FELLOW TRAVELLERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19209, 24 December 1925, Page 7

FELLOW TRAVELLERS.

Women are not always when travelling. Indeed, a rajt.vay carriage provides many of us with wonderful opportunities for the display of selfishness and bad manners. We want, a carnage for ourselves, or for our party, and an " intruder" is received with a haughty stare or an indignant glare. On the other hand, when we enter a carriage already occupied we are filled with resentment at the selfishness of the firsts comers in " taking up " more than their share of accommodation on seat and rack. ' Our fellow-travellers always seem unreasonable and selfish about opening or shutting, windows; talking when we want to. read or rest; and so forth me tact that we notice and resent their sho comings is proof that we ourselves are giving undue attention to matters of small '"KaraV reserve will probably keep us from establishing cordial relations with our fellow-travellers; and perhaps easy friendliness between strangers would be as undesirable as the cold aloofness which is our usual attitude. But this watchful hostility is merely 'a pose, which we forget to adopt when any real trouble arises A breakdown on the line makes us feel that we are companions m misfortune, and overthrows all barriers of reserve. Real kindliness and sympathy are shown m cases of illness or accident, and a hurt, child or a fainting woman is tended with genuine solicitude, by total Strangers. A railway new scenes, new faces, new ideas, and should bo a welcome change m » a - uiet , lfo . many women, who are quite their own circle, disguise themselves effectively as fietful porcupines as .soon as they enter a railway .ai.mge. - vnnld onlv Iju lheinseiyefc-7K*n<i, lnteu cent and humorons-they would probably find the jonrneV one. of the pleasantest parts of a pleasant holiday.