Margaret Sanger: an autobiography.Sanger, Margaret
History
Margaret Sanger: an autobiography.
Sanger, Margaret
Birth control -- United States -- Biography; Sanger, Margaret, 1879-1966
From Perpignan I telegraphed Portet, “Live or die, sink or swim, survive
or perish, I’ll be in Barcelona tomorrow,” and boarded the train once
more with a light heart and my papers, three of them.
Already in the minute second-class compartment were a large, middle-aged
woman whose sweet face was framed in a black mantilla, a small
gray-haired man, evidently her husband, and a younger one of about
twenty-five. It would have been crowded enough as it was, but they had
brought with them packages and bundles that filled the space to the
roof. However, they squeezed out enough room for me to curl myself up
and go to sleep.
I awakened with a start, hearing again the fateful word, “Passports!”
and found the agent examining those of my fellow passengers. I opened
the bag where I had always carried my credentials, but they were not
there. The officer stood waiting. “I have my papers all signed,” I said,
“but I cannot find them. Go on to the others and when you come back I’ll
have them.”
Since he could not understand English my speech had little effect; he
continued to wait. I began turning things out—letters, books, pamphlets
of all kinds and descriptions, groping through every bag, in and out of
every package. My traveling companions gazed on the commotion
sympathetically and drew their legs aside so I could look under the
seat.
At this point another uniform approached and the two consulted together.
Then one of them blew a whistle and at its loud and shrill summons five
men came running. The biggest of them threw wide the compartment door,
to indicate I must get off. They were jabbering at me in French and
Spanish; I was talking English. All of us were going as fast as we
could. First I jumped up and expostulated, then sat down and waved my
hands saying, “Go away.”
Finally there appeared a young Spanish student who could speak English.
He conveyed to me that the train was already late on my account; I must
get off so the other passengers could catch the Barcelona Express.
I would not be bothered any more. “So do I want to catch it,” I
exclaimed. “Why don’t they move on? I have a passport and I’ll find it
in a few minutes. I’ve paid for my ticket to Port Bou and I’m not going
back. You can stop the train here for a week if you want to—I shan’t
budge!”
The gendarmes were standing expectantly on the platform below. The
interpreter shrugged his shoulders, “She’ll do as she says. She’s an
American woman and she’ll never come down. You might as well move on.”
Nevertheless, the big fellow with the long black cape resolutely seized
one bag after another and handed them out. Underneath the last one were
disclosed the missing papers. Straightway everybody was wreathed in
smiles. The bags were restored and the agents apologized, thanked me
profusely, and departed.
The passengers shook hands with me all around.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account