Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-04-13
THE STORY OF A PENNY.
Some Incidents of Its Travels as Told
BY Itself.
DIFFERENT PEOPLE IN WHOSE POSSESSION IT HAS
BEEN AND How THEY HAVE TREATED IT
THOUGH AN HUMBLE COIN IT HAS SEEN A GOOD
DEAL OF THE WORLD.

| 'hihg and beneath your notice, but can tell
you have seen some strange scenes and trav-
eled great deal even in my short life. re-
member that was very proud when l first
came from the mint and my face shone bright
with the pleasure of a new existence. I didn't
know my actual pecuniary value then and felt my
selffully equal and even better than a lot OF old
nickeis and dimes that had become dingy from
age and constant usage but soon learned my
mistake. l found that l was coin of the
smallest denomination, and tina: by good
many people L was bat very slightly regarded.
Yet [ found that played a very important part
IN the economy of a great mass of persons, and
that there were some who. when they got me
IN their grasp, held on to me with
VERY TIGHT GRIP.
remember once. before nv brightness had
worn off. i was given by a gentleman to his
little son. and the pleasure that the boy seemed
to take in my possession. He took me and
/ looked me over, turning me first on one side
and then on the other, and. celebrating what
he would do with me. first he thought he would
buy some marbles. then a top, then some candy.
but finally he decided to put me in his little
/ bank and keep me until he got some more per-
MES. SO he dropped me into the little bank
which his father had given him. and Law there
for a long time. Not alone. for he put other
pennies i'll to keep me company. and OCCASION
ally he would drop in a nickel. and very rarely
dime. and once. when a rich old uncle came
to visit him, the little fellow surprised us III the
bank by dropping in big silver dollar. We
used to take q great interest i'll that family. for
all seemed happy. and the little boy was proud
of us. for he would take the bank and shake us
about to show
HOW MUCH MONEY HE HAD.
One day the father died suddenly. and when
his affairs were settled up it was found that the
little boy and his mother were left without any
property. Then they had to come TO the bank
and ONT by one the pieces of money were taken
out to buy food with. l know l went with four
other pennies to buya loaf of bread. I've
often wondered what became of them, but |
couldn't keep track of them. for after | got to
the bakers was kept i'll pretty active circuia-
latlon. He gave me IN change to little girl
vino bought some cake on her way to school,
and she exchanged me at another store Tor a
slate pencil. For quite while l kept going
from one child to another. and / rather liked
that. for although none of them kept me a
long time used TO like to watch their careless
happy faces and note the satisfaction they cX-
perienced, both in receiving me and in paying
me out
One day bright. laughing girl, with blue
eyes and faxcn curls. who was about fifteen
years old. got me from q cGndy-stOre where she
stopped with another girl their way home
from school to bny some trtti-frEtti, and as she
looked at my face she said to her companion
that she was going 20
KEEP DE FOR LUCK
SO she tucked me away inside her glove until
she got home, when she went up i'll her ROOM
and then she put me in little box on her bu-
reau. l got so | liked her very much for every
now ami then she would come and open the
box and look at me, calling me her lucky
penny. She used to do that when she had
hard lessons to get. and used TO say that gave
her good luck, and that after looking at me
she learned her lessons easier. OF course
don't believe that did her any good in that
way. but she used to think So and it made me
happy to think that she felt so kindly toward
me. | came to the conclusion that was going
to have good long rest with her. but l didn't.
for in about a month she came ND one night
and got and tool; me down stairs in the
perlor. There 1 found handsome young man
whom she called her cousin. though heard
her mother say that there was really no rela-
tlonship between them. and he had brought
her beautiful wOrk-bOx filed with scissors
needles. and everything that Young girl
would want in that line. 1t was her birthday
l found, and he had brought this as a present
You know Cousin joe" she said. lit will
cut friendship if you accept scissors or anything
sharp as a present. SO am going to buy this of
you with my lucky penny" And then she gave
me to the young man. who said he would always
keep me III memory of the occasion. and he
slipped me into his vest pocket. He was going
TO Europe the next day and anticipated the
trip with much pleasure, when l heard him
tell her
HOW CAREFULLY HE WOULD GUARD Me-
We sailed as he had said and he transferred
me 10 his pOcketbook with great care, taking
me out every now and then to look at me and
say something nice about the girl from whom
he had received me. | found that he was very
much IN love with his cousin. although she was
! so young. and that he intended to marry her in
| three years, which was to be the length of his
! trip abroad. When he got to London he wrote
| a real long letter and he said a good deal about
me, for he took me me out and kissed me. You
! don't know how funny felt. 1t Was the first
time anyone had ever kissed me. and the ex-
perience was entirely new. However. knew
! that Il was not for myself but for the one who
gave me to him that Mr.. Joe kissed me- and
| that moderated my pleasure.
We saw lots of sights and my young man got
in with a very fast set. In fact he began to
neglect me. He didn't take me out and talk to
! me any more, and once when he was at a sup
per with some gay fellows and equally CAV
girls he took out his pocket book to pay for
some wine, rolled out on the floor. He picked
me up saying, Hello! there's that id penny"
GIVE II to me-" said one of the girls
! "Oh, no." said Joe, that's a keepsake"
I'm toss you for it," said she.
| Its go, he replied. and then muttered
NOW I'll see if there's anything i'll luck"
| Heads for me, he cried and then he tossed
me high in the air. l made up my mind TO
show my face if it was possible and as struck
the carpet bounced up, turned two summer
saults and landed with
'1keep it," said Joe, and he put me carefully
back in his pocket book. / hoped that would
have good effect upon him. but it didn't. for
he kept getting worse, and worse and one day
he matched me against an English farthing and
lost, and went into the pocket of an English
lord somebody who was friShtful dude. He
didn't care anything for me and tossed me to n
| waiter tip He paimed me off for beer
! at public" and then l went from one hand
to another so rapidly that couldn't pretend to
keep any record. / was generally deprecated
! IN value. for was a foreign coin, YOU see and
people snubbed me even while they took me.
| Finally got into possession of young Ameri-
| can and came back TO my native land with him.
was very glad to get back. for I've a good
I deal of patriotism In me, and would rather be
| an humble penny i'll the United States than a
| golden guinea in England, but I've been kept
| very much on the go since my return from
! abroad. and what may seem funny. am now
| in the till of baker, to whom / was given last
| night for a cents worth of yeast often think
! of what has become of the young girl who
called me her lucky penny, and Of the young
| man who ought TO have kept me, but didn't.
! All, me, life is full of changes. and though /
am the smallest kind of change I've had lots of
| experience, and will probably see many more
sights before become SO battered ND as to be
| useless.
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