St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1901-03-16
ENDED HIS DAYS I'm COMFORT.
How Little Italy Was Buncoed by .
Fellow countryman.

n X
Fellow countryman.
The Italian colony Of New York
supplies this anecdote to a paper in
the Century, entitled ~IIumor and
Pathos of the Savings Bank
An old Italian street yender, con-
sumptiVe, feeling that his end was
drawing near, prepared a scheme for
ending his days in comfort. Observe
the originality and delicaey Of the
scheme that he successfully worked
on Little Italy. He had only SIS in
the bank, and Of this he drew $40
and redeposited it in few days. He
drew 1t again, and again redeposited
it, continuing the operation at brief
intervals, until on the credit side Of
his pass book he had entries of all
these various sums, footing up $500,
and On the opposite page draftsto the
amount Of about $7s5-b balance $15.
After carefully cutting out the page
showing the amounts drawn, and
leaving the long line Of deposits, he
took to his bed and called in his
friends. He was dying; they could
see that, the old man told them
They were good fellows, and he loved
them all, and he wished Pedro, the
banana peddler, and good Giovanni,
bootblack, and Arturo, the wine sell
er, to know how affectionately he re-
garded them. What he had to leave
them was not much-Would Edgardo,
good old Edgardo, kindly find, be-
tween the mattress and what used to
be the springs, his bank book? Yes;
that was it. Take it to the window
and tell him how much was there.
Eight hundred? All, well, thanks to
God that it was so much; but, oh, that
it were more, for such good fellows
as they!
Dottore Bartollo had told him that
he might live three months, till
spring; would his good friends put
back his book under the mattress, and
when he was gone-no, they mustn't
cryWould they take it up to the
bank, draw the amount and divide it
between them? Meanwhile, as his
loving friends Of the present, his heirs
in the future, would they kindly at
tend to his little wants?
Would they? Did they? Thatold
fellow was fed on the fat Of the land
while he lay there in bed He drank
more Chianti IN d week than he had
swallowed in five years. It was even
limited by some that Arturo, the wine
seller, was Fastening the end by the
Eile Chianti that he constantly pro-
duced from his stock, while the push.
cart man was so generous of unripe
bananas for the siekroom that there
was a division Of opinion IN Mulberry
street as to whether he was cheering
his friends finale with fruit, Or en-
deaVoring to complicate consumption
with other ills.
At last he swallowed his last fagon
of Ghianti, and though Little Italy
made a decent pretense Of sorrow, il
was really en- fete-at last the $500
was to be drawni ] was in the bank
when the principals, in their holiday
clothes, and with a few chosen friends,
arrived. They stated the case and
asked for the amount, from which the
push cart man was to receive some
$40 for fruit, the wine seller 800,
and the others various sums invested
for the invalid and his funeral, leay-
ing some $3.50 as the dividend" /
need not describe the small-sized riot
that followed when the abstraction of
the pages from one side Of the book
was explained to the swearing mourn
ers, and a tender was made to them
Of the SIS, all that the deceased had
In bank.