MISCELLANY
NO 23
TRAVELLING BY
TRAIN PART 4
SIGNAL FOR
STARTING.
About five
minutes before a train starts a bell is rung as a signal to the passengers to
prepare for starting. Persons unaccustomed to travel by railway connect the
ringing of the bell with the instant departure of the train, and it is most
amusing to watch the novices running helter-skelter along the platform,
tumbling over everything and everybody in their eagerness to catch the train
which they believe is about to go without them. At the same time the seasoned
traveller, who understands the intention of the bell, stands by the carriage
door coolly surveying the panic-stricken multitude, or walks leisurely along
the platform with the consciousness of being in ample time. The signal for the
actual starting of the train is a whistle sounded by the guard, and when that
is heard the journey commences in earnest.
ON
THE JOURNEY.
SETTLING- DOWN.
THE carriage and
seat selected, all that has now to be done is to dispose yourself and your
hand-luggage as comfortably and conveniently as possible. Any travelling bags,
hat-cases, or small parcels which you take into the carriage with you, you
will, of course, place beneath and above the seat at the point where you are
sitting. It need be scarcely suggested that these arrangements should be made so
as to inconvenience your fellow-passengers as little as possible.
STOWING AWAY
HAND-LUGGAGE.
In placing
articles in the net-work above the seats of the first-class carriages, care
should be taken to lodge them securely, otherwise the motion of the carriage is
apt to shake them from their position. We were once travelling in a carriage
opposite to a lady and gentleman, above whose heads was a large square
bonnet-box, a very small portion of which rested against the back of the
carriage, and the remainder tilted over the edge in a most dangerous and
threatening manner. After having our nerves excited to the very highest degree
by the continual motion of the box and its imminent chance of falling, we took
the liberty of calling the attention of the gentleman to it; but instead of
expressing his thanks or remedying the defect, he tossed his head in a most
offensive manner, as much as to say, “Impertinent fellow! mind your own
business.” Finding this to be the case, we removed our seat to another part of
the carriage, and we had scarcely done so, when down came the box upon the
heads of those immediately beneath. The lady and gentleman sharing the damages
between them; the bonnet which the lady had on her head was crushed and torn in
such a manner as to render her quite a figure; as for the gentleman, we failed
to catch sight of his expressive countenance for an interval of at least two
minutes, inasmuch as the box had completely forced his hat over his eyes, nose,
and chin, and he had to make use of frantic efforts to release his interesting
features from their mask. And when he did succeed in freeing himself his whole
air was so woe-begone, and his hat so battered as to cause him. to present a
most woful appearance. True, no blood was spilt, and no bones broken; but both
lady and gentleman were terribly frightened, much shaken, and visited
apparently with some affliction of the brain, which rendered them gloomy and
cross for the remainder of the journey.
MATERIALS FOR
COMFORT—RUG, CAP, AND
CUSHION.
If the season be
cold, you will of course be provided with a railway rug. Before sitting down,
wrap this securely round your legs, and sit upon it so as to keep it in its
place. A rug is certainly one of the greatest comforts of a railway traveller,
and none should be without it. Not only does it keep the legs warm, but on
emergencies it may be made to perform the part of a cloak, a counterpane, a
cushion to sit upon, or a wrapper for fragile articles. When it is not required
it is very little in the way, and if neatly rolled up, and confined by a strap,
may be easily transported from place to place with the other luggage without
entailing much extra weight or bulk. Another mode of increasing the comfort of
travelling is to have something to rest the feet upon, as a travelling bag, a
small portmanteau, large parcel, etc. By this arrangement, not only is the
draught from underneath the carriage-door avoided, but the lower portion of the
body is more rested by this elevation of the legs. When the journey is a long
one, and undertaken by night, great comfort will be found in a cap made to fit
the head, and with lappets to draw over the ears. Having no projecting edges,
the head may be thus leant back, without pain to the head itself or injury to
its covering. The cold night air is also effectually excluded, and those
painful visitants known as tooth-ache, ear-ache, and face-ache avoided. If the
carriage travelled in be a second or third class, the hardness of the seats may
be considerably modified by the use of an air-cushion; which, when not in use,
is simply a roll of caoutchouc, but when inflated for use has all the
appearance and effectiveness of an ordinary cushion. A. species of green or
black spectacles, known as eye-preservers, are excellent things for a railway
traveller to carry with him, for if he be compelled to it near the window, and
opposite to the engine, he will find that by wearing these, the eyes will be
preserved from the dust and ashes which are ever and anon intruding, and from
the draughts of cold air which rush in at the window.
