San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-07-01

Dy his express prohibition, but now at
last he boldly disregarded this.
II hold myself responsible" he said.
warmly. II have done it. perhaps. even
at the risk of a violation of confidence,
Have you not been defeating your own
end by the transformations course YOU
have adopted, and by the obscurity in
which you have chosen to shroud the
source of the reimbursement even from
all those who have enjoyed its benefits?
The atonement ought to have as much
publicity as the original scandal"
But the terrible publicity of it," OBJ
jected the young man, though he was
more than half convinced that the other
was right.
"Oh. these things very soon pass over,
and just leave good general effect be-
hind" responded the lawyer, reassur-
ingly.
Those of our citizens who have
reached middle life" said the newspaper
in question, will still recall the start
ling effect upon this community pro-
duced by the failure and fight of the
late Randolph Ridgefeld. The magni-
tude of the interests involved made 1t
The most notable event of the kind In
financial history, and it is doubtful if it
has ever been surpassed, even with our
larger way of doing things in these
times. The unfortunate Randolph Ridge
field died in poverty in Mexico. His son,
Walter Ridgefeld, Esq, young man
of great ability and force of character,
has, meantime, by his own unaided in
dustry, acquired large fortune in that
country. He lately arrived here, and,
we learn upon the best authority, has de-
voted not Il part only, but the whole of
it, to making good the losses occasioned
by the transactions of his father. He has
even employed the services of expert de-
heirs, to be reached in no other way, that
not the smallest fraction of the debt
might remain uncanceled.
within the past few days most of the
money has been paid out over the count
ers of the Excelsior bank, where it was
deposited, with a peculiar fitness, as Ran
dolph Ridgefeld was at the head of this
institution at the time of the disaster.
Several touching and pleasant incidents
are reported in connection with the set
Element of these ancient claims. Per-
haps the most interesting of all will
prove to be the repayment of the nu-
merous depositors of the old Ridgefield
Savings bank, the Incidental collapse of
which was one of the most painful feat
ures of the disaster. We may easily
imagine the elation of the humble class
OF persons whose little all was swept
away on that occasion to find their hard
dollars restored to them. Many, no
doubt. will find themselves raised from
poverty and distress to comparative af-
fuence.
When we consider the great lapse of
time, the absence of any legal response
bility ON the part of the giver, and the
vaStness of the sum, step of this kind
cannot but arouse our warmest admira-
ton No completed evil can ever be
wholly repaired, it is true; but rarely
can there have been so near an approach
to entire reparation as that we chronicle
today. The proceeding will no doubt
seem quixotic to that interesting class of
our fellow citizens who have betaken
themselves ust across the northern from
tier and bid fair by their numbers and
wealth to found there new aristocracy
based upon spoliation like that of me-
di8val barOns, but we are free to confess
that. in our view, no more generous &C
ton, and none more calculated to have
an invigOrating effect upon too lax nc
tions Of commercial morality, has been
performed in our times"
The day after this there arrived for
Walter, through his banker, a note from
Amy, saying:
Was it you, then? 1t seems too in
credible. Will you not come, if only for
a moment, to let me thank you for your
great kndness?
Then finally Walter went to the Bella
Vista fats, near the park. The Bella
Vista had on a small scale many Of the
external adornments of more costly and
ambitious flats, with none of their con-
veniences. It's rooms were small and
many of them dark, the Colebrooks were
high indeed in the air, and there was no
elevator. Their rooms, too, showed some
disorder
''Do not look at anything" protested
Amy. We are moving already. We
have danced, wept and prayed with joy
and gratitude over our good fortune, and
are getting ready TO reap the benefit of