The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-05-23
At WORK WITH HIDDEN HAND
BarkeepeTs' Gratitude for the Generous
Act Of a Rich Merchant.
Strong Suggested by the Three Memo
rial Tablets i'm an Inland Town Gem
cters-UpS and Downs OF the World
I;Hstrated-One Mans Idea OF I'iiii-
altfiroDy.

dSStECsi eAssoiAi1 l&OEN1 az IL do stOsk
In a pretty cemetery in the suburbs
OF j town III middle NcrtL Caralira ate
three nea hit unrretentious marble
COMMISSIONERS n marking the resting
place of a mar who died at an advanc-
eG age: by his side that of Lis daugh-
ter. the willow Of / Confederate SOL
dier slain in battle; and the little sod
covered bed of the widows son, a Grip
b!e. The memorial inscriptions tell
Baught but the names and ages OF
those who sleep below, but they were
the troubled actors in Il remarkable
story of real life.
One morning after breakfast. ovec
fiji ty years ago, in this busy inland
town of North Carolina, a prominen'
wholesale merchant sat III his count
ing room, his eyes fixed on Il large
written sheet before him. and a smile
of satisfaction on his lips. It was not
u face given to smiles, either; clear
out, strongly lined, cOmbative, with
frnf. unyielding lower jaw, it was the
countenance Of a man apt to be just
rather than gracious TO the world ana
himself. He Wronged no nan from
lis pride OF manhood and the integrity
of his character, but he eXacted frOn'
lis felIowmen his dues, for in his
World-the world of trade II material
acquisition-he had long since found
The grim, governing rule to be that be
shall take who hath the power, and he
shall keep who cam But there We're
good grounds that morning for his
c~omplacency. The paper before hin.
was filled with columns of figures.
showing a remarkably successful bnSi
ness for the month preceding; beside,
be had increased his holdings in the
principal bank of the town. until his
stock amounted to about 100000, net
ting 6 per cent. per annum.
Therefore. as he neatly folded the
paper in his systematic way, docketcd
it and placed it in his desk, and turned
t. a perusal Of the New York Journal
of Commerce, while he slowly inhaled
the fragrance of a Principe cigar, he
naturally resented with Impotence, as
an un~Warrantable intrusion On pleas.
ant thoughts, as an unsightly blot OH
the days fair beginning, the appear
ance of an iIl-clad, wretched looking
boy about 10 years of age, who, remoV-
ing his faded cap, made an awkward,
stumbling bow. It vas pauperism in
it's sordidness elbowing prosperity iii
it's comely sickness; and, had the
merchant been familiar with English
classics, doubtless he would have
thought with Hamlet 1.-The toe of the
peasant comes SO near the heel of the
courtier he gals his kibe." Turning
half round in his revolving arm chair,
he coldly and repellantly asked: What
do you want:"
"Have you got any work l kin do to
make a little sometime" and, through
the eagernesS Of his voice, there was
a minor note of Encouragement, as If
the quest for work had been made
over and over again for naught.
mo: what could a child like you do
with the heavy goods we handles"
81 don't know as | kin do much, for
I amt but ten years old, and [ amt
very strong: but father died last week,
and mothers very sick; and [ want to
earn enough to git her some medicine,
and some fresh milk for the baby, and
-and-and"-here the little fellows
words were choked by sobs which he
manfully strove to repress, as he bur-
riedly rubbed his rough jacket sleeve
across his eyes, and turned away.
Many a day the merchant had passed
on the street the hand of helpless men,
delaney Outstretched for charity with
out a thought, and his was not Il nature
to melt easily at a tale of aff1iction.
Now, was there anything of beauty in
the pathos of the picture before him.
The lad was barefoot and almost rag
ged; his features were dull and COM
mOnplace, and his face pinched and
freckled, with ugly red rims about the
pale, shallow blue eyes-perhaps, poor
boy, from the bitter tears which ought
not to have come SO early in life. But
his simple, pitiable story, the forlorn-
ness Of his attitude, impressed the
strong man powerfully and stirred his
Heart as it had not been moved i'll
years. Rising hastily, he went to the
door, and called back the boy, who
was moving dejectedly down the
street. So strongly were his Sympat-
thies enlisted that he sent the lad off
in a tren1Or Of delight, with a noteS TO
a leading physician authorizing him to
give the best medical attention to the
mother. a small sum of money to meet
pressing home needs, not emitting the
fresh milk for the baby, and a promise
to give him work for at least a few
days.
And it was only for a few days that
this timely assistance was asked OIL re-
CURED. A brother of the dead father
came from a distant city, and carried
away with him the sick mother and
the two children, and this incident
was closed" in the merchants busy life
forever, SO far as he was concerned
With the lapse of a few "a the
great civil war came III, and its close
brought the freedom of the slaves, the
destruction of all bank stock, the de-
probation of property, and a complies
change in the condition of trade, SO
that the wholesale merchant found
himself reduced from fO nov