A person in a
railway carriage may be likened to a prisoner of state, who is permitted to
indulge in any relaxation and amusement to while away the time, but is denied
that essential ingredient to human happiness, personal liberty. He is, in fact,
confined to a certain space for so many hours, and cannot well remove from his
allotted durance without annoying his fellow passengers. The materials for
railway amusement and relaxation embrace conversation, reading, card-playing,
chess-playing, smoking, musing, and sleeping.
CONVERSATION.
With regard to
conversation, the English are notoriously deficient in this art. Generally
speaking, the occupants of a railway carriage perform the whole of the journey
in silence; but if one passenger be more loquaciously inclined than the rest,
he is soon silenced by abrupt or tart replies, or by a species of grunt
expressive of dissent or dissatisfaction. Sometimes a conversation is got up,
but it is of a spasmodic and ephemeral nature, lasts for about the first five
minutes of the journey, and then relapses into solemn silence, never again to
be broken. This is most unnatural and unreasonable. Why should half a dozen
persons, each with minds to think, and tongues to express those thoughts, sit
looking at each other mumchance, as though they were afraid of employing the
faculty of speech? Why should an Englishman ever be like a ghost, in not
speaking until he is spoken to? Some fanciful philosophers have asserted that
monkeys might speak if they chose, only they are fearful that if they did, they
would be compelled to work. This is not an Englishman’s case, for surely he
works hard enough, and has no penalty to escape. However, supposing Englishmen
to so far forget themselves as to engage in conversation, let us insert a few
words of advice on this head. Firstly, do not engage in discussions either
political or theological; there is no knowing what tender chord may he touched,
or what pain we may give to others in maintaining some pet theory or dogma. Besides,
the utter inutility of all argument of this nature is notorious. Two men will
argue for hours, each strong in his own opinion, and each bringing forward what
he conceives to be irrefragable proofs of the soundness of his doctrine, and
yet at the termination of the discussion, each disputant, in ninety nine cases
out of a hundred, is not only unshaken in his opinion, but clings to it more
firmly than if he had never heard the other side of the case put at all.
Besides, in conducting arguments of this kind there is sometimes danger of
unwittingly working mischief to ourselves which we may afterwards repent. Here
is a case in point: Two gentlemen, sitting opposite each other in a railway
carriage, got into political argument; one was elderly and a staunch Conservative,
the other was young and an ultra-Radical. It may be readily conceived that as
the argument went on, the abuse became fast and furious; all sorts of
unpleasant phrases and epithets were bandied about, personalities were freely
indulged in, and the other passengers were absolutely compelled to interfere to
prevent a fracas. At the end of the journey, the disputants parted in mutual
disgust, and looking unutterable things. It so happened that the young man had
a letter of introduction to an influential person in the neighbourhood
respecting a legal appointment which was then vacant, which the young man
desired to obtain, and which the elderly gentleman had the power to secure. The
young petitioner, first going to his hotel, and making himself presentable,
sallied forth on his errand. He reached the noble mansion of the person to whom
his letter of introduction was addressed, was ushered into an ante-room, and
there awaited with mingled hope and fear the all-important interview. After a
few minutes the door opened, and, oh horrible to relate! he who entered was the
young man’s travelling opponent, and thus the antagonists of an hour since
stood face to face. The confusion and humiliation on the one side, and the
hauteur and coldness on the other, may be readily imagined. Sir Edward O—,
however—for such he was—although he instantly recognized his recent antagonist,
was too well-bred to make any allusion to the transaction. He took the letter
of introduction in silence, read it, folded it up, and returned it to the
presenter with a bitter smile, and the following speech: “ Sir, I am infinitely
obliged to my friend Mr. —- for recommending to my notice a gentleman whom he
conceives to be so well fitted for the vacant post as yourself; but permit me
to say that inasmuch as the office you are desirous to fill exists upon a
purely Conservative tenure, and can only be appropriately administered by a
person of Conservative tendency, I could not think of doing such violence to
your well-known political principles as to recommend you for the post in
question.” With these words, and another smile more grim than before, Sir
Edward C bowed the chapfallen petitioner out, and he quickly took his way to
the railway station, secretly vowing never again to enter into political
argument with an unknown railway traveller.
