106 COACHING. 



merely a small basket in her baud, exclaim- 

 ing, 



" Am I in time, guard ?" 



" Plenty," he responded, " for the next 

 train." 



The whistle was heard, and the poor woman 

 left behind, to ruminate for four hours upon her 

 ill-luck. 



There is another evil which many of the rail- 

 ways have got rid of, and which we trust will 

 shortly be universally adopted — I refer to the 

 brief time allowed for takinsr tickets. In Glas- 

 ^^ow (I speak from experience) you ma}^ purchase 

 your ticket in offices appointed for the sale of 

 them independent of the railway station. To 

 the public this is a special boon, and upon one 

 occasion I found the benefit of it. 



I was engaged to give a lecture at the City 

 Hall, Glasgow, which was to commence at eight 

 o'clock. The night train to London left at 

 twelve minutes after nine, so there was not 

 much time to spare. By taking my ticket in 

 the afternoon, leaving my portmanteau in the 

 cloak-room, engaging an intelligent porter to 

 take it out and have it ready for me, and bene- 

 fiting by the kindness of my host, Wm. Holms, 

 Esq., M.P. for Paisley, who conve3'ed me in 



