Many curious stories are told of the incidents which caused
certain passengers to go, or prevented them from going, by the ill- fated train. One lady and her maid, who perished, had ordered their cab for the morning train, which reached Dundee in safety;
but the cabman overslept himself, and they travelled by the train which plunged into the Tay, instead. In another case, a gentleman intending to travel by the train had been in vain dissuaded by his wife, who, in her alarm at the tempest, took the strong measure of so delaying his cab that he missed the train, and returned in no good-humour with the author of the rase. Another lady and gentleman were reluctantly dis- suaded from travelling on so tempestuous a day. The saddest story, however, is that of a young man who had spent the Saturday and Sunday in Edinburgh with the girl to whom he was engaged, and who hesitated to return on so stormy a day, but was persuaded by her not to risk his work by breaking faith with his employers, and perished in consequence. No railway accident has, we believe, ever before occurred of which every witness was swallowed up absolutely and immediately, as in this case. Even in the worst accident of this kind that we can remember, there have been some survivors.
Previous page