Another
inappropriate theme of railway conversation is any accident that may chance to
have occurred recently. We have watched the countenances, and observed the
movements of old ladies, when listening to some graphic description of a
railway accident which occurred only last week. We have expected those elderly
matrons to faint every moment, and we have heard a suppressed groan or a faint
shriek, when the train has bounced over a point, and given some idea to the
uninitiated of something being amiss.
Be it also
observed, that unless it is otherwise mutually desired, the acquaintance
begotten in the railway carriage ceases with the journey, and although you may
have conversed as freely with a person as though you had known him twenty
years, you would not be justified in accosting him in the street subsequently.
We insert this little item of railway etiquette, because it may perchance prove
useful, and without wishing to tire the reader, illustrate the position by the
following incident:—
Lord B—-, a
member of one of the oldest families of the aristocracy, and Mr. G—-—', a
London tradesman, happened to meet at the little island of Sark. The amusements
of that remote and sea-girt place are few, and the number of visitors extremely
limited, thus these two men, although by birth, education and habits, totally
opposed to each other, were drawn into the bonds of association from a species
of necessity. They boated, they fished, and they shot together. They dined at the
same table, and took wine out of the same decanter; in short, for the whole
period of their residence on the island, their several movements were a source
of interest to each other, and they were seldom alone. When their time of stay
was up, they travelled to London together, and at the terminus bade each other
farewell. But poor G was somewhat chagrined by his lordship’s manner, which
perceptibly cooled as they neared the metropolis, and although he pressed Lord
B—- over and over again to come and see him at his villa at Clapton, Lord B
neither responded to the invitation, nor did he invite his quondam companion in
return.
Some months
rolled on, and the London season became at its height, when one day Mr. G ,
walking down Bond Street, espied, on the opposite side of the way, Lord B—
coming along between two aristocratic-looking companions. Delighted at the idea
of being able to show to the passers-by what a highbred connection he could
boast of, G crossed over and familiarly accosted his lordship, proffering his
hand, and making kind inquiries as to the state of his health. But Lord B,
instead of appreciating these marks of friendship, drew himself up to his full
height, and gazing intently through his glass, exclaimed, “Aw—to what happy
circumstance am I indebted for the honour of your recognition? Weally, I have
not the pleasure of knowing you.” “Not know me?” shouted the astonished and
outraged London tradesman. “ Why, surely, my lord, you cannot have forgotten
the pleasant time you and I had of it at Sark, last summer—my name is G .” “
Oh, ah, Mr. G——; Sark—yes,” responded his lordship. “Well, I have some faint
recollection of something of the kind, and if ever we should meet at Sark:
again, I shall be happy to renew our acquaintance.” So saying, his lordship
bowed and passed on, leaving poor G—— to reflections not very pleasant, on the
instability of human friendship in general, and that of noble lords in
particular.
READING.
Reading is an
exhaustless fund of recreation. Ample provision is made on every book-stall
along the line, of literature in every variety of form, so that “he who rails
may read.” It is always as well to provide one’s self with a book or a
newspaper, for if it is not used, you know you possess it, and. can at any time
fly to it by way of relief. It also forms an excellent weapon of defence
against bores, that impertinent, intrusive, and inquisitive race, who can only
be silenced by levelling a volume or a journal at their heads. If two or three
persons in the same carriage purchase a newspaper, it is not a bad plan for
each to select a different one, so that one may be exchanged for the other, and
a variety of information obtained for the same outlay.
