Thomas County cat., 1886-11-04

| L
you dream of, and l never forget a
favor. 1t may some day be in my
power to serve you. and then l shall
remember you. Once more, goodbye.
sir; and may Heaven bless your'
/ had been over six years engaged in
postal affairs, when one day, to my
great surprise, / received letter post
marked and dated India, which con-
tained these words:
'.lf you will send your address and 4
card with your name written on it as
you were accustomed to write it three
or four years ago, you will hear of
something to your advantage"
This was signed by name l had
never heard of before, with full su-
prescription for the return letter.
Filled with surprise and all kinds of
| speculations and cOnjectures concern
ing wealthy deceased relatives far re-
moved. of whom / had never had any
knowledge, l lost no time in comply
/ ing with the mysterious request in
every particular, and the next over
land mail carried my missive to Cal
| cutta. When sufficient time had elapsed
| for a reply to reach me | became very
anxious, and l looked for the arrival of
every Indian mail with an eagerness
| little short of an uninsured merchant
expecting a valuable cargo.
Months passed away and no news ar
rived Then | came to the conclusion
that my handwriting had got proved
me to be the person required, and that
| should never hear any more of the
matter-more especially as my mother
assured me she had never heard of our
having any relatives in India. Mean
time. friend of mine, very ingcnius
person, who had recently patented an
invention of great prospective value.
came to me and asked me if had any
money to invest in a profitable specu-
lation. Unfortunately had not, but l
promised to try and borrow it. l was,
however, unsuccessful
Believing my effort to be hopeless, l
went round to his office with sad
heart to tell him. He was not in. and
did not see him that day, and before
another day dawned l received my
long looked-for letter. l opened it
with an eager, trembling hand, hoping
it might contain some good news on
which to build a future hope. Judge
of my surprise and delight on finding
an inclosed draft for one thousand
pounds. payable to my order. Could
it be real CT genuine? Were not my
senses deceiving me? To come, too,
just at the moment when, as | be-
lleved, five hundred pounds would Sc
cure me a fortune, made it seem more
like magic than reality. With an almost
swimming brain, read the letter ac-
companying it. The writer began by
calling me his dear friend. but warned
me that 1 should find the name of a
stranger attached to the epistle.
''YOu may remember. however" the
writer went on, ''that somewhere
about four years ago person came to
the post-Oilice where you were then n
clerk, and inquired of you what time
the mail closed that was to 90 out in the
next Australian packet; that you told
him he was already half an hour too
late; that you pitied his distress at this
announcement, and offered to get his
letter posted if possible. You succeed
ed and received his fearful thanks,
and. at his urgent request, wrote your
name for him on a card. l hope YOU
remember all this, because the writer's
that individual, and desires to live in
your memory, as you ever will in his.
Now. kind friend, let me tell you of the
Importance of that letter and its value
to me. had a rich. unmarried uncle.
who was IN deep decline. He had
been told l was dead, and had willed
his vast possessions to other relatives.
l heard of this, as it were, by accident,
and that he was about to sail for the
East Indies, never to return. A letter
by the next packet might possibly
reach him in Australia. 1 wrote it,
and rode many miles to post 1t; but it
would have been too late only for your
kindness. 1t did reach him. however,
on the eve of his departure, and caused
an important alteration in his will. for
| was the only son of a favorite sister.
He sailed for India, but died on
the passage; and if my letter
had missed that packet he
would never have received it. The diff
ference to me would have been a fort
une. was poor then-I am rich now.
Will you accept this trifle-not as re-
ward. but token of friendship-from
one who has ever, and ever will be,
grateful. That single minute of time,
which You SO kindly improved, made
the difference of world to me; and if
it is ever in my power to change your
fortune for the better, l am yours to
command. would have sent this re-
raembrance sooner, but there has been
some litigation, and 1 have only re-
Gently come into possession of my
legacy. You will, of course, pardon
my having sent for your address and
card. to avoid the possibility of mis-
take; and my absence in India, on the
return of your letter, must be my
apology for my long delay in COM
municating with you since.
This was the substance of letter
that made the difference of a world to
me-for Inow had the means of enter
ing into partnership with my friend
and that resulted in q fortune, and as
much happiness as can be found in this
sphere of existence. 1t would be diff
cult to calculate the changes effected
and the persons made happy bv that
simple act of posting letter; that e
we 60 down to posterity. and consider
the destinies altered by that one trifiing
thing we shall Dorooivo has, rvro.< b.