d to sign, and which we here give word for
word as it is printed and issued by these liberal directors:--

"'This ticket is issued by the Company and accepted by the holder,
upon the express understanding and agreement that the Company are
not to be in any way held responsible to the holder, or his
representatives, for the consequences of _any accident, however
caused_, which may happen to the holder while travelling in any of
the Company's vehicles, or being at any of the Company's Stations.
It must be exhibited to the Company's Officers whenever required,
and any person using it other than the person named herein will be
liable to the same penalties as a passenger who does not pay his
fare.'"

We have no reason for supposing that the above agreement is a hoax,
which has been palmed off upon our contemporary, or that it is a joke at
the expense of those unfortunate people who have been already put to so
much. On our mind there is no doubt of its authenticity. We are sorry to
say we do not think it calculated to answer its purpose; which is to
insure the pockets of the Company against the consequences of those
awful accidents which are inevitable on an unsafe line. In the first
place, we are of opinion that it would not hold good in law. But even if
it were legal, it would only tend to obviate the pecuniary consequences
of accidents, by preventing the accidents from occurring; and that
simply by deterring the public from running the risk of them. To find a
Railway Company demanding to insure their property against his loss of
life or limb, as a condition to taking him as a passenger, is rather
calculated to reduce a man to a sense of the dreadful situation in which
he must place himself by venturing on their line. If they persist in
issuing this precautionary ticket, they might as well, for consistency's
sake, adorn their stations with death's heads and tombstone cherubim,
and cover their platforms with black cloth.

* * * * *

[Illustration: A FACT FOR "MURRAY."

London Cousin. "_See them things, Bill; them's what the swells in
Ancient Days put out their veeds with. Nobby move, wasn't it?_"]

* * * * *

GREAT SUCCESS OF CLAIRVOYANCE.

It is perfectly well known, and firmly believed by many of the gullible,
that some clairvoyants, by the mere inspection of a lock of a patient's
hair, are able to ascertain h