In selecting a
book for railway reading, care should be taken that the type is large and
clear, otherwise the eyes are tried too severely to do them any good. When
reading in a railway carriage, the printed lines are apt to present the curious
appearance of running into one another, and utterly defeating all attempts at
perusal. One of the best means of preventing this is to place a strip of card
just two or three lines below the one which is being read, and gradually move
it down the page as perusal progresses. Reading at night by the aid of the
ordinary railway lamp is a task difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish. A
lamp has been invented which obviates this difficulty. It is of small size,
readily lighted, extinguished, and trimmed, and furnished with a reflector
which throws the light on the page. The lamp may of course be used for other
than the special purpose for which it is constructed, and thus in more ways
than one prove serviceable to the railway traveller.
It has been
asserted that reading when travelling by railway proves injurious to the sight,
and so it may be like everything else when carried to excess, and the reader
will soon be warned of this by pain and weariness in the eyes. Certain it is,
that out of every train that starts of two hundred passengers, one hundred at
least may be noticed perusing a book or newspaper, and we are not aware of the
existence of any national ophthalmic disease.
Let us now point
out the best method of reading in railway carriages. In order to prevent the
vibration of the carriages to the arms and book, do not rest the elbows on
solid parts of the carriage, but hold the book or paper in both hands, and
support it by muscular power. The arms thus disposed will impart an elasticity
and aplomb to the volume, while the head, by being balanced on the neck, or at
least not pressed or rested against the solid sides of the compartment, is
equally free from communicating vibration to the frame.
CHESS-PLAYING
AND CARD-PLAYING.
Chess-playing is
a pleasant contrivance for whiling away the tedium of the journey, with those
who are fond of the diversion. But the danger is in becoming too much absorbed
in the game, as in the case of two players who intended to alight at Bath, but
travelled on to Exeter. Card-playing, although somewhat difficult of
accomplishment, is a pleasant pastime among friends, but beware of entering
into this amusement with strangers. It is well known that a class of swindlers,
known as card-sharpers, exist, who live by travelling in railway carriages and
taking in the unwary. When, therefore, you are pressed to take a hand, or to
select a card to play a part in the performance of some sleight-of-hand
business, have nothing to do with it; you are sure to be swindled out of your
money, and have no remedy.
SMOKING.
Although smoking
is prohibited ordinarily upon railways, some lines have certain smoking
carriages provided, where the enjoyment may be indulged in without giving
offence to others; he, therefore, who is inconsolable on the journey in the
absence of his beloved weed, should take care to acquaint himself with the fact
whether there are smoking carriages or not. We believe that on certain
occasions the stringency of the prohibition is relaxed, and we were once
present at the arrival of a train from Doncaster, during race-time, which train
had more the odour of a divan than anything else, and every other passenger who
alighted therefrom, held between his lips a partially consumed cigar.
MUSING, ETC.
Railway
travelling affords a favourable opportunity for musing and reflecting, combined
with that delightful occupation known as “building castles in the air.” Trivial
as it may appear, we yet think it worth recording, that the noise made by the
train in its journey will accommodate itself to any tune, whether lively or
sad, so that if a passenger choose to hum any of his favourite airs, he will
find an accompaniment ready made.
Another source
of amusement is reckoning the distance performed with the time occupied in the
performance. To ascertain the distance travelled, the posts and gradients
placed along the line must be observed; these are situated at intervals of a
quarter of a mile from each other. Those on the left-hand side to the country
show the mileage from the metropolis; those on the right-hand side, the
distance from the provincial terminus.
SLEEP.
Sleep, the last
resource of the tired and the weary, readily visits the eyes of some railway
travellers, while to others it comes not, woo it as they may. The head
reclines, the lids are closed, the body is disposed in the most favourable
manner, but the attempt to obtain slumber is totally unsuccessful. Some
persons, on the other hand, appear to sleep as well in the compartment of a
railway carriage as they would on their own domestic couch. We were once
travelling by the mail-train from London to Manchester; the train was on the
point of starting, and we had made up our mind that we should have to perform
the journey alone. At that moment a tall bulky person entered and, without
looking either to the right or left, made for the further corner of the
carriage. By the aid of a portmanteau and sundry packages he raised a structure
between the two seats of the same height as the seats themselves. He then swathed
his body with a capacious shepherd’s plaid; after that he removed his hat, and
placed on his head a cap which fitted close to the skull and came down over the
ears; then he took his seat, or rather assumed a recumbent position across the
two seats, and finally he tucked himself with sundry rugs, and so asleep. From
that moment we saw nothing more of our fellow-traveller than the tip of his
nose; from that moment we heard no other sound than a bassoon-like
accompaniment to the rattling of the train, in fact, a continuous and sustained
snore.
