hap and her } ha1r concealed what might be prop
 erly shown, her coat and waist were 1ndlscreetly open. In like manner an abbreviated skirt displayed a long length or transparent stocking, whose 5 transparency was plnctured by sev- , eral holes. Her heels were so high | and narrow that I fancied she must
 De aR expert equilibrist to be able to
 walk on them Everything about her
 was or the cheapest krnd; she turned
 towards me and I saw her lips were
 rouged and her cheeks powdered. I
 also saw a silly face, with a, pleasant
 good-natured expression; very young
 scarcely sixteen, I thought. I smil-
 ed, amused as I looked at her: en- , couraged apparently by this she caIl- ' ca out to me across the intervening s empty seat, Say, can you tell me how long lasts a movie show in the
 city? That guy who carried my suit ! case Just now, says there's a swell
 movie close by; but says I'll miss e my home rain,' but he says. I've got , plenty of time He's gone to find ont '' 5 remembered noticing a displeas- 5 ing looking man beside me, who had
 Ie1t hls seat minute before so I asked hesitatingly, "Is your friend gong with you! Sure, but he aint no real old friend, we kind of talked s III the street car, and he carried my su1t case; I've been shopping around; e but he's alright he's got a swell iot . with lady's hair shop. He gave e me this stuff to put on my face. How d does it look? Swell aint it?'' Sha n fortunately did not wait for an answer e and went on: He says I'd bette, Ll Hyseh 1n the city, but says T must l. stay at home and help mother witT - the kids;' there are eight of us. and
 I'm the oldest of the bunch, but i, d amt no fun, with all those kids d about
 - It was naturally not for me to ad- l. wise her, yet she seemed s,o vo,,r,
 and foolish that I felt worried ahoni e hSr going off with this man. but i V could think of no way of preyentine =. her. III e At that moment a quietly dressef l. young woman came down o1,r aisIa
 She stopped before the Italian fam n 1Iy' and after rapid inquiry, picket s. up one of the children who haf V slIPped to the floor, and seizins som, a or their parcels, took one of the child If ren by the hand and piloted tben, sI
 out of the station. They followed he, " Ike doc1le sheep, and wondered vvb, s she was. " -i'
 The two converging streams of neo
 pie flowed through the waitIn.
 room A long distance train mus
 nave arrived judging by the man
 persons laden with bags of all sort
 truog1ng in, and who showed ever, S sign of trave1-stain and wee rinoSe
 while sUburbanites hurrying home
 wards formed a current cornine fror ,u the outside It was a passing sho1 1e G representing every degree in the so
 cId1 scale, vast concourse a nov . u. ing reel Of unconscious actors wher Ill the observant spectator saw disnIeve s Tn the many meetings and farewell W n' tarc1al comedies and intimate traee
 u4eS' realized for the first time tha u. a railroad station is the stage sci fo ," realities at play where the usna11 IT. lrnpaSSIve mask is lifted for rnoro ie ent- These faces expressed eager .s' ness, 1mpatience, ill-temper, anxiet7 Ie helplessness. I noticed fevertshl n nn- excited gestures, and slow, uncertai c l movements It was especially tn O' helpless, the stranger, the foreigne o that arrested my attention. fe ;, their urgent need for, guidance. br Iu who in this surging crowd. couI III take the traveller by the hand an
 lead him safely on his way?
 There came a lu1l; every seat WIZ
 nIled with people looking tired an
 morose, when suddenly a child's voie
 was heard, loudly singing, and P sturdy little fellow walking betwee AS his young father and mother. piatn1
 showing pride in their robust of 'e- spring, came down our aisle. A sni fly appeared on even the most su1Ie It, faces when the child went bv. z m if a sunbeam had pierced tt h- shadow of our discomfort. aIs ler was smiling until my eyes fell on tt nS black yelled woman opposite me. A .1 expression of intense anguish distor \. ed her pale lips, as the merry be z went by, and two tears, unheeded. fe V" from her mournful eyes Her hea Vt dropped forward and she sat motto,