River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-09-03
He Made 4 Mistake.

He Made 4 Mistake.
Yes, he may be a fraud probably
is one, replied the man under the
white plug hat as he replaced his
change, "but l made a mistake on the
VIZ no side of the ledger once and ]
don't want to get caught that way
again"
How was ftp
.'Well, I'm neither Christian nor a
philanthropist Fact is I'm pretty
hard-hearted man on the average, but ]
used to be little worse then am now
One evening, five or six years ago
right in front of this very store, boy
about II years of age hit me for a dime
| He had tears in his eyes, a drawl to his
voice, and / spotted him at once for AZ
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 foI
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 corn-cob pipe.
Exactly, but it may not always be a
dodge, | had pocket full Of silver, and
| / was to emery mean to hand over q
dime. Suppose the boy was lying!
| Suppose he wanted the money for him
self? How contemplate in me to be
grudge that trifling sum to a little chap
who was certainly all skin and bone
and evidently needed square meal.
"But it would have been encouraging
vice" said the man in the check shirt
front.
"Bosh! There are men in this city
who are looked upon as shining eX-
amples, who cheat and swindle the
people out of thousand dollars where
vice gets a shilling. This little incident
| 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
repairs, who should | come across but
the boy of the night before. He was il
| bed and raying with fever. In bed
| Well, he was tossing around on a heaI
of rags. In the same room was the
mother, trying to earn a few cents al
the wash-tub, but not having the
strength to work for more then fiyc
minutes at time Also, the father
/ Just alive with consumption, and occu
plying a bed no better then the boy 5. ,
''Same boy, eh?' queried the corn
cob pipe man, as the hard lines IN hi,
| face began to melt.
The very same. There was 6
quaver in his voice no one could forget
in a day. He was raving away of this
or that. but the father was quiet and
inclined to be cheerful. As / sat down
beside him for moment after leaving
Il s. bill in kis 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 il
the house. He met some kind-hearteo
man who gave him a dollar. 1t might
have been you. But for that money
God knows how we must have suffer
ed. >
might have been me! When l re-
membered how | repulsed that boy the
thought stabbed me like knifei
was trying to say something to cheer
the dying man, when that fever-stricken
lad sprang up, evidently recognized
my voice, and cried out:
Please, mister, don't have me
arrested don't let EN- lock me up
I'm telling the truth amt lying
He came right over and got hold OF
me, and tell you if ever man was
broken down it was this very individual.
l left S25 there when l went away, and
| sent a doctor around, but inside of q
I wool father and SON vprp dead One
died blessing me, and the last words o.
the other We're an entreaty to me not
to call him a fraud and have him locked
up. That's why my hand goes down
for the chink when man or boy strikes
me for change. Id rather give thou
sand dollars to frauds then to have an
other honest boy die with my refusal
grinding into my soul. ;"