When we arrived
within a few miles of Manchester, the sleeper awoke as if by instinct, shook
himself together, removed his rugs and plaid and cap, collected his parcels,
and looked at us. We thereupon ventured to remark that he had had a nice nap,
to which he replied that he always made a practice of enjoying his night’s rest
on the railway, and whenever it was practicable he preferred travelling by
night, firstly, because he thereby gained time; secondly, because he thereby
saved the expense of a bed at an hotel; and thirdly, because he stood one
chance the less of being crippled or killed by the agency of a pair of damp
sheets. We then ventured to ask what secret means he employed to insure such an
uninterrupted slumber such as we had witnessed. He stared at us for a few
seconds in astonishment, and then said, “Sir, I make up my mind to it; and let
me tell you that it is as easy to make up your mind and to sleep, accordingly,
as it is to determine upon eating your dinner, and to eat it. Halloo! here we
are.” With these words he cut short the colloquy, gathered up his packages and
vanished. We set this remarkable man down as a travelling member of a
philosophical society, or a political economist at least; but we afterwards
learned that he was the representative of a highly respectable “ button house.”
Binns, in his
entertaining work on sleep, gives a recipe by which sleep may be procured at
will, and which is somewhat to the following effect:—Dispose yourself comfortably
on your right side, and place your hand beneath your head, shut your eyes, take
a long inspiration, and then exhale the breath gradually, repeat this several
times, and all the time you are doing so, imagine that you see a spiral wreath
of smoke ascending towards the ceiling; if you can abstract your mind
effectually, and continue it for a few minutes, you will fall asleep. This
extraordinary plan has been adopted, it appears, by many persons of eminence,
and has been approved by them. Another method of producing sleep is to close
the eyes and repeat some simple piece of poetry, or count a certain number, say
from 1 to 1000.
We mention these
matters here, because a few hours’ sleep frequently prove a great boon to the
railway traveller, and if we can suggest any method by which that boon may be
secured, these lines will not have been written in vain.
REFRESHMENT.
On a long
journey refreshment will be needed, and this can be either obtained on the
road, or the traveller may be his own purveyor, and take it with him. The rule
generally is for the train to stop five or ten minutes for the purpose of
taking refreshment; in such cases, especially with anything like a heavy train,
a rush of passengers is made simultaneously towards the refreshment-room, and
the counter is besieged by hungry and thirsty applicants, urging their various
requests for sandwiches, buns, biscuits, wine, brandy, ale, etc. But inasmuch
as there are usually some two or three hundred persons requiring refreshments,
and only about a dozen hands to supply them, it stands to reason that the task
of serving out the viands is no easy one, and many are the disappointments
accordingly. Let the traveller remember that he has only the short space of
five or ten minutes to gain the refreshment counter, to obtain the refreshment,
to pay and perhaps receive change, to perform the operation of eating and
drinking, and regain the seat in the carriage. It is obvious, therefore, that a
person must exercise his utmost ingenuity and energy in order to accomplish
this edible feat. Now, in this, as in everything else, a certain amount of tact
is necessary to insure the desired end. When the train is on the point of
stopping, mark well the place where the words “ Refreshment-Room ” are written
up, so that directly the train stops, you may make at once for this place
without wasting your time in looking about for it. Walk straight to that part
of the counter where one of the attendants is stationed, and having, in
parliamentary phraseology, “caught her eye,” declare your wants. But in doing
this, be quick and concise. If you desire a basin of soup, never mind the words
“a basin of,” but simply utter the monosyllable “soup,” so with a cup of tea,
content yourself with calling out the latter word; a bottle of ale, “ale,” etc.
