Evening journal., 1899-08-26
BAGGALEY'S CHARITY

his hand describing slow circles with lie
sranR Mr. Bssgaiey, fheseuier menbev q
The firm Of Bagg4ley 4 Cuts, importers II
German notions. could bear thehigher notes
OF the music, as lie worked "a his desk, and
they worried him. Mr. Baggaley was noi
nervous man. The teams,ers backed their
horses over the granite all day long s'beneath
his window and the porteis tumbled boxes
and packing cases on the sidewalk with
perpetual crashing and humping. A crane
used by the wholesale coffee house next door
had not been oiled in years and creaased dis
mallS whenever it was used. On the loor
above was a manufacturing tailor, whose
huge sewing machines made the papers on
his desk quiver from eight o'clock ia the
NOTING until six o'clock at night.
So it wenkday in aud day ont, with never
a change, until the sounds became practic-
ally a part Of the liie Of the great store 10
which al had become accustomed.
None Of these sounds disturbed Mr. Bag
galoy in the least or took his attention for a
momcnt from his invoices Of cuckoo clocks
mechanical toys, pictures and wood carvings,
although Miss Norris, his stenographer, said
that the crane sometimes made hci want to
fy. ThS reason why the faint dfonings u
"Alapseillsise" wore iniruding themselves
on Mr.. Baggaley's correspondence from
Nuremberg was that they presented q vivid
picture Of the organ grinder 70 The business
mans mind
For nearly a year Mr.. Baggaley had
noticed the old man sitting in the same spot,
with the battered tin cup on the top Of 6he
little organ. lie was there when the inn
porter walked brislly down The street in the
morning, and often the monotonous. squeaky
drawl OF the ancient instrument was going
when he went away at night Usually the
sid man was STOPPING over his organ and
his ragged felt hat was pulled down over his
eyes, but once as Mr. Bagsaley walked closu
to him, with the purpose Of satisfying him
self as 10 the amount Of money,the cup con-
tanned. the old follow raised his head.
Then Mr.. Baqgaley saw the face that had
haunted him at odd times ever since. 1t
was Of the color Of ola parchment and fur
rowed and crossfurrowed with wrinkles; a
gray stubblc Of beard covered the lower part
and mass Of dirty white hair tumbled over
the forehead, almost down to the open,
sighress eyes Mr.. BaggleF almost shud-
dercd and forgot all about the money in the
cup.
That afternoon the thought came to him
that~he and the old organ grinder must be
nearly q an age lie laughed at the idea
and tried to dismiss y from his mind, but IA
returncd to him @aiH and again, and pres
entity he caught himself looking into tho MIR
ror Of a toy bureau and making almost un-
scious comparisons between the face re
Elected there and that which bad been raised
10 him from The organ. The mirror showed
HIM clear, uiddy Ekin. but Che wrinkles
were there. though not 30 deeply gfaved
His hair was as white as tbe old beggar' O.
'ilow would ! look p mused Mr. Baefalcy
: III should let 'em grow and quit washing
/ for a month or two:'
Miss Norris entered the glass-RartitioneC
office, and her employer, with great presence
/ ,ef mind, wiped an imaginary blnck spo
/ from his nose with his handkerchief and
minute later became absorbed in his work.
The next morniss he was seized With a
| extFasrdinRy impulse to dfopG coin int
Che orga1 plRders tin cup ssAe fassed
rs hadla. gapasmeiQsssJ, LA ks'eeuld Qo
!. Sec6ll6ct .tiat'he lad eyer n lbs ITO bet3s
/ givsnsa panny without substantial rslne 3
oeivea. Ii~theNstly dsVs Ms peuhies .h'a
boon hafH eafasd Il VAS eHoieh for lin
he said, th4t be Withheld from no man li
due, and thst he paid bis. taxes proInptily ly
la was Of thu epiuion that indiserirainat
charity encouraged -pauperism.
Mr.. Bagcaley did not yield to the impulse
but he thought it over when the faint soun'
Of the oreen reached his cars. lie won
dered whether the organ grinders chance
in life had been better than his own prob
ably 800 per ccnt. better" she told himself
He'd probably tell me he has had bad lack
If I'd believed in luck I'd be in the gutter
where he is. II seem funny, though, &
think that when | was boy he was a boy
too. though for that matter, there are q fe'
hundred thousand others, suppose"
BY degrees this bond Of sympathy grrl
stronger, and one mQfning Mr.. Baggslcy RI
solved that he would, contribute spmethin
70 the tin cup. just how much he woul
not admit to himself. but as be approachc
dhe organ grinder a man coming from th
opposite direction carelessly threv som
money into the uip, and Mr.. Bagssley's di
gust at the indiscriminate charity cause
him 70 drop the nickel he had in his han
back into his pocket.
The firm Of Baggaley G Cuts sold a gre,
, variety OF musical contrivanoes Their war
house contained chairs, gorgeously glide
and upholstered, that, being sat on, emitte
all sorts Of waltzes and marches Bristl
, mnsic-box cylinders were concealed in be,
and dolls and papiermache books and cab
nets. When q good customer came in a
place he was set sinking from one end
the other. Mr., -Baggaiey got a great deal
comfort for some weeks after his msca
, riage Of benevolence in imagining how
I lighted the organ grinder'would be when. ,
was presented with a new organ made
Geneva 10 order, with carlton and triang
/ effects. Mr.. Baggaley even went so far as
look through a catalogue for a suitable
strument.
After that when he passed the old man
I almost ohuclled aloud at the thought Of h
= ignorance Of the good fortune in store Il
him. At the same time he sometimes fe
Eritated when he heard the sound Of Il
organ, for that suggested immediate actio
and, although Mr.. BaggSey was usually
. man Of action, in this instance be felt th
the old man washturying him unhecessaril
n Then there came time when the sound
the organ was heard no more on the sire
d corner. For weeks Mr. Baggaley looked 4
the old man in vain, iingling loose silver
y his pocket with determination as he a
4 preached the boarding. One morning
n asked the policeman at the corner where q
organ grinder had gone
n "You can't prove it by me, replied Il
tfRf,.-1,, H. -t,l- ,--,,.l... q.