The Coalville times. [volume] (Coalville, Utah) 1894-1923, 1896-05-15
STRANGE sro-Y.
A Name Course Of Life changed by the
Presentation 81 q tard.

Presentation 81 Uard.
This play Of The Fatal Card we've
been having here lately" said a wash
ington merchant. reminds me OF
card story"
mot one Of the kind OF cards that
Washinrtonians are most familiar
with. Is ~" inquired the reporter. try
Ing 10 Do facctious.
Hardly But let me tell You the
tale. When was a youugutcr Of 10 or
less. which is now forty or fifty years
ago. hadn't as much money as / have
now. nor did my parents. but we thriyed
VOL and I got the best education that
WIS TO be- had at the time. owing to
the kindness Of q millionaire relative
OF mine, an old chap who died when !
was about 90 We never knew the
story until he died and then u All came
out In letter he wrote and left with
hls viii.
1T seems that when the old man was
about 20 he went west with young
man Of his own age. who had been
brought with him by the same people,
both being orphans. They were as
brothers. or even closer. in their affec-
lions. and when they started out to seek
their fortunes they each wrote card
and gave II to the other. Just what the
inscription was don't know. but Il was
enough to signify that n one was IN
need the other would honor the card
under any circumstances. and after any
lapse OF time. II be were financially able
to do so.
well. they worked together for
awhile. and then. by business changes
and one way or another. they sopar-
ated. For a long time they kept up
correspondence but as the years went
by that dropped. for In a few years one
was very successful. while the other
man was not. and you know how things
10 under those circumstances. A quar-
ter Of a century went by. and by that
time my relative was n millionaire
many times over. and the nastiest,
meancst. stinglest, crustiest old cuss In
ten states. lie couldn't help that. per-
haps. and don't know that he tried.
Anyhow, one day q ragged and
starving man camo into his office and
asked TO see him alone. He told him
10 state his business where he was.
The man told a long story OF suffering
and want. OF n sick and starving wife
and children and the usual concoml-
tants OF that kind OF n situation, and
then handed my relative n card. II
was yellow and worn and dirty. but II
was the same old card that he had
given his boyhood friend. The old man
gave the applicant n dime and told him
TO get out and not come back there any
more He obcyod the cruel command
and went ont silently. That evening n
policeman came to the old mans ONCE
with n note and card. All the motto
said was: Give this 20 my boyhood
friend. -. lie will understand
THE note was unsigned. The card
which tho policeman handed over had
n hole through II ms Il cut by knife,
and there was blood about tho edges Of
the cut. The officer explained that II
had been found on the dead body OF n
man In an attic room In the slums. with
a knife driven through It and into the
mans heart. That was all the police
man knew. don't know what tho
old man said. or how he felt. but do
know that from that day forward he
was q changed man.
"He gave TO every worthy person
needing help; he sought out all his poor
kin and took care Of them judlclously
educating the girls. giving the boys n
start In business. and helping their
parents; he organized charities and he
offered n reward OF 81 900 for the fam
ily OF his dead friend. lie never found
IL. however. and fancy the friend
never had a family. guess he wasn't
any good. anyway, but. whether he was
or not the way he took himself on was
a blessing 10 the old man. and most en-
phatically to all OF his kin. "-washing-
ton Star.