Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-10-19

reduced. That young merchant with
somewhat limited capital is in predic
ament. What shall the old merchant
do MS they see that young man in thi
awful crisis? Rub their hands an
laugh and say: Good for him. III
might have known better. When he ha
been i'll business as long as we have. h
will not load his shelves in that way
Ha! Ha! He will burst up before long
He had no business to open his store s,
near ours anyhow" Sheritrs sale! Rec
flag in the window: How much is bic
forthese out of-the fashion spring over
coats and spring hats or fall clothing
out of date? What do hear in the wa,
of bid?" -Four dollars" Absurd.
cannot take that bid of four dollars
apiece. Why. these coats when first pu,
upon the market We're offered at tifteeI
dollars each, and now am offered onl,
four dollars. Is that all? Five dollars
do / hear? Going Mt that Gone Mt five
dollars and he takes the whole lot
The young merchant goes home that
night and says to his wife: Well, Mary,
we will have to move ont of this house
that has had an evil eye on me ever since
l started has bought out all that cloth
ing. and he will have it rejuvenated, and
next year put it on the market as new.
while we will do we'll if we keep out
of the poor-house.' The young man.
broken spirited, goes to hard drinking.
The young wife with her baby, goes to
her fathers house. and not only is his
store wiped out, but his home, his morals,
and his prospects for two worlds, this
and the next. And devils mako ban
quet of fire and fill their cups of gall
and drink to the health of the old mer-
chant who swallowed up the young mer
chant who got stuck on spring goods.
and went down. That is one way, and
some of you have tried it.
But there is another way. That young
merchant who found that he had mis-
of one kind and been flung of the un-
counter feeling very blue and biting his
finger nails. or looking over his account
books. which read darker and worse
every time he looks at them. and thinks
how his young wife will have to be put
in a palmer house than she has ever en-
pected to live in. or go to a third-rate
boarding house where they have tough
liver and sour bread five mornings out
of the seven. An old merchant comes in
and says, Well, Joe, this has been a
hard season for young merchants, and
this prolonged cool weather has put
many i'll the doldrums. and have been
thinking of YOU Il good deal of late, for
just after l started i'll business I once
got into the same scrape. Now if there
is anything can do to help you out /
will gladly do it, Better just put those
goods out of sight for the present. and
next season We will plan something
about them. ] will help YOU to some
goods that you can sell for me on COM
mission. and / will go down to one of
the wholesale houses and tell them that
/ know You and will back you up. and if
you want few dollars to bridge over
the present l can let you have them. Be
as economical as you can, keep a stiff
upper lip and remember that you have
two friends. God and myself. Good
morning!" The oldmerchant goes away
and the young man goes behind his desk
and the tears roll down his cheeks. 1t
is the first time he has cried. Disaster
made him mad ut everything, and mad
at man and mad at God. But this kind
ness melts him and the tears seem to re-
lieve his brain. and his spirits rise from
ten below zero to eighty in the shade,
and he comes ont Of the crisis. And
about three years after this young mer-
chant goes into the old merchants store
and says: We'll, my old friend, was
this morning thinking over what you
did for me three years ago. You helped
me out of an awful crisis in my com
mercial history. 1 learned wisdom, and
prosperity has come. and the pallor has
gone out of my wifes checks, and the
roses that We're there when courted her
in her fathers house have bloomed
again, and my business is splendid. and
| OH I Ia, lot hot
you saved mani" In short time after.
the old merchant, who had been good
while shaky in his limbs and had poor
spells, is called to leave the world. and
one morning after he had read the
twenty-third Psalm, about "The Lord is
my Shepherd" he closes his eyes OH this
world. and an angel who had been for
many Years appointed to watch the old
mans dwelling cries upward the news
that the patriarchs spirit is about as
cending. And the twelve angels who
keep the twelve gates of Heaven unite
i'll crying down to this approaching
spirit of the old man: Come in at any
of the twelve gates you choose! Come
in and welcome. for it has been told all
over these celestial neighborhoods that
you saved Il man.
There sometimes come exigencies in
the lire or woman. One morning about
two years ago I saw in newspaper that
there was q young woman in New York
whose pockctbook. containing $37 33
had been stolen and she had been left
without farthing at the beginning of
winter in q strange city, and no work.
And although she was stranger, did
not allow the 8 o'clock mail to leave the
lamppost on our corner without carry
ing the $37 33: and the case was proved
genuine. Now 1 have read all Shakes
peares tragedies and all Victor Hugo's
tragedies, and all Alexander Smith
tragedies. but 1 never read Il tragedy
more thrilling than that case, and sim
liar cases by the hundreds and thou
sands in all our large cities; young wo-
men without money and without home
and without work in these great mael-
stroms of metropolitan life. When such
a case comes under your observation.
how do you treat it? Get out of my
way; we have no room in our establish
ment for any more hands. / don't be-
lieve in women anyway; they are lazy,
idle, worthless set. John, please show
this person out of the door, Or do YOU
compliment her personal appearance,
and say things to her which if any man
said to your sister or daughter you would
kill him IN fLa spof2 'Thot 10 o,,o ,,,,,