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diff --git a/old/44327.txt b/old/44327.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9c58f0d..0000000 --- a/old/44327.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1180 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Beggar's Purse, by Samuel Hopkins Adams - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Beggar's Purse - A Fairy Tale of Familiar Finance - -Author: Samuel Hopkins Adams - -Release Date: December 1, 2013 [EBook #44327] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BEGGAR'S PURSE *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger - - - - - -THE BEGGAR'S PURSE - -A Fairy Tale of Familiar Finance - -By Samuel Hopkins Adams - -1918 - - - -NOTICE - -IT was our original intention to print and distribute a small number -of these booklets gratuitously among our Mends with the hope that this -story might aid in the sale of War Savings Stamps. - -However, before the booklet was finished we had a number of requests -from large firms who desired to purchase them in quantities for -distribution among their own people. This we had not planned on. - -In taking the matter up with Samuel Hopkins Adams, the author, he -suggested that he was willing to forego any remuneration if we would -furnish these books at cost. This we gladly consented to do, and we will -print and deliver any size edition, selling them at actual cost. - -We are glad to do this, for we will feel well repaid for our efforts, if -every book is the means of selling one War Savings Stamp. - -SMITH & PORTER PRESS, INC. - -530 ATLANTIC AVENUE, BOSTON, MASS. - - - -Foreword - -The thought in mind that this story might suggest a way to increase the -sale of War Savings Stamps, the publishers and the author, who receive -no remuneration, have kindly consented to allow us to print and -distribute gratuitously this booklet. - -Smith & Porter Press, Inc. - - - - -THE BEGGAR'S PURSE - - -VAN TENNER was a man who pursued his way through life by fixed habits. -He lived in Philadelphia. That was one of the habits. He ate regularly, -slept regularly, rose regularly, worked regularly and went to the club -regularly; all this within the limits of a very comfortable income. He -never overstrained this income. That's what kept it so comfortable. -It also kept E. Van Tenner comfortable. They were very comfortable -together, which is fortunate, as there were only the two of them to look -after each other. That is to say, E. Van Tenner was a bachelor. As -to his age, face, form and apparel, the illustrator may, if he will, -apprise you. Not I. They have no essential bearing upon this, my tale, -which is no love story, for love and E. Van Tenner were strangers. - -But though love had passed him by, war came home to him, touching him -with intimate shock upon the income and then upon his habits; but this -he endured, not without discomposure, indeed, but without resentment, -for one of his best habits was to be honestly and thoroughly patriotic. -In sundry phases war came to him; but the particular phase which, at the -time of the beginning of this chronicle, interrupted him in the task of -figuring up personal accounts, wore white whiskers and an ingratiating -expression and was a professional beggar, not for pay but for -patriotism. - -The professional and patriotic beggar fixed E. Van Tenner with a bright -and amiable eye and said--that is, he would have said if E. Van Tenner -hadn't first said: - -"No." And then repeated it with level and considered firmness: "No. No. -No." - -"But----" began the professional beggar. - -"I subscribed liberally to the first Liberty Loan." - -"I know. But----" - -"More liberally to the second Liberty Loan." - -"Exactly. Nevertheless----" - -"As for War Saving Stamps--I see them in your glittering eyes--I know -all the arguments----" - -"Except one," interrupted the beggar. "Quite useless," said E. Van Tenner -firmly. "However, proceed!" - -"My argument," said the beggar, "is based upon the word 'savings'. War -_Savings_ Stamps. I propose that you shall start modestly with one of -these stamps, purchased out of what you save on current expenses without -giving up anything that you need or want or aren't better off without." - -"That," commented E. Van Tenner, smiling, "suggests magic." - -"Magic, pure, deep and white," confirmed the beggar promptly. "What are -your plans for to-day?" - -"A trip on business to New York." - -"Good! How long?" - -"Twenty-four hours," said the precise E. Van Tenner. - -"Do you carry a pocketbook--or your money loose?" - -"Loose." - -"Take this purse. It calls for but one condition: That you keep all -your money--bills and change--in it and spend only from it. If this is -faithfully done, within twenty-four hours you will have saved enough to -buy