it here for its
singularity, and for my having known the driver whose coolness was so
marked. In ascending a very long gradient, the hindmost carriages of the
train snapped their couplings when at the top; the engine rattled on with
the remainder, while these ran down the slope, which was several miles in
length, with a velocity which, of course, increased every moment. To
make matters worse, the next train on the same line was comparatively
close behind, and, in fact, shortly came in sight. The driver of this
second train, a watchful and experienced hand, saw the carriages rushing
towards him, and divined that they were on the same line. If he
continued steaming on, of course, in a couple of minutes he would come
into direct collision with them, while, on the other hand, if he ran
back, the carriages would probably gather such way that they would leap
from the bank. So, with great presence of mind and wonderful judgment of
speed, he ran back at a pace not quite as fast as the carriages were
approaching, so that eventually they overtook him, and struck his moving
engine with a blow that was scarcely more perceptible than the jar
usually communicated by coupling on a fresh carriage. When this was
done, all the rest was easy; he resumed his down journey, and pushed the
frightened passengers safely before him until they reached their
destination, where the officials, as may readily be supposed, were in a
state of frantic despair at the loss of half the train."

A SMUGGLING LOCOMOTIVE.

A singular adaptation of the locomotive has just been made in Russia.
Information having been given to the authorities at Alexandrovo, on the
Polish frontier, that the locomotive of the express leaving that station
for Warsaw had been ingeniously converted into a receptacle for smuggled
goods, it was carefully examined during its sojourn at the station.
Though nothing was found wrong, it was deemed advisable that a
custom-house official should accompany the train to its destination, when
the engine furnace and boiler were emptied and deliberately taken to
pieces. In the interior was discovered a secret compartment containing
one hundred and twenty-three pounds of foreign cigars and several parcels
of valuable silk. Several arrests were made, including that of the
driver; but his astonishment at finding the engine to which he had been
so long accustomed converted into a hardened offender against the laws
was so genuine that