Omaha daily bee., 1883-05-12
THE STORY

never U 30 uutll my
was called to the fact by q little Incl
dent that befell me one day, and set
me TO thinking 80 hard that l seemed
to grow out of my head and reach q
great height, and then look down on
my other self with great compassion.
1 don't know that 1t made me any
wiser, but at least 1t made me more
attentive to my fellow beings-mors
thoughtful of their joys and sor.
rows-and that counts for something,
I reckon.
Ihad cried dozens of pswnbrokers'
sales In my time, and never thought
anything about them, unless 1t was
that old Two to One or Give and Take
were doubling their money, and max.
Ing a pretty penny, even If 10 per cent.
commission was taken off.
But / had never thought Of the
story connected with any one article
of the sale-of the hearta ches, and
despair, and woman's tears. II was
but a joke to me, one who had known
the time to spout q watch, or pistol
or some like trinket, In order to carry
on q frolic or help a poorer chap than
l was, was but the impulse of the mo.
ment, and l carried no further weight
than the relief from empty pockets at
the moment.
But, as l have said before, some.
thing made me think, and ave. since ]
haven't the same heart to cry away
the goods Of the poor creatures that
want aud misery had driven into Id
Two to Ones clutches.
The city of B. is q splendid market
for our business. The trade done
there by one house alone would dis.
count any banking, commission or
other business ia the place, and by the
same token, the pawnbrokers equal US
In power aud profit, and give us some
of our biggest sales
An odd lot came Into the wareroom
one day consigned to us by Clutchem
& Keep, o shrewd firm of new begin.
ners, and as 1t fell to my duty to sssor
and label the goods, 1t thus also fell
to my fate to have a part In the fol
lowing story:
The consignment consisted mainl,
of glass and sllverware, pictures ant
bronzes, as Clutchem g. Keep wer
rather first class In their business, ant
did not yet coadescend to famil,
bibles; but In the lot 1 came across
few pieces of furniture, which a~ttracte,
my attention from the fact of on,
having an order from q western hous,
to pick up all the antiques and oddi
ties sfoat for a bric-a-bsc firm.
Here were about a dozen specimen
of claw legs, stick backs and other
wise uncomfortable household articles
In the shape of chairs, dressing glasse
and cabinets, and I at once labelle
them sold, that they might not &c
Into next days sale, but be forwards
st once to our Western house.
One article alone I noticed with q
t~ention enough to remember aftel
wards, and then only because I struc
my hand roughly against 1t, and til
pain made me to stare hard at tn
cause of 1t. 1t was an old cedar cab
J net, brass bound and clamped, b.
rusty and forlorn. looking enough In 1
changed fortunes. labelled 1t, as
thought, for our next days sale,
there were two others to 60 West, al
the homo market was then going
> crazy for everything old, but paren
!. and friends, IS either the West
North.
= But subsequent events discover,
my mistske. Our Saturday sala wa.
big one-the rival house across on Il
corner hadn't q chance against us tn
dsy-and by noon every article put
\ was bid off lively and quick.
= The crowd had begun to thin, and
Y was busily hopping my wet face wi
\ a fresh handkerchief- for it is war
TX work, l can tell you, to cry such sal
IN from 10 to l o'clock when a Ia
II came back In the store where I W
B standing and approached me earqerl
J "Are you the proprietor, sii?' 81
asked, with nervous haste, and l e,
she was trembling,
81 am the ~auctioneer, madam
said, wondering what was wrong.
will call the firm, if you wish"
She looked around timidly b
eagerly.
"Perhsps you can attend to I
VI business. IL do-not - uud,
stand--these-mstters- very vel
she answered, and then l saw she "
poorly clad, although well bred a
I timid,
|. / drew another chair up into I
corner, and asked her to sit down, a
as she did 30 igratefully-poor lit
womsn!-I took a good look at h
She was still young and pretty.
Behind her hung a long mirror.
., had grown dim hanging there, and b
a misty shadow over 1t, and In I
, two angles of the corner stood a fad
}, old Japanese turean and a tall chest
drawers.
- The store was now empty, and t
, light was leaving 1t, as the sun '
creeping away from the doorsill a
mounting up to the roof, as II he /
y only waited for the sale to be over
ID The lady had a fac. that touched
at once. She was pale and tlmid, |