The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1901-03-29

TRIVIAL INCIDENT THAT BROUGHT
ABOUT SERIOUS RESULTS.
A Narrative Which Goes to show
What tremendous Influences In
significant happenings May Exert
Over the Affairs of Life.

Over the Affairs of Life.
An accidental exchange Of overcoats
at local restaurant one evening re
Gently recalled queer story to an old
lawyer who was dining at the 9TH
or side of the room. One evening in
the early seventies" he said. "a garcun
hurrying through a crowded cafe not
very far from here knocked down two hats
that had been hanging above couple Of
oyercoats on wall rack. He picked
them up and restored them to the pegs
and 10y that simple act condemned a very
eStlmabe gentleman To four years Of
acute mental torment and started anoth-
er individual, considerably less cstimablc.
on Il road that led eventually to a sui
cidc's grave. The funny part about it
was that the garcon didn't know either
man from Adams house cat If he had
been told later on of the trouble he caus-
ed, he would probably have had a stroke
Of apoplcXy. | remember being told that
he was rather fat
Il am something Of a student Of causa-
ton" continued the old lawyer. "and |
have frequently amused myself 10y trac-
ing out the extraordinary consequences
of some apparently trivial incident. 1t is
nearly always the shifting of pebble
that brings down the avalanchcs Of social
life, ana in this caSe-but | will briefly
sketch the facts. and you may draw your
own conclusions.
The fat garcun, as matter of course,
hung the hats over the wrong garments.
and a few minutes aftCrward a young
fellow who had just finished his dinner
got UP and walked off with another mans
ovcrcoat BY an odd coincidence it WAS
so much like his own that he wore it for
week without discovering the change
Then one day he felt in the inside pocket
and pulled ont several letters that were
strange to him. l think l could repeat
their contents even now from memory.
but there are professional reasons why
cannot be very explicit Suffice it to say
that they put him in possession of certain
facts. partly of a commercial and partly
of personal nature, that spelled ahso-
Lutte ruin for the man whom they CON
cerned.
"As l have already hintcd, the young
person who stumbled into this informal
ton was not a very eStimable character
but he had plenty of nerve and ShrcWd-
ness, and he began at once to plan how
he could turn his discovery into cash
Meanwhile the other fellow. who was a
quiet, middle aged business man, had
failed to observe that he was wearing
somebody clscs coat. | may say right
here that he never found it ont and died
in ignorance of a fact that might have
saved him an infinite deal of worry
"The young man with the incriminat-
ing letter was afraid TO act personally,
because no wos in rather a tirlIisb no.i.
tion himself owing 10 n,rn.rons shady
TRANSACTIONS in the mast and bis victim,
mich, oosiIv have turned ,ba +aIIo, ,,,a,,
him So no mad tool az = ,nisora ia
old drrnkor1 who ma orco hoon law.
ver and tbev nroce,ded 70 nut q, tha
screws Tho business man haJ missed
tho Iettars Of course brt ho NAVY tho
fointest ideo Of how br ma lost tbam
and IMAGINED that tbo, had hoo, st,Ion
orr IF his coat a+ HE on;co and tLot
theory nv tha wov resulteJ in tba .hrunt
dischoroe of several sntiroIr ;r,ooont
and unsusnectinp onnIovnas
"yvbnr tbo ov-shvet,,. o,,,,roa,,,o5 hin,
ba nromntlr nov, int tn,io al ,,,iI
the frst instaIImont NJ hIaclnoil aI,nns+
without n nrotest N-bo+ follouod r.,s
somewhat commornIoce soid rho ala
lowver musincJv and T win merely
skelotonizo il In = voar or CO thn Az
SINISTER succunhed 70 nrosnaritv com
nlcated With iimioms and tbc man With
tha lattors bad 10 cor ,o,,. oo+s,,ot,. H.
nickod nm > oucor Iool,ino cboracter who
had been sort Of horse doctor and ou
around fokir This feIIow know nntbin,
of the facts Inf merely octsd os - ,o hn'
tween and rsed ~ onnnor ~ ;n+er,.aIs
with \ card an which n crrtain amonnt
would he scrawled in mcneil
"Jt secms Incredible hut tbis wont y,
for tbree solid veors Tbon ono dov flo
victim rot desnerote ond di1 what ho
should have done at first Io coma ovor
to nv office and made = clnon brnost of
the whole affair took tho h,ll hv III
horns. 70 Lcrin with oniotIv got ont
n warrant fer the fake veterinary and
when he appeared I cavo him 20 Second.
to furnish the name Of his nrincino1 That
secured. swore out n second w,rran NJ
and went after the Young man mvseIr
- want those documents | soiJ and
also vour signature IN his confoSsin,,
WINS ,bo stro,'.o, soo" 1G'' Out my DUN