Year: 1874

r. by ELSA MANSFIELD.


"Do you intend, Alice, to take tina


sachel and luneh-basket and ird-cag


and plant and waterproof cloak-s


many things along with you into you


car seat 90


Yes, sir, l must"


Why must you, Alice It is no


cold to-day, and there is 10 danger o
| its raining You will not need you
cloak, and you probably will not unstraI
I it. Can't you put it into your trunk, Of
/ manage somehow to take fewer bundles
into your 80 with you -


/ mo, Uncle John, l cannot. Ny
trunk is crammed so full now that feal
the lock viii burst.


Well. Alice, if you must take Sc
many packages with you, I want TO sug-
gest to you be careful how you dis
pose of then Don't attempt to occupy
two seats when you have paid for only
one, if some one else wants the other"


THAT will depend greatly, Uncle
John, upon who tits that wants a seat with
me, !" replied Miss Alice, with naughty
toss Of her head. "I certainly shall
not put my things under my feet nor
load my lap uncomfortably to accom-
modate some ordinary looking man or
fussy old woman. One-half of the men
nowadays would Just rs lief oblige a
young lady to do 1t as not. They are
not gallant at all they ought to be
ashamed of themselves. [ have heard
wOman-gOOd women they were, too
say that the seat beside them was en-
gagged. when they had got their things
placed and didn't wish to remove them.
or because they didn't like the looks of
the person who wanted the seat, when
I knew that-they had no friend that was
blame ttern ss all, GrAeIs -Jahr- 7
shouldn't hesitate to say the same my
self under the same circumstances. 1t
wouldn't be telling an untruth. II all
of these packages were on it, it would
be taken, wouldn't it ?"


''Pshaw pshaw Alice. Is that you
advocating such stuff as that ?" exclaIm-
ed her uncle, in surprise and indigna-
ton. Il, too, have seen women and
girls, and occasionally man, who acted
upon that principle but ] had serious
doubts of their goodness. never
dreamed before, Alice, that you were 50
selfish and unprincipled as to think Of
doing such a thing. III man ought TO
feel ashamed TO take q seat for which he





lady to feel who would not scruple to
practice gross deception for the sake of
retaining, for her own convenience, a
seat to WHICH she has no claim what
ever? ? If 4 were willing to do such a
thing, my aspect for myself would be
about as little as it would be if 1 wished
to steal from a passenger as much money
as he had paid for his car-fare. 1t will
be fully half an hour, Alice, before Mike
gets here with the carriage. While we
are waitinaeI will tell you a little Incl
dent that transpired in the car when
your Aunt Ruth and I went to Rich
mond last fall. We had a seat at the
rear end of the car. The first seat IN
front of us was occupied by a. young
ladY-iust about your age, Alice, judg-
ing from her looks. She was richly
dressed and / think would be called a
handsome girl but there was some
thing both in her look and manner that
was not pleasing TO me, even before /
had heard her speak, or hardly seen her
move. If any one had asked me what
I 1isliked In her, it would have been
difficult for me to tell; yet there was an
Atangible something about her which
gave me the impression that she had no
idea that the golden rule-' Whatsoever
We woald that others should do to you
do you even so TO them'-was intended
for such as she. She probably thought,
Alice, that that divine injunction was
given for common people ordinary
looking men and fussY old women.


Your Aunt Ruth said that she be
lieved that about ell Summerville were
going somewhere that morning, the cars
were so rapidly filed. It is always
amusing to me to observe the difference
in the dispositions and manners of the
people who are seated while -othsra are
passing through looking for unoccupied
seats. / know of no better place in
which to study human nature than in
the cars. I think that I have seen
more curious phases of it while ridin
in them than / ever saw in any other
place. I observed the young lady in
front of me that morning with more in
terest than / did any other person, be-
cause wanted to ascertain whether ]
was correct r not in the opinion which
I had so hastily formed of her.


''One of the last passengers who
came in wasa white-haired, tottering old


pan. He looked to the right and left
OF him for vacant seat, as he passed
down the aisle, leaning on his staff. /
glanced ahead but could see no place
where he could get seat except with
the young lady of whom I have been
telling you. I hoped that some young
man would give up his seat to the poor
old gentleman and find one for himself
In another car; for 1 was sure the young
lady would not make room for him, If
she could avoid it. She had about as
many packages as you intend to take
with you, Alice, and she had arranged
them all along on the seat beside her
with such nicety that it gave them a
peculiarl Ntouch-me-not appearance.
thought 0f asking her If she had
noticed that decrepit old man who was
looking for seat, thinking she might
possibly remove her packages if I
should. But had the curiosity to see
what sheVEould do of her own accord,
so 1 refrs bed from speaking, and in
tended toBive him my place if he did
not secure one before he came to me.
No doubt some of the people whom he
passed would have given him theirs if
they had not observed that there was a
vacant seat beside the young lady. AS
the old gentleman drew nearer to us she
turned her head and looked out of the
window, / must confess, Alice, that /
was rather glad, on the whole, that no
one had moved for him. j wanted to
see how far she would let her selfish
ness carry her.