one--no, two stamps; which at the present price will come to eight -dollars and twenty-eight cents." - -To Van Tenner's skeptical eye the purse placed in his hand seemed an -ordinary-enough affair--a cheap, flattish wallet, without distinguishing -mark until he opened it and found, set into the flap, a celluloid tablet -flanked by a small pencil. Across the top of the tablet ran the legend -"What's the good?" - -"A colloquial expression of the philosophy of indifference," observed E. -Van Tenner with a smile. - -"On the contrary," retorted the beggar, "it is a serious and profound -inquiry into first causes. The magic inheres in it. Under-stand, now: -You are not to scrimp and scrooge at all. Parsimony by people who can -afford to spend does harm, not good. And this magic, being white magic, -works only for good. But if you undertake to remove money from that -purse for any purely wasteful purpose the magic will be loosed; and you -shall see what you shall see--or, more accurately, feel what you shall -feel." - -"The purse will stir in my pocket, I suppose," laughed E. Van Tenner. - -"Much deeper," replied the beggar gravely. "In your conscience." - -"I accept your challenge," said the other. He emptied his pockets and -deposited all his money under the guardianship of the inquiry "What's -the good?" - -"To start from the moment when I leave my office for the train." - -"I shall expect to hear from you on your return," replied the beggar, -and vanished by the magical process of stepping into a bewitched -compartment which, at the touch of a brass-buttoned wizard's hand upon -a lever, dropped harmlessly down a frightful chasm and disgorged him -unharmed upon the street. - -On the punctual fifteen minutes before train time E. Van Tenner picked -up his small, light traveling bag and walked the two blocks to -the station. There he was met by an obsequious porter to whom he -mechanically surrendered the insignificant burden. Instinctively he felt -in his change pocket to see whether he had any silver. None. Nor in his -trousers pocket. Why, what had he-- - -Oh, of course. The beggar's purse, in his breast pocket. He reached -in for it and the purse bit him. At least that was his first startled -thought, so queer and unpleasant a thrill ran up his finger. Then it -was the porter's turn to be startled, for E. Van Tenner, retrieving his -luggage, addressed to him a positive monosyllable: "None." - -"Wha'--wha' that you say, suh?" - -"Didn't you just ask me 'What's the good?"' - -"Me? Lawd! No, suh!" - -"Well, somebody did," asserted E. Van Tenner, vague but emphatic. "I'll -carry my own bag, thank you." - -"Ghos'es! He's hearin' ghos'es," surmised the alarmed African, staring -after his escaped patron as that haunted gentleman made his way to the -Pullman window. - -Here he again felt for the wallet. Though there was no shock this time -it seemed to come forth reluctantly, and the magic phrase as it met his -eyes took on a quality of insistence. - -"Well, what is the good?" repeated E. Van Tenner. - -"Beg your pardon?" said the astonished agent from his window. - -"I--that is to say--have you a chair for New York on this train?" - -"Just one left, sir." - -"Keep it!" the horrified Van Tenner heard himself say. Or was it himself -that had said it? At any rate he was ten paces from the window on his -way to a day coach before he recovered. Not until then did it occur to -him that on his last trip the parlor car had been so hot and stuffy as -to leave him with a headache all day. Perhaps he would be just as well -off in a day coach; even better, possibly. He found a seat, disposed -himself in it and essayed to return the beggar's purse to his pocket. It -resisted. Its reluctance was quite uncanny until E. Van Tenner observed -that in some way the pencil had got afoul of the pocket flap. - -"Oh, that's it!" said he, enlightened, and proceeded to make the -following entries of cash saved, on the magic tablet: - - Station porter Parlor car $0.55 - Pullman porter .15 - -Hardly had he settled in his place when he heard a familiar voice behind -him. He turned. I t was Welland, a near neighbor to his apartment. -Welland was in the automobile business, from which he was reputed to -draw from twenty-five to thirty thousand dollars a year in commissions. -It was a surprise to E. Van Tenner to find so glossily prosperous -a person, with a reputation as a free spender, in the day coach. He -mentioned his surprise. - -"War, my dear sir, war," said Welland. "This nation is at war. I haven't -ridden in a parlor car since last summer." - -"Economy?" - -"Principle." - -"I see no principle involved except economy." - -"Don't you? The fewer heavy parlor cars the less demand on coal and -rolling stock. Here I am, unable to get my normal supply of automobiles -from the