An Engine-Driver's Story.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 3035, 23 October 1888, Page 2

An Engine-Driver's Story.

On Monday, August 0, two trains - tried to pass one another on tho saino track near HamptoniWiolc,-Buibitou, with the natural result that.one engine-driver and fireman aud*two ■ passengers - were' killed, the 'otliifr' engine-men and, , other passongera badly hurt.'' The' following is the account given to ;a' reporterMjy Pickles,. the engine ■ driver, who escaped with his life,, He was found lying in bed. On bis right cheek was a torrible gasli, wliile his head was J iniich swollen; pri his right hand was what ugly hu|:t." HiyingT injured, hand to his iiroij, /Eickles thus related what he characterised as " His Life or Death Struggle on .tho Eiigine"lt was' a ! - very dark night, • Just as I : was entering tho station I saw the train, ' Good God," I said to my mate; 1 wo are on the wrong road,' ,)Yedid all;we' could . to stop the engine. ' I reversed her, and my 111ate—well,1 io.acted. without aihoment's hesitation, and tugged: at the brake, , We knew then,;tuat it was life and, death.- ■ Wo' hadn't ■ , time to speak, ; biit'looked at each other, I doH't know what''lie l ; did then, but I held my brpath.; X'l'aslr! I didn't feel anything time. A ! piece, of jron*fraip.tl)e ■otherengino struck'mo full.m tlio ' face, as you seeanother: piece hit f iue in the chest/ and r' Vas driveiV <f4| backwards with j tl'emerfdous '.fofce ' ' from the lever of which I had hold at the time. I solemnly assure you, sii', we did all we could, and my mate tugged at tho brake in a way such as. I (never saw W d i f e|i(ah' dof before. was killed, I "as you know. My engine was a ' bogoy'; if it had been a smaller one it would liavo.boon worse for,us*, ;Hof ligpt.on.tho in this way: Tliero was a verbal nal from the. box.;ihalf-a-mije. from.■

Hampton ,Wick Station..' .'Right away,' says Parsons, tlio signal-man, as my engine was jueir Uudei* his ■ box, ; 'artfflty : ratp! When I';started'; Ij; <jo\ild ■' : seo"tlip/.road, it was:' so darlf] ! ,'lbu£ i! i ■' truated : to ;! tlie jSigiial-man's(!♦ Rigiit . away I' Parsons; says he was oyer-, worked. That is-not so. It was o'rdiuaiy holiday traffic." Ho: had train to ; atterid'to at! (lib.: hip.'.lovel at the ' I Ho evi. jlontly. mado f-mistake, with tlio ■p6intsi ; aiid : thug gliut ; us iiii' '"'lt was a dreadful crasli'for us,'l)ut ;lb"bafiK part of tlio train was not hurt at all," and some of the, passengers .wero actually found , asleep in the hind carnages afteivtho collisionji :■ I was ontho line I assisted to get my fiieman up; and then, a gentleman [with a.bottlo: of 'brandy/, seeing!:ma covered with blood, said 3 "'Hero, old fellow, 1 4 you had'bbto ham ft drink'of this.' I mUst'hav^losra' ,quatt ; of blocd. 1 , Parsons, ;.lW signal-, man was as sober as a judge~that A I can vonoh for. I have been a driver about six or seven years. When I could soo through' the streams of . camordown. mv face, I saw poorfParceyVinafo! n it was ait awful sight; his body was so- tnHoh mutilated. : The doctor . says I must n't get-up,buti : feol now as if ' I could go to work in» week's timo." 1 6reat iWtlors;^

by f" vV> „ second-, la lhe manxwho :.will teach us toreprDd\icB f thebswtifolttjbt / *' v\ * 4 i/ * 4 ' I 1 V

v and tho My! ii ' iighi •without heat, the production of which .Means the.utilisation of eticigv wi'li- ,. ■ Out that. still moro. serious waste ol .tho thmo'dynnmic now mot with in 1 the to piodiico light; while • the tliird'is tho man who is to tjtvo us tho first prnctioiillv ancccsnful air ship. : Tho first two of thoso problems is not ,i. . foiv tho electrical engineer, mid wo > limjv bo .paidoned oxcoss ot faith, - should it provo to bo audi, when, ■■■.; contompluting tho enormous gam to \ humanity wbioh must como of s'leli •inventions, wo look confidently for . the genius who ia to multiply (ho; .wealth of tho world to nil oxient . : beside which oven tho boon conferred by,the creators of the steam. engine • and tho-telegraph will not iippi-"' , overshadowing, When this inventor , comes forward, and most probably not /. is .Vjjrvlilcely that we til all Bee steam supSralidcd by a tivn!, —Now York Forum.

