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The Spike or Victoria University College Review Silver Jubilee 1924

(1) The Motor Bus

(1) The Motor Bus.

The London streets have settled down to their extra shade of darkness following the latest issue of Police Regulations. No. 27 is making her way along Marylebone Road avoiding her neighbours and the odd people that rush across in front of her bonnet and disappear into the darkness again. She pulls up at Praed Street and the usual crowd tries to surge on before the other crowd elbows off. The conductor becomes rather irascible in the process of supervising and directing and starts her on again with three angry jerks of the bell as the last two passengers, a man and woman are swung on and make their way into the inside of the bus. The man is in uniform and on leave. The woman is dressed in a dark stuff frock and wears a hat with large curly black feathers. She is rather good looking but her eyes have the drowsy unfixed look that tells of time spent at the station bar. She looks straight ahead, ignoring the other passengers and at intervals remarks in a high-pitched monotonous voice, "Oi didn't cry when I said good-bye to 'im, Oi didn't cry when he went away, did oi Jim?" To this Jim replies, "You'll be orl righ, ole Liz, you'll be orl righ, yer will!" Then there is an interval of silence and then the same remark and Jim ready and anxious to do his bit of cheering up. But she takes no notice and the bus rocks on. Then her voice changes and there is a more forlorn note in it as she cries, "Oi didn't 'arf cry after 'ed gorn! Oi didn't 'arf cry after the train went. My! Oi didn't 'arf cry!"