The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-04-15
THE STORY OF A CARD.
a Moral Connected With It's Strange
and Tragic History.

a Moral Connected With It's Strange
and Tragic History.
"This play OF 'The Fatal Card we've
been having hcre lately, "lsaid Washing
ton merchant to q reporter, "reminds me
of q card story"
"Not one of the kind of cards that
washingtonians are most familiar with,
Is itf" inquired the reporter, trying to
be facetious.
"Hardly. But let me tell you the tale.
When was youngster 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 thrived well,
and got the best education that was to
be had at the time, owing to the Kindness
Of millionaire relative of mine, an old
chap who died when / was about 20. We
never knew the story until he died, and
then 1t all cane out in letter he wrote
and left with his will.
"It seems that when the old man was
about 20 he went West with young man
of his own age, who had been brought mp
with him by the same pepole, both being
orphans. They were az brothers, or even
closer In their affections, and when they
started out to seek their fortunes they
each wrote a card and gave 1t to the
other. just what the inscription was l
don't know, but IL was enough to signify
that II ONE was In need the other would
honor the card under any circumstances,
and after any lapse of time, II he were
financially able to do SO.
ssWell, they worked together for awhile,
and then, by business changes and one
way or another, they separated. For q
long time they kept up correspondence,
hut as the years went by that dropped,
for In few years one was very successful,
while the other was not, and you
know how things go under those circum-
stances. A quarter OF q century went
by, and by that time my relative was a
millionaire many times over, and the
nastiest, meanest, stingiest, crustiest old
cuss In tea States. He couldn't help that
perhaps, and 1 don't know that he tried.
anyhow, one day ragged and starv-
ing man came into mis- Office and asked TO
see him alone. He told him to state his
business where he was. The man told a
long story OF suffering and want, of q
sick and starving wife and children, and
the usual corcomitants OF that kind OF
= situation, and then handed my relative
. card. It was yellow and worn AID
dirty. but 1t was the sam old card that
he had given his boyhood friend. The
old man gave the applicant a dime and
told him to get out and not come back
there anymore. He obeyed the cruel
command and went out silently. That
evening policeman came TO the old mans
OI1co Win u uOke anu cara. All the
note said was: sGjve this card to my
boyhood friend. He will understand
"The note was unsigned. The card
which the policeman handed over had
hole through 1t as IL cut by a knife, and
there was blood about the edges OF the
cut. The officer explained that IL had
been found on the dead body of a man In
an attic room In the siums, with knife
driven through it and into the mans
heart. That wss all the policeman knew.
don't know what the old man said, or
how he felt, but i do know that from
that day forward he was a changed man.
"He gave to every worthy person need
ing hclp; ho sought out all his poor kin
and took care OF them juoiciously; edu-
eating the girls, giving the boys start
In business, and helping their parents,
he oragrized charities, and he offered n
reward OF thousand dollars for the fam
lily of his dead friend. He never found II,
however, and fancy the friend never
had Q family. i guess he wasn't any
good, anyway, but whether be was or
not the way he took himself of was a
blessing to the old man, and most EN-
phaticaiiy TO all OF his kin. Washing
ton Star.