He said that he would not believe it till he
saw it, and as he would not go to see it, and it could not be
brought to him, there appeared little chance of our getting rid
of him. I thought it best to let him and the porters fight it out
among themselves. When a force of guards appeared, they were
equally ineffective against the intruder, who could not, or did
not, say that he did not know the compartment was engaged.
Suddenly, for no reason, except that he had sufficiently stood,
or sat, upon his rights, he rose, and the others precipitated
themselves upon his hand-baggage, mainly composed of fishing-
tackle, such as a gentleman carries who has been asked to
somebody's fishing, and bore it away to another part of the
train. They left one piece behind, and the porter who came back
for it was radiantly smiling, as if the struggle had been an
agreeable exercise, and he spoke of his antagonist without the
least exasperation; evidently, he regarded him as one who had
justly defended himself from corporate aggression; his sympathies
were with him rather than with us, perhaps because we had not so
vigorously asserted ourselves.
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