factory, because the railroads can't handle them. And, mind -you, they're a necessity. They relieve the strain of suburban railway -traffic. Men in every other line of necessary business are up against -the same thing. So I'm doing my part to relieve the situation by riding -in a light day coach, which seats a hundred or so passengers instead of -a heavy Pullman, which seats maybe forty." - -E. Van Tenner glowed inwardly with self-satisfaction in that he had -taken the unaccustomed and plebeian coach. He felt sure that the -beggar's purse would warmly approve of Welland, When that gentlemen, -on his suggestion, moved forward to share his seat he anticipated a -pleasanter journey than he would have enjoyed in the parlor car. On the -outskirts of the city the train was halted for a minute. Welland pointed -out of the window to a great mass of scrap iron which was being -pulled apart and loaded on flat cars by a busy gang of workers. To his -astonishment he perceived that the workers were women. - -"You see that," said his companion. "Why do you think they put women on -such rough work?" - -"Because they can be had for lower wages, I suppose." - -"Not at all. They're getting men's pay; have been for months. I saw the -advertisements in the papers, offering it. No, sir! It's because the -railroad can't find men enough. Yet back in the parlor car there's a -husky roust-about picking up towels and flicking dust off chair backs -for tips, while those women hustle iron. He gets none of my money!" - -The trip to New York was exceptionally brief, E. Van Tenner thought. At -the terminus two Red-Caps swooped upon Welland and himself, only to be -repelled in disorder. - -"As long as women handle bulk metal I guess I can carry my own suit -case," observed Welland, stepping easily along under the burden of -a week-end trunk. "You've no idea how much good muscle one puts on, -juggling weights like this. Regular traveling gymnasium. Well; here's -where I leave you." - -Bidding his companion good-by E. Van Tenner committed the following -entry to his celluloid: - - Red-Cap...........$0.15 - -He made his way to the outer air, where a waiting chorus celebrated his -arrival by bursting, full-throated, into song: - -"Taxi! Taxi! Taxi, sir! Taxi t'yer hotel. Here y'are, taxi!" The -familiar sounds led him unthinkingly to the nearest cab, operated by a -youthful bruiser with the arms of an ape and the jaw of an alligator. - -"Where to?" he growled. - -E. Van Tenner laid a hand on his purse, drew it forth and---- - -"What's the good?" it demanded in black and authoritative print. - -"How much to the Hotel Von Gorder?" - -"'Bout forty cents," returned the tough, as one disdaining such petty -considerations. - -"Thank you," returned E. Van Tenner politely, and entered the amount on -his tablet. "I'll walk." - -"Walk!" bellowed the outraged chauffeur. "Whaddaya tryin' to do--kid -me?" - -The protrusive jaw was thrust up under E. Van Tenner's retiring nose. - -The small, greenish eyes bored into his. "Yuh took me," snarled their -owner. "Now gidin!" - -Ordinarily a pacifist in all personal relations E. Van Tenner would, -unsupported by ulterior influences, have meekly obeyed rather than risk -a verbal or possibly physical encounter. But magic is magic and will -carry him whom it upholds by its might through the imminent deadly -breach even to the cabby's mouth. Something tingled upward from the -hand that held the beggar's purse; something that snapped back E. Van -Tenner's spare shoulders to a springy squareness and fired his brain and -nerved his voice; and with unutterable surprise he heard himself speak -in tones that were more than peremptory, that had the flick and sting of -a military command: "Where is your draft registration card?" The red and -savage face turned pallid and receded. The gorilla frame drooped away, -then gathered itself and sprang--not upon E. Van Tenner but upon the -driver's seat of the taxi, which straightway departed with snorts of -pain and terror. - -"Well, well!" thought E. Van Tenner, inexpressibly shocked at his -newself. "In another moment I should have hit that fellow upon the nose. -I am sure that I should." - -A wild, infuriated yell from the motorman of a cable car, which the -routed taxi had missed by a scant inch, drew E. Van Tenner's eyes to -the legend on the car, which, he perceived, ran within one block of his -hotel. To save time he jumped aboard, and reached his destination as -quickly as he would have done in the taxicab. On the way he corrected -his entry by deducting five cents for fare; then on reflection added -fifteen cents as the probable tip to the chauffeur, this representing -the sheer blackmail of the dread of being considered a short sport. At -the journey's end his account read: - - Station porter $0.15 - Parlor car .55 - Pullman porter .25 - Red-Cap .15 - Cable car vs. taxi .35 - Chauffeur's blackmail .15 - -Making a promising total of $1.60 already. E. Van Tenner perceived that -instead of by a beggar he had been visited by one who was perhaps -a prophet. The last item in the account particularly pleased the -accountant. He began to suspect that much of the change that he -systematically dribbled out was simply the blackmail paid by vanity to -extortion. At once he was to meet with a double verification of this. At -the hotel desk he asked for room with bath. - -"Something about five dollars, Mister--er--er?" inquired the official -behind the register. - -"Yes," assented E. Van Tenner, and instantly felt a pang in the purse. -"That is--ah--haven't you anything for four dollars?" - -"Oh, yes; we have some as low as that," returned the clerk -superciliously; "if----" - -He left unfinished a conditional clause that obviously was designed to -conclude--"you don't feel that you can afford a good room." So frail was -E. Van Tenner's humanity--let him that is without vanity cast the first -stone--that he hesitated. He didn't dare take out the beggar's purse -and look it in the face. But, then, neither did he dare look the -supercilious hotel clerk in the face; that is, until---- - -"Reservation for J. Q. Smith; room and bath, three dollars," said a -brisk newcomer at his side; and another clerk answered promptly: "Yes, -Mr. Smith; Room 1118." - -"I'll take the four-dollar room," said E. Van Tenner firmly; and the -clerk, whose supercilious expression was worth thousands per year to -the hotel, admitted defeat for once and said: "Very well; will you go up -now?" - -No; he decided that he would lunch at once; but first he would wash up. -In the washroom he was beset by a human bluebottle who buzzed round him -with a futile and superfluous whisk broom, despite his protests, and all -but blocked his way when he sought an egress without paying for it in -the form of a tip. But the spirit in the purse was having its way with -E. Van Tenner now, and an inspired inquiry as to whether the brush -brigand was of military age removed him from the path. - -The next obstacle was more formidable. The door of the cafe was guarded -by two young and unbeautiful descendants of the horseleech's daughters. -Always before he had contributed automatically in response to their -unspoken "Give! Give!" though he knew that he was only enriching -some unknown capitalist in the background who rented this particular -blackmailing privilege from the hotel for eight thousand dollars per -year. But--what would the fearsome beggar's purse say or do should he -attempt to extract the minimum of ten cents to protect him from their -cackle of disdain? Fortified as he was he could now face the contempt -of man but not of these befrizzled Amazons. Yet to pass them while -retaining possession of hat and coat was impossible. Already their -grasping hands were extended for his apparel. E. Van Tenner turned and -fled. - -Do not assume, however, that his retreat was caused by cowardice alone. -Ingenuity, doubtless instigated by the beggar's purse, is entitled to -half credit. E. Van Tenner took the elevator--free--to his room and hung -his hat and coat--gratis--in the clothes press. The room, he noted with -satisfaction, was precisely the same as the five-dollar variety except -that it was a few floors higher. He entered one dollar saved on room, -ten cents each on washroom and coat check; and descending passed, -unarmored but unscathed, the gantlet of the disarmed horseleech's -great-granddaughters. Already his total was two dollars and eighty -cents. Good progress toward one stamp! - -Upon his return to the room to resume his cast-off garments some -indefinite discomfort in the region of his left big toe attracted E. -Van Tenner's unfavorable notice. Could the magic wallet have established -connections in that quarter? It seemed highly improbable. Investigation -supplied a simpler reason--a large hole yawned in his sock. A block -distant was a high-class department store. Thither he made his way, -and was presently applying a rather exigent taste in hosiery to the -consideration of some chastely fancy designs in striped silk. Three -dollars was about his usual price. But, came the chilling thought, what -would the purse say or do? Tentatively he drew it forth. It made no -protest. The legend "What's the good?" had lost its accusing aspect. - -"After all," reflected E. Van Tenner, "the beggar said that I wasn't to -scrimp myself." Then to the clerk: "I'll take this pair." - -Still maintaining, strict neutrality the wallet gave of its wealth. He -returned it to his breast pocket. - -"Will you take them with you, sir?" asked the salesman. - -"No. Send them to----Ouch!" - -"To where?" The man