Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1904-06-25
REGULATINGAWATCH
BY BARRY PAIN.


1T loses five minutes day." said the
old man YEARLY Gould you alter the
regulator"
Certainly, sir" said the ohliging
young matchmaker He screwed his glass
into his eye, examined the watch's i'm
terror. and gave one touch with an in
strument Then he closed the watch with
q snap and handed 1t back You'll find
that all right now, SIR he said
Thank you. said the ols Eaa IS he
fumbied Tor his l4r4e ALI how sanch
viii Jnas be?7
We make 10 c.agae tor that. sir
Il see, said ~ go nan. IT'S to be
anything ! ll.e Very well; here's six
pence for you
The proud young matchmaker peshed
the coin back again. Il meant What l
SAID, sir There is no charge"
Then all can say is thag me things
dirty swindle, said the olu man de-
liberately.
The matchmaker ioc1ed at him mar
rowly. I beg your pardon. SIR"
i say" said The OLD man With calm
and majesty, that the tniag a dirty
swindle"
Ii was not To be endured 1t was
enough to make anybody superior and
supercilious, and the young shopman
was no more than human.
II don't known what you mean" he
said. "Of course. II had seen the condi-
ton you're in when you entered the shop
nd yafr -
is
'As 1t Is, interrupted the old man. but
with quiet resignation that almost de-
priyed 1t Of the air OF an interruption,
you unwittingly prove my assertion. In
LONDON have found that any act of kind
ness, anything which in appearance is
done for you for nothing. such as your
obliging regulation OF my watch, Is in
reality made the excuse for taking a
liberty or infiicting an insult. With an
ignorance Of the symptoms OF intoxica-
tion that should imagine to be rare in
young men Of your class you have ac-
cused me of being intoxicated. You have
insulted me. And why? Because you
make no charge for regulating my watch
Oh, my young friend, II ] had purchased
| pearl necklace for 1000 guineas and
paid cash for 1t. and II thought that the
price was all the same too high and called
the thing a swindle, you would never
have dared to insult me; you would have
smiled feebly and ingratiatingly and af-
fected to treat 1t as joke. You would
have grinned and bowed and crawled.
But when | get from you some small
service for which no money charge 10
made your true nature comes out at once,
you take your repayment in aiicensefor
incivility. Did not say rightly that when
by making no charge you forced me into
false and humiliating position you
| thereby swindled me-and swindled me
Of something far dearer to me than
money!"
There was no answer TO the question.
The young man behind the counter pol
ished q Queen Anne silver teapot with
! leather and with ostentatious indiffer-
ence. The old man leisurely took pinch
OF snuff, replaced his box in bis pocket
and resumed:
You cannot pretend to misunderstood
me- Suppose that some little ragged boy
| in the street opens my carriage door for
me. 1t is O. service which have not de-
manded. 1t is, moreover, thing which,
il had no servants, could very well do
for myself. I should say that an expert
valuer would consider the boys action
| to be worth something less than half
penny. give him penny or two-pence.
| have purchased not only his service,
but his good will and my right to feel
ing OF superiority, and that is satisfac-
tory. II give him nothing, then the
service he has rendered, uncalled for and
trifiing in value though 1t be, purchases
for him the right to speak Of me with
contempt and disrespect to my face or
among his fellows, and that N to me most
unsatisfactory. You see my point?"
| THAT chair you're sitting on is put
there for the use of customers" said the
young man sullenly. AS you're not
customer suppose you clear out.
You seem disposed said the ole man
placidly, ITO exaggerate the purchasing
value OF your kindness in regulating my
watch without charge. There must be a
| limit to the amount OF rudeness to which
| it gives you a claim. This must be so
especially in your case. for take 1t that
your kindness was intended to purchase
something more than the mere right to
be rude. 1t was not entirely disinter-
ested; you thought that you were also
purchasing custom. You said to yourself
--unconsciously it may be--that when
my watch required cleaning or repairing
you were establishing some sort of right
to the job. | might even, as my watch
has been regulated for nothing, find my
self bound to buy Immediately charm
for the watch chain or a silver pencil
case. You will correct me il my surmise
is in any way inaccurate"
Look here said the young man.
1--WE can't keep on at this all day. IL
you like to pay twopence for having your
watch regulated you can"
s9rhank Won safd the old man and