St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1885-08-22
HE MADE A MISTAKE.
Better He Imposed on by Frauds Than DR.
an Honest Person an IDjusticcs

Better he Imposed on by Frauds Than Do
an Honest Person an IDjustices
Eyes, he may be fraud-probably
% one." replied the man under the
white plug hat as he replaced his change.
"but made mistake on the wrong
side of the ledger once and don't
want to get caught that way again"
..How was it?''
"Well, I'm neither Christian nor =
philanthropist. Fact is, I'm a pretty
hard-hearted man on the average, but /
used to be little worse than am now.
One evening five or six years ago, right
in front of this very store. boy about
twelve years of age hit me for dime.
He had tears in his eyes, drawl to his
voice. and spotted him at once for an
impostor. He went on to say that his
father was sick and unable to work.
and that he himself had been down
with fever and had no strength to
look for a job. and laughed in derision
and told him to clear out or I'd give
him in charge"
Its an old dodge" observed the
man who was smoking a eorn-coh
pipe.
Exactly. but it may not always be 8
dodge. had pocket full of silver,
and I was too ornery mean to hand over
dime. Suppose the boy was lying?
Suppose he wanted the money for him.
self? How contemplate in me to be-
grudge that trifiing sum to little chap
who was certainly all skin and bone aud
evidently needed a square meal. !"
..But it would have been encouraging e
vice" said the man with the chect
shirt front.
.Bosh! There are men in this city
who are looked upon as shining exam.
pies, who cheat and swindle the people
out of thousand dollars where vice
gets shilling. This little incident l
have been relating went out of my
mind in an hour, but next day. as ! was
looking over an old tenement with the
owner, who wanted me to figure on re-
pairs. who should come across but the
bov of the night before. He was in bed
and raving with fever. In bed? Well.
he was tossing around on . heap of
rags. In the same room was the moth
er. trying to earn few cents at the
wash-tub. but not having the strength
to work for more than five minutes at
time. Also. the father-just alive with
consumption. and occupying bed no
better than the boys"
Same boy, eh?" queried the corn
cob-pipe man. as the hard lines in his
face began to melt.
1.-The very same. There was q quave,
in his voice no one could forget in day.
He was raving away of this or that, bu!
the father was quiet and inclined to be
cheerful. As sat down beside him for
moment after leaving . S5 bill in his
skeleton hand, he said:
God bless you for a good man!
When little Ben started out last night
we hadn't either light, fuel or food in
the house. He met some kind-hearted
man who gave him dollar. 1t might
have been you. But for that money God
knows how we must have suffered.
might have been me! When l re-
membered how 1 had repulsed that boy
the thought stabbed me like knife. ]
was irving to say something to cheer
the diving man, when that fever-stricken
lad sprang up, evidently recognizing
my voice. and cried out:
Please. mister. don't have me ar
rested! Don't let 'em lock me up! I'm
telling the trnth-I amt lying!
He came right over and got hold o,
me. and | tell you if ever a man was
broken down it was this very individual.
left twenty-five dollars there when !
went away, and sent doctor around.
but inside of week father and son
were dead. One died blessing me, and
the last words of the other were an en-
treaty to me not to call him fraud and
have him locked up. That's why my
hand goes down for the chink when
man or boy strikes me for change. I'd
rather give thousand dollars to frauds
than to have another honest boy die
with my refusal grinding into his soul. :"
Detroit Free Press.