Evening journal., 1914-04-17
New News Of Yesterday
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A Curious Instance OF the
Working of Conscience
By Holland.

"ln my experience as an evangelist
l have learned that the promptings
of conscience sometimes lead to
peculiar, inexplicable results" This
remark was made to me recently by
William p. Hall, who is not only
president of a large corporation, but
is also widely known as an evangel-
ist, perhaps the most prominent of
the laymen in the United States who
have taken up evangelistic work.
81 could relate to you many Incl
dents that have came within my
knowledge which justify the state
ment which I have just made to you.
They sometimes lead TO the belief
that none Of us fully understand
human nature.
Let me tell you of an incident of
which ] have never been able fully to
explain. / learned upon undoubted
authority the facts which / am now
to tell you.
"a gentleman of excellent charac-
ter was riding, some years ago, I'm one
of the rapid-transit subway trains in.
New York City. He sat in a seat
nearest the door. After a while his
attention was attracted to a WE'LL
dressed man whose appearance was
that of a person accustomed to re-
finement of life and whose habits
were good For some reason, which
he could not explain, the gentleman
of whom / spoke found himself in
constant observation of this man who
sat opposite to him.
"At last, at one of the stations this
man got up and hastily left the car.
He was lost to view in the crowd
which had gathered on the platform.
The gentleman who had been watch
ing this man just then discovered a
small package which had evidently
been forgotten by the man who had
left the car.
"The finder took the package with
intent to give it to the guard There
was. however. some delay before the
guard came through the car. which
gave the gentleman opportunity to
look carefully at the package. IL ap-
peared to be a box of small size
which had been wrapped I'm a news
paper. Something was written upon
the margin OF the newspaper. which
had been so placed over the box as to
be certain instantly to attract the eye.
II was in these words: This box
contains some money that was stolen.
For good reasons I cannot return it,.
Therefore the money belongs to the.
finder of the box
There was a queer manifestation.
of the impulse of conscience. The
man was in possession of stolen
money and his confidence would not
let him keep it. Yet his conscientious
scruples were not strong enough to
lead him to restore the money to
those from whom II had been stolen.
"But that was not all. The man who
found the parcel was persuaded that
he had a right to examine it. He took
off the newspaper covering and found
a cigar box underneath the paper
He took the box with him when he
left the train and at convenient mo-
ment opened it. It contained some
$4,000 I'm bills. This gentleman's
conscience could not permit him to
make this confessedly stolen money
his own. After some thought, he de-
cided to give it as a benefaction to
some one who would never know that
It was stolen money. He did this,
thereby satisfying his own CON
science.
"Now If any one can explain to me
the mysterious workings of human
nature which are contained in this
incident | should be very glad to have
the explanation"