A RAILWAY ROMANCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 248, 19 October 1880, Page 4

A RAILWAY ROMANCE.

["Saturdav Review."] One rfay tbe ÜBually impassive L6gfer Rombreker (an engine-driver on tie Lyons railway) was found in the engine ehed giving" way to a furious storm of passion berauee some one had mnde a ereat stain of p»int on his locomotive The 11 violence of bis rape, and the caressing epithets whioh he addressed to tbe Dor-snee (bis locomotive") made' the bystanders snepect thnt there was something wronsr, and the directors were warned of it by several anonymous Mtere, to whicb, however, knowing lexer's excellent qualities, they pp.id. no attention. Soon after this he ran through Melon and Fontßinbleu, at fnll speed without stopping, to tbe diepuet of all tbe passengers who hnd token tickets for those plaoes. Even this was forgiven hire, and tbe chief engineer, who administered a severe reproof to him, foiled to see Anything strange or alarming in Sombreker'p manner. Presently bis madness, still unsuspected in spite of his increasing devotion to the Durance, and Ofglect of hia wife and child, burst out in o terrible way. He alerted from Paris with bis wife and child Yvod, in tbe carriage next to tbe engine, a circumstance whicb tended to reassure Chaueang, tbe stoker, who, since the Melun incident, had no great love for travelling with L6»er. At Monterau Leger (got down to speak to his wife anri Yvon, and when tbe train started again he put on full steam The paseengere eaid to each other, with the sickly smile tbat is common in such circumstances, "Noußallonsun train d'enfer." As tbe train neared Sens, Chauesang thought it was time to slacken speed. " We are coming to Sens," he observed. " Well," replied Leger. "We most stop." "Stop!" roared Lejer, "we have scarcely begun to move ! Stop ! Understand tbis. We shall stop when we have gone round the world " And with these words be increased the pace of the Durance, in which for a long time past he had secretly been making certain alterations with a view to getting from hor a higher rate of speed. Cbaussang appealed and threatened id vain. Leger only replied by laughing in the very frenzy of his delight. They rushed through Sens at lightning speed. By this time alarm had seized on all tbe passengers except a newly married couple in one carriage. Lovere abd fools are all alike. Sombreker and the man ied couple were the only persons wbo were calm. In the other carriages soenes of a harrowing kind took place. The telegraph bad been set in motion to clear the way for the mad train, and from every place that it passed messages were sent to the chief office at Paris. At Dijon Chauesang, who had at first been overwhelmed by the vaetness of the catastrophe, recovered his presence of mind. He shouted Yvon's n«me in J ewer's ear, but without effect ; and then tried wbat force would do. As tbe train flashfd through Dijon the crowd of spectators caught a glimpse of two men struggling violently on tbe engine. The fight was fierce and brief, and Leger won it. When he saw the stoker lying exhausted on the coals, he addressed the Durance with cries of triumph and encouragement, and, breaking the stem of the safety valve, he covered it with an enormous mass of coa'. " The devil's in the man," muttered Chaussang. Then he made hit! way to thß first carriage, and, at the risk of his life and of the chiia'_, and

— __« . — ' ' ' " ■■ •' ' ■ ' ■• in spite of its mother's violent resistance, he carried Yvon back to the engine with him. All that he gained hy tnis was the warm thacka of T^aer, by whose side Yvon stood, delighted as much as bis father in the furious end ever-increasing speed of the train. Tben a man in the first carriage took oat a pun wbioh he bad with him, and fired at I6zer witbont bitting bim ; but before be conld repeat tbe attempt, Marie, Iter's wife, tore tbe «un from his hand and flung it out at tbe window. Meanwhile one of the back carriages caught fire. Certain sounds on the enpine told ChausßaDg tbat the end was approaching. Water at the eame time wae wanted for the boiler, nnd Chaussariß knew tbat if it wbb supplied tbe final "Rtßßirophe would tske place at one. With a cord which he had got frcm a passenger he tied up tbe tap of tbe reeervoir, and the time it took L6>er to undo the fastenings just sufficed for Chauesang, carrying Ivon in bis armfi, to unfasten the couplings of tbe engine. The breathless locomotive having beer unshed forward by the train, tie stoker was unable to unscrew the couplings nnd untie the chains. He was now standing on the buffer, his one hand engaged with his work, tbe otber carrying Sombreker's child. The locomotive, relieved of lhe weight of the train, took a fresh bound, and shot off with th'f . velocity of a bullet from a gun. The waggons, consfquent on the acquired velocity, rolled along for a while, but soon abandoned their giddy speed. The guards, who saw tbe machine running on befo e furiously, tightened up thi wbeele, and in a few minutes everybody was laDded. Cne man only did not leave his place, and that wasChaussang. He gezed upon the Durance, wtich waif now balf-a-mile awav. By meats ol his nails and teeth I<_ger had succeeded in freeing the tap from the cords wiin which it was tied. There was a sound heard like the firing cf artillery ; b shower of rubbieb was seen shooting up in the air. The Durance had gone to smithereens, and the driver Sombrekei ! had leaped with her, shouting victory.