Call out distinctly and in a loud voice, have the precise sum ready, if you
know what it will be, or at any rate tender a small coin.
Beware of taking
hot refreshments; whether it be by accident or design we know not, but
certainly the fluids supplied are so excessively hot, and so long in
forthcoming, that it is utterly impossible for a person to swallow them, unless
his throat be sheathed with iron. Observe, also, that you should repair to the
refreshment-room either immediately the train stops, or just before it starts
again, for during the mid-interval the counter is literally besieged with a
crowd of eager applicants, and a person standing behind these and endeavouring
to make his wants known through the din of voices and the clatter of plate and
cups and saucers, has but a very indifferent chance. On the whole, we should
advise the railway traveller to take his refreshment with him; a few ham and
beef sandwiches, together with a little cold wine or brandy and water will
answer every purpose. And by this means a double advantage will be secured, for
a person may partake of his refreshment at any moment he pleases, without being
obliged to eat and drink at a particular moment dictated by the railway
company; he will also obtain his refreshment at a much more moderate charge,
and, further, he will have the interval to stretch his legs in, and to breathe
a little fresh air, which he will find far more advantageous than being huddled
and pushed about amidst a hungry and impatient crowd.
Every person who
is about to travel a long distance, and is desirous of setting out with a
feeling of comfort and satisfaction, should take care to provide suitably for
the wants of the “inner man.” And this is especially to be observed if the hour
of departure be early in the morning, and that morning a cold and raw one. In
the ordinary course of life everyone recognizes the advisability of “laying a
good foundation,” as it is familiarly termed, or, in other words, making a
breakfast so hearty and substantial as shall not only afford nourishment to the
frame for some hours, but shall form the appropriate basis for the various
kinds of sustenance introduced into the stomach during the subsequent portions
of the day. This is a precaution which railway travellers neglect more than any
other. The coming journey produces with many persons a state of nervousness and
anxiety which deprives them of their appetite, so that after swallowing two or
three mouthfuls of food, and half a cup of tea, they quit the table, and with
this meagre provision they start for the station. By the
time a few miles of the journey are accomplished, the appetite recovers itself,
and the slighted repast is recalled to the mind with feelings of regret and
vain desire. Under such circumstances, persons should force themselves to make
a vigorous attack on the viands, and as, according to the French proverb, “the
appetite comes in eating,” the meal commenced with indifference may be
continued with relish, and ended with gratification. At whatever time of the
day the journey is to be accomplished, the traveller will be doing a wise thing
to take some refreshment just previous to starting.
MARKING CARRIAGE FOR
RECOGNITION.
When you leave a carriage
during the journey, it is essential that you should be able to recognize it again on the instant. To facilitate this, every carriage door
has the number placed on the inside of it, but although this assists a person
to find his carriage, it is not all that is required. We suggest that a
rug or shawl of red, or some other conspicuous colour, should be thrown across
the carriage door, so that it may be seen at the distance, and may be at once
regained without rushing from carriage to carriage to ascertain the number, or
to take mental photographs of the passengers.
CHANGING CARRIAGES.
If
the carriage in which you are is from any cause uncomfortable, you should get
out of it at the first station, and enter another. This is sometimes absolutely
necessary owing to the misconduct of other passengers, and it is infinitely better
to leave them to themselves than to attempt to argue the matter with them.
If
you wish to change from an inferior to a superior class, the plan is to speak
to the guard, and he will have your ticket changed at the station, and the
excess of fare will be charged for from the new starting-point; but if you
change your class without consulting the guard, you will be charged the excess
of fare for the whole journey. While we are upon this subject, we may observe
that persons are sometimes placed by the railway servants in a superior class
carriage, when they have a ticket for an inferior one. In such a case it will
be well to direct the attention of the occupants of the carriage to the fact,so
that you may be spared the annoyance and the overcharge which will be asked for
on arriving at the terminus.
CARE OF RAILWAY
TICKET.
