The herald., 1912-12-12
A FRIEND IN NEED
lust a Bit of Life as It Cropped
Out on a Railway Train.
A TOUCH OF REAL HUMANITY.
The Rough Looking Man Who Proved
That His Heart Was Big and In the
Right Place and the Shabby but
Grateful Foreigner He 6efriended.

Whenever | hear anything nova
days about mans inhumanity to
man." said a Providence citizen the
other day, 81 am reminded of little
incident. | was coming back from
Boston with a friend on the midnight
train, and, getting on board at the
Back Bay station, we found "a seat
near the rear end Of the car.
soon after the train pulled out
happened to look around and saw the
conductor apparently expostulating
with rather shabby looking specimen
Of humanity who was sitting in the
last seat At first | thought the man
was drunk, but as | watched | saw
that he was a foreigner who couldn't
understand English. He was holding
out a crumped one dollar bill to the
conductor and saying New York over
and over again.
Finally the conductor shook his
head. said something | couldn't catch
and went on. The foreigner, a rather
decent looking young fellow, gazed at
him despairingly. then buried his face
in his hands and began to cry. With
the usual callous indifference Of the
travelling public to the troubles of any
one else. | paid no more attention to
the man and prepared to take nap.
II was Just beginning to doze when I
became aware that man was stand
ing beside me in the aisle. speaking to
me. | sat up and looked at him. he
was rough appearing man. far from
prepossessing, clean shaver, with q
sort Of bulldog face
"'Say. gents he began. I want to
know If you wouldn't like to help fel
Ter out
81 stlffened instinctively. determined
to refuse to let him make a touch.
There's poor young foreigner
back there he went on with a jerk of
his thumb toward the alien. still sit
ting with bowed head, and he's up
against 1t for fair. he can't speak q
word of English. and he wants to so
to New York, where he has friends.
HE got the idea somehow he could
do 1t for a dollar, all he's got: but. of
course, be can't. and they're going to
put him of the train when we get to
Providence It's mighty hard on fel
Ter like him. and there amt any tell
ing what'll happen to him getting put
or In a strange city at l o'clock in the
morning. thought maybe you'd be
willing to give a little to help him
along
"He stopped. looked Us straight in
the eye and smiled sbeepishly as If he
were ashamed of what he was doing.
We gave him dollar. and be went on
through the car. and there were few OF
the passengers who didn't respond to
the appeal He came back counting
the money. and as he got to our seat
heard him say:
There's a dollar more needed-Tn
make it up myselfr and he pulled out
a couple of fifty cent pieces and added
them to the amount
''The conductor and the brakeman
were standing at the door Of the car
near the foreigners seat.
Here said the man who had col.
lected the money to the alien; give me
your dollar
"Dnmbly. but trustingly, the young
fellow handed it over. and. giving 1t
to the conductor with the rest, the bull.
dog man said gruffly:
There's his fare
ut slowly dawned on the alien what
had been done for him, and as the con-
ductor punched the rebate check and
handed it to him the gratitude in bis
face was indescribable He couldn't
speak. but he took his cap off and
bowed again and again to the official.
but the latter pointed to the passenger
who was sitting In his seat across the
aisle and told the youth that be was
the one to thank.
The foreigner crossed the aisle till
he stood squarely in front of his bene-
factor, took off his cap and, with tears
OF gratitude in his eyes, bowed again
and again. 1t was evident enough that
VIZ w was ny
this unexpected outburst- At first he
waved his hand around the car to indi-
cate that everybody had had hand in
1t. But he couldn't make the foreigner
understand. The latter kept on bow
ing. whereupon the uncomfortable in
dividual In the seat grunted and turn
ed to look out Of the window.
Il have never seen." concluded the
man who was telling the story, "a
kindlier-if were a girl should say a
sweeter-act Of charity in my life. Sit
ting across the aisle. this hard faced
man had heard the story of the for
eigner, helpless. alone and frightened.
and out OF pure goodness of heart.
without aly necessity for doing it, he
mad taken upon himself the ungratefuI
task of soliciting money from the rest
OF the people in that car to help out a
man he'd never seen before and would
probably never see n."-Providence
Journal.