A Modern Asliby-de-la-Zoucli. exchanges state that DunciUflEoss, champion mounted sword-fighter of tho world, camu witahead on the 4th inst, in a bittle with Captain "Jimmy" .Daly, the Irish giant. Tho content took place on the broad plain,of the Sea Beach Palace at Coney Island. Nows of the battle had attinctcd hundreds of sport.lovers thither,and wlien the trumpeter Bounded the charge n thousand people waited breathless for • the onslaught. The contest Was for 300 dollars a-side, with a purse of 1000 dollars, and. an elegiiht trophy additional, hot to mention the championship of the.world. TomLeeu,. tho recently-imported prize fighter, acted as.umpire for Rohm. and John Black, a sport of local limit', I performed the same office for tho giant, PrWfcor Miller,' all-round athlete, was chosen referee, Fred Bryant was trumpeter. It wan announced in the beginmSfEat Captain Duly had a swollen foot, tho result of a fall from his horse while exercising on the previous Tuesday; otherwise both men were in excellent condition. Moss was the first to enter the on,a powerful black charger. His cuirass'was ; pf; lilaek steel; a red cross; wrfs emblazoned on its front; his arms were encaswl in wristlets of steel, anil lie galloped up ■ and down,before:his audience, swinging a glittering cavalry sword'about his head. The giant stalked into the plaza. similarly attired ex:ept, tljaij bis cuirass Was red; he carried lii-i sword in his right hand,. and in his lelt was tho regulation broadsword mask. Ho was given a dark bay horse, and was quickly mounted. The'masks wero adjusted, and (he horsemen took their positions in opposite corners of the plaza, At the sound of the trumpe£jb'modern knights put spurs to and galloped to the centre of t'lio lists, There was a clash of swords, and the riders parted, Ross wud 'tlie firsl to wheel his.-horse- and furiously; tholatter's animal waaluiiniiiiigejiblo,and he was taken at a disadvantage. There was a little wary thrusting and parrying, and then Bojs scored his first point by getting in a sounding thwack "on his adversary's breastplate. , There was' an interval,'during' ffhich the giant changed iiis restive steed for a graceful bay, The trumpeter again sounded the charge, and as tho contestants again passed at full gallop, Daly made a vicious cut to get under his advorsary's guard. Tho blow was parried, and as the horses were brought round' th 4 men closed, and Ross btdo" a clean cut on the giant's breast, 'I lie bout wan declared in his favor. A littleetream of blood trickled down lb* champion's arm from an.ugly gash iii his shoulder, Iu the third bout Ross chased his opponent all round llio lists/and easily scored the third point the litoent he succeeded in cornering Both men fought carefuhy lowflcxt bout, and there was somo pretty fencing. Daly, improved the first opportunity for anopening, : and scored his first point by a' backward blow across his opponents Bhoulder, .The nejft.Uo bouts were won by,Rossi who iorced?the : fightiiig and tho score stood five to one in his favor. It'-was evident' that the giant's foot was paining him, and ho was unable to lise his spurs to advnntage in wheeling his horse. Aft;r the firstonslaiiglittlie animal stumbled and went to the ground With its 'rider, The giar.t was up in a minute; his leg had been badly crushed; but he limped to bis 1 opponent with sword uplifted .and fire in lii 3 eyes, Clash carno the sword on Ros's'ti breiistplute, and clash it came again, just above bis belt. Rose made ut lunge at his fiery, antagonist, which the latter parried. .Then tho giant oaught his ad vomdjjgword and began puui rnel • ling 'himJfJJoss wheeled his hone and Blnng bis sword at tho giant's head. .He was about to dismount to continuo the battle with bare lists, whep manager O'Brien rushed in and Bloi'Mfccomraanded him to take bis battle was .declared in favor of Ross by a score- of five to two. There was great excitement'over the wind-up, and tho police had to be called in to disperse the crowd.

; Cunous Forgetlulness. ; During a theatrical performance which seoms to have been of a mixed character, the godfi, in the gallery called for a favorito Irish song; though . it was not announced iii the. bills. A well-known Irish afctor and vocalist canio forward wiWacrity and good humour to comjny with the" wishes! of the gotla.. Accordingly the music played, but "thd singev -stood quiet aud apparently confused. The sym- , phony, AVas repeated*. but the - same silence aW confusion on the part of . vocalidwßok place in rather and inTlio symphony, was pcrformctl a third time,'but all to no purpose. At length.the actor cuinc forward to tho front of'the stage and thus addressed tlio., audience Ladies ,a(id gentlemen, I, assure you that I have sung this song so often that I forget the first lino." A nndVundred good humorccl. voices began, to prompt ;"tho,. smgeiv who immediately gave" tbe'song in ; good style and gamed Sudden forgetfulnessisriot an unusual' thing in the pulpit.distinguished , bishop onco broke down in tho middle of tho Lord's .Prayer,., Even, the great French' preacher Ma'ssillon, once stopped in the middle •' of' it ser'-' mon froiu a defect of memory; and Massilon himself recorded that the same thing happened,' through excess of; apprehension' , to, two . other preachers whoni he went] to lieuv in different parts of the same. day. j Another French preachdr stopped in the;middle of 'a eerraon and was iinableito . hbwefiiP|'as 'gotover''ih|eiuOusly. ! " Frioiids, .said lie" I. lipid; forgot to . ..sayihataperson muchiatii.iotedris. recommended to your immediate , , prayers'." iHe fell ; on. liiaf kheeit,; % and'beforo he arose.lie had re'foveted' tho Uiwad of hie;diaCourei : he ' 1 Wot" of