The railway
ticket should be guarded with care, as it is demanded at the end of the
journey, and those who cannot produce it are compelled to pay again. It is
useless to asseverate that you have paid and have lost your ticket. Such an
assertion will not be heeded in the least; the simple fact of your not being
able to produce it is regarded as the most certain sign of your not having
paid, and therefore pay you must. A ticket may be also demanded during any part
of the journey. The object, therefore, is to have it always safe and always
handy; a portemonnaie, or pocket-book, is perhaps the best receptacle, or the inside
of the left-hand glove; the worst place is certainly the pocket, where money
and other things are ordinarily kept, on withdrawing which the ticket may be
withdrawn too, and thus be lost.
LOOKING OUT FOR
STATION.
If it is your intention to alight at some intermediate station, you must keep a sharp look-out to prevent being carried beyond it. Observe that the name of the station appears just before you reach it, and just after you pass it; not at the station itself. When a train is about to stop, there is a perceptible lessening of speed, so that it is always easy enough to direct your eye to the left side of the line, and note the name of the station. True, the porters sometimes call out the name of the place, but this they do so hurriedly, and in such a curious and varied dialect, that it is next to impossible to gather their meaning. For instance, when the train stops at Rochdale, you will hear the name called out as Rachdal, Rushdal, Roochdal, Rouchdal, and anything but what accords with your preconceived notion of the pronunciation of the name of the place. And thus it is with numerous other places, the name being pronounced in accordance with the patois of the place itself, and not agreeably to the rules of Walker. [The reference is to John Walker, A critical pronouncing dictionary and expositor of the English language (1791).]
VENTILATION AND
DRAUGHTS.
In regulating
the atmosphere of the railway carriage, the two main objects, of course, are to
secure good ventilation, and to prevent draughts. This is easily done in
first-class carriages, but not so easily in the inferior classes. The doors of
the carriages are usually fitted with a sort of slide which may be closed or
opened as occasion demands, and which in wintertime will be found to admit snfficient
air without necessitating the opening of the window. But in summer-time, when
it is considered necessary to open the windows, one only should be opened, and
the one opposite the quarter in which the wind blows; the opening of both
windows occasions a draught, which even in the warmest weather is apt to give
persons colds, sore throats, stiff necks, etc. In passing through tunnels the
windows should always be closed, as the air there is of the worst description.
When persons will insist upon having both windows down, the best plan is to
leave that carriage and enter another; but if this cannot be done, then keep
the head, throat, and mouth covered, the only measures that can well be taken.
CAUTION AGAINST
LOOKING OUT OF WINDOW.
Some persons,
when travelling by railway, have a knack of continually thrusting their heads
out of the window. Nothing can be more dangerous than this, and numerous are
the accidents that have resulted in consequence. The proper place for the head
is inside, not outside the carriage, and so long as it is kept there, the
chances are that it will remain whole.
CAUTION AGAINST
STANDING BY THE DOOR.
Children of all
ages are frequently suffered by their parents to lounge against the door,
which, if not properly fastened, is liable to give way to the pressure, and
hurl the child foremost on the rails. Generally speaking, the door is fastened
securely, but occasionally it is not, and this happening occasionally is sufficient
evidence of insecurity.
CAUTION IN
PASSING THROUGH TUNNELS.
Male passengers
have sometimes been assaulted and robbed, and females insulted, in passing
through tunnels. And this has been most frequently the case when there have
been only two occupants in the carriage. In going through a tunnel, therefore,
it is always as well to have the hands and arms ready disposed for defence, so
that in the event of an attack, the assailant may be instantly beaten back or
restrained.
ASKING
INFORMATION.
When a railway
traveller wishes to glean any information, he should not be afraid of asking
his fellow-passengers. Among the occupants of the carriage there is sure to be
at least one person who can answer the question put, and persons from whom
information is sought usually feel complimented rather than annoyed. And yet
there are persons of that reticent disposition who would rather run the risk of
passing the station they desire to alight at, than ask any one respecting it.
BRANCH LINES AND
J UNCTIONS.
When a traveller
sets out for a place which involves a change of carriage at a branch line or
junction, he should take care previous to starting to ascertain all about it;
and, when the branch line or junction is arrived at, must exercise great
caution in order to avoid getting on to the wrong line, and not enter a
carriage without first making sure that he is right.
CROSSING THE
RAILS.
