The Beaufort tribune and Port Royal commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1877-1879, 1877-02-22
The Old Man Who Smiled.

The Detroit Free Press tells this story:
One time there was good old man hv-
ing in Detroit. His back was bent, his
step was slow, and men who gazed upon
his snowy locks and wrinkled face wins,
pered to each other: He is q good old
man who has not long to live"
The old man had been web off III his
day. but when he found himself on the
shady side of life, wife dead and home
broken up, he said to his only son: " Here,
William. take all I have, and let your
home be my home until die.
The son took the papers-you bet ne
did and the father was given cozy cor
ner, big chair, and corn-cob pipe.
All went well for year or so, and then
the son and the sons wife began to make
it uncomfortable for the nice old man In
the corner. They threw out hints, de-
prived him of his comforts, and one cold
day in winter he was told that he had
better 90 to Halifax-Noya Scotia:
The old mans heart was sore as he
went out into the world to battle against
hunger and cold, and when night came ne
covered in O doorway, and wept like
child.
"Who is making that chin music up
there?" called reporter, whose steps
had been arrested by the sobs, and he
went up the steps, and patted the Old
man on the head, and bye-and-bye the
story was told. ., :,
"Come down to the station with me"
said the reporter, taking the old mans
arm. "Your son is first cousin to the
man who preferred buzzard to lamb, and
I'll help you fix him y
The next morning one OF the daily
papers contained an item to the effect
that an old gentleman named Goodheart
had been found wandering the streets at
night, and that when taken to the station
$4,000 worth of United States bonds
were found on him. The old man read it
over three times, slapped his leg as he
saw the point, and beautiful smile COW
cred his face and climbed up through his
hair. In about an hour his son William
rushed into the station and called out:
"Father, dear father, come home All
of us we're crying all night long, and my
wife is now lying in comatose state on
your account !"
The old man went home with him,
winking at the lampposts and smiling as
he turned the corners. He had all his
comforts back, and the son bought him
costly pipe and pair of box toed boots
that very day. :,
Well. as time went on the son ventlred
to suggest that the bonds had better be
turned over to him. and every time ne
would say "bonds the old man would
smile and turn the subject. The other
day the father went to bed to die, and he
smiled oftener than before as he lay wait
ing for the summons. The son said his
heart was breaking, and then went
through the old mans clothes to find the
bonds. He didn't find any. He searched
the barn and the garret and the cellar,
and finally when he saw that death was
very near he leaned over the bed and
whispered Father, do you know me p
ooh, yes; know you like a book, !"
replied the dying man.
"And, father, don't you see this thing
is almost killing me?'
eyes, William, l see it. y
"And, father-those-thO
you know. I suppose you want them
used to purchase you a monument Z!
Correct, William" whispered the
father, winking a ghastly wink, and as
that same old smile covered his face death
came to take him to better home.
When evening fell the son and the sons
wife were wildly searching the straw bed,
to get their hands on those bonds.