The annoyance given to the young lady on the South-Western
Railway last week has caused a lively discussion about "ladies' carriages," and several ladies have given the reasons why they decline to use them, their reasons being, to our minds, very suffi- cient,—namely, that these carriages are, first, the refuge of nurse- maids and babies, and next, of passengers who don't understand railways, can give no advice in difficulties, are helpless in opening doors, unable to talk on any but personal concerns, and generally uninstructive and unamusing. More relevant reasons against the use of ladies' carriages could not be assigned, for they amount to this, —that these carriages contain ladies. A trivial risk of dan- ger is not so deterrent as a moral certainty of helplessness and dullness. In short, to ensure against the risk, you must pay a premium in the shape of diminished vitality which is calculated at too high a rate. There is no conceivable answer to that objection, except that, this being so, the danger, when it arises, should not be treated as the fault of the Railway Companies.
Previous page