memory hoiiig pereoived. A Hoston Munstor WUB OHCO in a similar piedioament. In the middle of his soi'uion lus memory failed him and lie stopped abruptly. ■ The pause seemed long to tho proaohor before bo rogamod his thoughtt, and lie imagined tho sormon to bo a failure mconsequence; but as lie v/alkcd quietly up the aislo a difforent impression was givon to him. " How did you liko tho sermon?" askod one hoaver of another. " Liko it ? It is tho host sermon oiu'; minister has over preaohod, That pauso was sublimol" Another Boston clergyman is not only absent-minded, and lias a short memory, but ho breaks down n.i continually ■as ho broalts down suddenly, To counteract this, it is a habit, with liim, when he forgets anything,- to rise again and make a few supplementary remarks, which lio always begins with tho phrase "By tho way." Ono Sunday ho got ha'f way through a prayer from memory,when lie hesitated, forgot what-ho was about, and sat down abruptly without saying tho dosing sontonco. In a momont or two ho arose, and pointing his finger at the amazed congregation, he exclaimed " Oh, by the way, amen I"

Thought Reading. • When in France, writes Mr B.i A. Proctor, Dickens wont with - Mrs Dickons to an ontorterlainmeiit by a then vory celebrated conjuror. Whatever they saw they wove free to attribute to trickery without in "any way reflecting on the honesty'itif "the performer. I noto this because it certainly makes a difference in .our estimate of such a performance | whether the exhibitor claims' powers beyond the natural or only exceptional skill in deception, in this particular case, the circumstance that the observed facts cannot readily (or at all, as far as I can see) bo attributed to any kind of trickery makes the display altogether, more interesting and significent. , Let the reader, after carefully considering- the facts as observed and described by Dickens, decitlo. The conjuror was in the midst of the audience, after what has of late years beon the morO gonoral custom .in . such performances. Dickons and his wifo occupied the front vow. The conjuror brought with him somo writing paper and a blacldead pencil, and lie wrotp'soiiio words on half sheets of paper. .One of these ho folded in two aud gave to Mrs Dickens to hold, " Madame," he said aloud," will you think of any class of objects ?"" 1 have done' so," she replied, "Of what particular' class, Madame ?" " Animals." " Will' you think of a particular "animal, madame?" "The Lion" " Will you thiuk of another class .of objects, madame ? "I have done so." "Of what class ?" " Flowers." "Tho particular flower?''" The rose."Will you open tho paper you hold in your hand?" She opened it, Dickens tells us, and there. was neatly and plainly written in pencil, " The Lion, tho itoso." *■ Nothing whatever had led up to these words," Dickens proceeds," " and they were tho most distant conceivable from Catherine's thoughts when • sbe ; entered the room."

Why He Did Not (to to the ' ; Hospital. ■ HE COULD LMMTOUQH' THE ■ AIR, My object in-writing is two-fold; to express my sratitudo 1 for a great benefit aud to tell a short story which cannot fail to interest tho feelings .of many many others. It is all about inysolf, but I liavo" remarked that when a man tells the honest truth about himself lie is all tho more likely to bo of use to his follow-, creatures. To begin, then,' you must' know I had long bflcn more or less subject to attacks of bronchitis, a complaint that'you aro aware is very common and tnuUesome in Great Britain in certain seasons of the year. Some months a?o I had a very sovero turn of it, worse,. I think than I ever had before,,, It was probablv-brousjbt on by catching cold, as we are all apt to do when wo loast expect it. Weeks passed by, and my trouble proved to bo very'obstinate. It would not yield to mediein'o.and as I also began to liavo violent racking pains in,ijiy limbs and back, I bdcaiiie greatly alarmed, I could neither cat nor sleep;' If I had been a fcoblc, sickly mart, I should liavo .thought lessttraugoly "f it; but ,its,? on tlio contrary, I was hearty aitd'robiist,'l feared some now,-and' terrible thing had gob hold of mo, which might make-my. strength, of no avail against it. , I say,' that was the way I thought.: \ ... si ! Presently I could not even lio down for tho pain all over my body. I asked -my doctor what ho thought of my condition and he frankly said, "I aiii sorryjto have to tell you that you are getting worso !" This so frightened my friends, as .well as myself, that they said, " Thomas, i/oliMKsf go-to the Hospital; it mat/,k your only chalice for life, /". ,-