There were four on each side. At the last moment a short round man came
running up and got in. Hurry had not improved his mood, and one glance
of his eye was enough to make me move along two inches to give him room.
He stood arranging his luggage on the rack, pulled his coat straight,
and sat down--on the other side. The suddenness of his assault was
terrific. I quickly recovered my two inches, and the journey to the next
station was quite pleasant, so far as I was concerned.
He and I were then left alone.
"I am much obliged to you for moving to make room for me, Sir," he said
politely. "But when I get into a compartment with four a side I make it
a practice to sit down on the side on which nobody has moved--on
principle, Sir, on principle."
* * * * *
Very Still Life.
From a notice of Mr. BRANGWYN'S Academy picture, "The Poulterer's
Shop":--
"Everything lies in its place as if it had been there for
centuries."--_Morning Post._
* * * * *
A Sinecure.
"GENERAL; £20; fam 2; every Sunday and wk-day off."--_Daily
Paper._
* * * * *
"The rebels barricaded St. Stephen's Green with motor-cars and
tramcars, as in the French Revolution."--_Northampton
Chronicle._
The 1789 models of motor-cars and tramcars are of course out of date by
now.
* * * * *