The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1882-10-27
A CASE OF RETRIBUTION.

New York attorney relates the follow.
ING incident Nearly hundred years ago
Yorkshire peasant died in England, leaving
widow and eight children -Four of the
children were children of former wife. Hi.
only fortune was single sovereign. His
wife, however had a little fortune o. twelve
pounds, received from her father.
Soon after the husbands death. the oldest
son, who was then eighteen wears of age
and had been apprentjced to a carpenter
ran away. As he was e skilled workman
and his services were Of value. his master
was extremely angry, and declared be would
punish him to the full extent of the law. ii
he should ever return.
The widow-who was only q step-motber
to this boy was must anxious and troubled
at the boys delinquency. She tried TO an
pease the wrath of his master. but i'm vain. -
Knowing Of her little property, the man fin.
ally offered to cancel the articles Of apprep-
ticeship if the widow would give him her lit
tie store of twelve pounds, all that she had
between herself and poverty
This offer the honorable woman consented
to accept.
Soon after this criminal liability bad been
cancelled, the boy appeared, not to help the
woman who had sacrificed so much for him.
not even to thank her for her noble act but
to demand The single sovereign. the sole
property left by his father. As it was his Ie-
gal right, the widow gave it to him. He i'm
mediately left England for America, leaving
his abused mother to fight poverty as best
she could, and was never heard of by his
English friends again
Upon arriving in this country, the bov i'm
mediately found work at his trade. He was
covetous, and his ambition was to accunu.
late money. He worked for it as few men
ever worked. He took no rest. It was as
though demon urged him on dav and
night.
He became misery, Soon be allowed
himself no comforts and subsisted in the
cheapest possible way. For more than fifty
years be lived boarding. and feverish for
more gold. All through these years he gave
DO sign that be ever thought Of returning
the twelve pounds to the woman across the
water, to whom he owed flial respect and
gratitude.
Finally the result Of his excessive work
showed itself in inflamma.oIv rheumatism.
y I.
writhing under the pain this disease fnfIicts.
Still he gave no sign of grateful obligation to
his mother or made any effort to restore the
money.
But the day OF summons came. lie had
lived to a most advanced age. With senses
dulled toward God and man, by his habits of
covetousness, he died and passed to meet his
earthly record in another world.
A search was instituted for his heirs. The
step-motheT had long been dead. All Of his
own brothers and sisters were dead. OF his
half-brotheTs and sisters-children of the
woman he had so wronged-fhree We're lfy-
ing, and among them the fortune of the mi
ser was justly divided. It amounted to more
than one hundred thousand dollars.
The lawyer in whose hands the property
had been placed, had the curiosity to reckon
the interest on the twelve pounds for tie
years which elapsed before it returned to the
family. At the high rate of interest then
prevailing the sum was found to approx
mate so nearly to the amount which was
distributed among the heirs as to excite his
surprise, and to cause the question, Was
this simply a coincidence 2''
Unwittingly the man had worked and
pinched and saved only TO pay debt which
he never meant to pay. He had illustrated
truth which is not always apparent to The
human vision.
Injustice may do its wretched work and
triumph in its wrong. But some time and
somewhere, in this life, OF in the eternity
that awaits with solemn poIlent all Lruau
events, the wrong viii be brought to light
and Justice viii be done Neither moral
law nor physical law can be violated, with
God and right TO uphold them, and the vio-
latOr escape penalty YoUth's Companion.