Birmingham state herald., 1896-07-19

More Good StOries=n~
Told by "Jiln0 Simpson.

so the conclusion to act upon his wife's
 suggestion was soon reached. Next
 morning found the merchant at the
 wealthy manufacturers office. The
 manufacturer was an elderly man at
 that time, and a man of kindly disposi-
 ton. He listened with marked attention
 to his visitor as he reclted his business
 trials, his fears and his hopes. The man
 told the story just as he had told 1t the
 night before to his wife, and explained
 the prospects of clearing up the smaller obligations, and stated that the only seri-
 ous trouble was the large indebtedness
 due to the concern of which his nearer
 was the head. He told the manufacturer
 of having talked the matter over with
 his wife and of her suggestion that an
 appeal be made to him, as well as her
 belief that such appeal would not be in
 vain. There was an earnest honesty
 in all the visitor said, which
 was impressive, and when all the details
 of the business had been gone over two
 or three times the manufacturer lifted a
 load from his visitors heart by informing
 him that his request for extension would
 be granted. The manufacturer informed
 the merchant that he would personally
 settle the indebtedness when it became
 due and that the amount could be repaid
 to him at the convenience of the debtor
 Within the following two years events i
 showed that the debtor had correctly
 Judged his ability to settle, and a the end
 of this time he had his head we'll above
 water, owed no one and had small but
 thriving business. The wheel of fortune
 from 1887 to 1895 caused many changes
 in the business world and diversity was
 respecter of neither person, position
 nor wealth. The struggling small mer- chant, the manufacturing nabob and the
 moneyed prince went down alike in the maelStrom of distress and panic. One evening last November the man who fig ured in the opening of this sketch as the
 distressed merchant reached his home after his days work. His countenance wore an air of depression, and in reply to his wife's inquiry as to the cause he told her that Mir F@, the wealthy manu- facturer, who had befriended him in years gone by, had succumbed to the pressure of hard times and had failed. The couple sat about their fireside and talked the occurrence over at length, and after speaking often and often of Mir F-'s kindness when the husband was hard pressed he told his wife of the
 unfortunate mans sore straight then. and expressed the belief that Mr. F--
 was entirely ruined by the failure. A bright-eyed little daughter, barely years old, was a close and interested listener to al lthat was said. Her childish mind graSped the purport of the talk of her parents. She realized that this friend of whom she had often heard them speak | was now absolutely without money. Next | morning after the little one had her | breakfast she put on her cap, and with a I package which she brought from her room left the house without saying a | word to her mother. Through the biting | wind and over the slippery walks she | made her way to MT. F-'s office, some eight ten or blocks from her home. The | front was closed but the little girl man.
 aged to attract the attention of | she was admitted. She inquired for MT. | F--, and supposIng that she might be one of his granddaughters she was | shown into the office, which was filled with attorneys and bookkeepers repre- | senting the creditors preparing to ex- | anime into the condition of the insolvent | firm. When told that the little one want | ed to see him, MT. F--- called her to | his side and asked what she wanted The | little girl said: My name is Mamie C.. l You were good to my papa, and he told mama last night that you did not have 1 any money any more. I have brought | you this" saying which she unwrapped | child's toy bank, in which the coins | rattled, and which contained her savings
 for the year, intended for the enjoyment | of the approaching Christmas. Tt is all | mine and I want you to take it, because | you were good to my papa, and l love | you" Tears welled up in MT. F--'s l eyes, and reaching down he lifted the lit- l tie one to his knee and kissed her repeat edly, after which he said: "No my little | dear, it is not so bad as that. hope to | be able to save something, and I cannot l take your savings, but your tender sym | pathy is the most touching which has l come to me in my trouble.'
 Some years ago in Birmingham l young man, then working on one of the city dailies, and a we'll known court house official were warm friends Neither | of the couple was provident and such | thing as a dollar ahead would have | scared either of the pair to death. They | had been boarding around for some time | and concluded that it would be the proper | caper to secure room together and take | meals where they could. They found | friend who had a suite of rooms rented | for office purposes, one of which he | would be glad to sublet to reduce the rent. He was a good thing, and the | Dromios proceeded to install themselves l in the vacant room. The ghost never | walked, either at the court house or the | newspaper office, or if 1t did it's journey | ceased before either the court clerk or | the reporter was reached. At least that | is what they told the angel who was pro- | viding them with shelter and incidental | ly and without his knowledge, with | lights and fuel They had been in the | room six months and their landlord had | never seen the color of their money. The | court clerk jollied the landlord along l with his buand smile, and spoke hope | fully and confidently of the good days | which were coming, when everybody | would have all kinds of money in every | pocket, but the newspaper man made a | lame claim to conscience and began to | try to dodge the landlord. Finally one | Saturday night the ghost at the news | paper office coughed into his lap S15. l With this money clutched in his hand he | sought out his roommate, and after in- l forming him of his good luck suggested that the proper thing to do would be 'to | shock the nerves of the old man" with 1 a payment of s5 on account of room rent. | The court clerk readily agreed that such | action would be a marvellous shock, and I requested that he be allowed to admins | ter the shock. The $5 was turned over 1 to the clerk and the newspaper man