When in passing
from the up to the down station, or vice
versa, it is obligatory to cross the rails, it should be done with the
utmost caution. Sometimes the order is not to cross the line unless accompanied
by one of the company’s servants. On other lines, persons are absolutely forbidden
to cross the rails, and are directed to pass by the bridge erected close by.
These injunctions should be obeyed in each instance. It touches one’s amour propre to be called to account
before a crowd of persons, while the passing over the bridge does not involve
much labour, and is frequently more than repaid by the view which this eminence
affords of the surrounding country. It may sometimes
happen for a
person to be on the line when a train is approaching, and when death appears
imminent this is one of the most awful predicaments which a human being can be
placed in. In such a case the strongest brain may reel, and the stoutest heart
quail. The men who work upon the railroad, and especially in tunnels,
ordinarily adopt what may appear a most startling alternative to escape danger.
When a train comes suddenly upon them, and does not allow of sufficient time to
escape by flight, they are in the habit of throwing themselves flat on the
ground, in the space between the up line and down line. Two trains have been
known to pass a man in this position without injuring him in the slightest
degree. But this requires great presence of mind, or rather that species of
confidence inspired by known immunity from danger. The least motion to the right
or the left, or upwards, might bring about certain and immediate death. The men
who adopt this expedient are duly impressed with this fact, and while the
engine and train are rattling over their heads with a fearful din, they lie as
still as a child asleep in its cradle. There is another consideration for a
person who finds himself in dangerous proximity of a train when crossing the
line. Waterton, the celebrated traveller, in his “Wanderings,” gives a graphic
account of an escape from a boa constrictor, the gist of which is, that a
person if he wishes to make good his retreat under such circumstances, should,
instead of running straight forward, merely step on one aside, and the end is
achieved. On the same principle, if in the majority of instances when
threatened to be run down by an approaching train, the person in danger were to
step backwards, instead of making forwards, fatal consequences would frequently
be avoided. We were once witnesses of a most melancholy occurrence of this
kind. A working man with a basket of tools slung over his shoulder, suddenly
jumped from the up platform, and before any one could stop him was half across
the line; at this moment a train suddenly darted round an adjacent curve on the
down line, and was coming onwards at full speed. It may be imagined that the
greatest excitement prevailed among the persons on each side of the platform,
and various and conflicting were the directions shouted from every month. The
poor fellow in a state of bewilderment, and quite unconscious of what he was doing,
made a forward movement, but before he could clear the rails, the train was
upon him, and a fearful groan and a mangled mass but too truly told the story.
Now, if instead of hastening forwards, the poor fellow had made a retrograde
motion of only a yard, he could have accomplished it in far less time, and
would have been entirely removed from danger. As a general injunction it should
be laid down that no one should attempt to pass the line if a train be in
sight. The eye is apt to be greatly deceived in the distance, and the relative
pace at which the train is travelling. And even under the most favourable
circumstances, a person knowing the danger he is running, is apt to become
nervous and irresolute; his foot may slip at the most critical juncture, and he
may be thus hurled prostrate across the line, and be unable to recover himself,
before the train has performed its mission of destruction.
ENTERING AND
LEAVING THE CARRIAGE WHILE IN MOTION.
Numerous
accidents have arisen to railway travellers from their folly in persisting to
enter or leave a carriage while in motion. There is an express law against
this, and the misdemeanour is punished with a fine of forty shillings, which,
in addition to any personal injury that may have been sustained, is paying rather
dearly for one’s obstinacy. At the end of a journey everybody is naturally
anxious to quit the train as soon as possible, and hence the impatience
manifested, and the foolish leaps made. Few persons are experienced in the rate
of railway travelling, and when the train is moving at the rate of twenty miles
an hour, it appears not to be travelling faster than five or six miles an hour,
and with this miscalculation it is easy to understand that a false step may be
made, and the body thrown off its equilibrium.
After all, the
time saved in getting out of the train before it absolutely stops, is about the
tenth part of a minute. If any person near you should be rash enough to attempt
leaving the train before it stops, do not try to prevent him; for being thus
baulked, he is almost sure to stumble, and the consequences may be fearful.
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