lifted startled eyes above a poised pencil. - -"I'll have them sent to the----Ugh!" - -It was most astounding! The magic purse, quiescent during the deal, was -now catching at his breath like an ice-water douche over the heart. Had -it gone back on the bargain? Must he give up those chaste yet sprightly -socks? Not without a struggle. - -"Could you deliver them this afternoon?" - -"We could if it isn't too far." - -"Then have them sent to----Oh, Lord! No use!" - -"Are you ill, sir?" asked the floorwalker, approaching anxiously. - -Some unknown incitement forced a question to E. Van Tenner's lips: "See -here, does it cost you anything to deliver goods?" - -"Certainly. In time and labor from twelve cents per package upward." - -So that was it! The magic was working beyond the limits of his own -exchequer. Obviously it didn't propose to sit by and watch him waste -anybody's money, even a store's. - -"I'll take them with me," said he. "Thank you, sir," said the floorman. - -As he departed with his purchase E. Van Tenner felt a sensation as if -a very soft and satisfied kitten were purring against his chest. "All -right," said he, speaking down his shirt front; "but don't you get too -dictatorial." Business took up the rest of the afternoon; business in -which the purse played an honorable and unprotesting part, though its -course at one point called for a taxi expenditure of something more than -two dollars. That, however, was to save necessary time. E. Van Tenner -was relieved to find the magic receptacle so reasonable. He began -to feel that he could live on terms of amity and confidence with it -indefinitely. But when he came to pay the chauffeur the wallet produced -the exact amount with a precision that he could not but feel to be -significant. In vain did he search for a tip. - -"What's the good?" demanded his mentor. "What's the good of making a -present to a man in whom you have no possible interest and who hasn't -done anything that he isn't paid to do by his employer?" - -"Not the slightest," admitted E. Van Tenner in the face of the disgusted -taxi man; and even added cheerfully: "That's the precise amount, I -believe." - -So swiftly and blithely does one become hardened to impotent scorn! Thus -was twenty-five cents added to the mounting record. - -His evening was free. He decided upon a light and hasty dinner, followed -by the theater--if the magical arbiter would permit. By repeating his -simple expedient of leaving his outer apparel in his room he eluded the -coat-check impost, and genially smiled at the disgruntled Amazons, who -seemed to be asking each other whether this comparatively nude intruder -had perhaps pawned his overcoat. - -"Dry Martini," ordered E. Van Tenner upon seating himself. Instantly and -miraculously the beggar's wallet seemed to have dropped from his -vest pocket to the pit of his stomach, upon which it pressed with a -destructive insistence. - -"Wait a moment!" said its proprietor slave hastily to the waiter; then -added in a low but indignant undertone: "See here! It isn't your affair -to censor my morals and habits. You're a committee on finance, and -that's all!" He plucked forth the purse into the light of day. "What's -the good?" it inquired with an air of sweet reasonableness. - -E. Van Tenner reflected. After all, what was the good? Either he had an -appetite for dinner, in which case he didn't need the cocktail; or else -he needed the cocktail to create an appetite for dinner, in which case -it was high time that he quit the habit. Hadn't the beggar distinctly -told him that he needn't give up anything which he would'nt be better -off without. "Never mind the Martini," said he wearily? During dinner he -looked over the theatrical advertisements in his paper, and hesitating -between those classically named productions whereto a discriminating -public taste is addressed, Atta Boy, Oh, Slush, and Gertie's Green -Garters, fixed upon the latter. He must now retrieve his coat and hat, -upon which he had saved another dime. Ascending to his room he switched -on the lights, got into his outer garments, locked his door and started -for the elevator. A slight but insistent cramp in the pocketbook halted -him. What could that mean? He wasn't spending any money. If it was a -protest against theatergoing it was premature. Let it wait till he got -to the theater! He started again, and caught his breath over a more -pronounced pang. His eyes, turning upward, were arrested by the glowing -glass of his transom. To be sure! He had left the lights on, thereby -wasting coal for the hotel--upon which he had already saved a dollar and -fifty-five cents. - -"You are certainly some little economist!" he murmured to the occupant -of his pocket as he returned and left the room in darkness. - -At the theater a ducal personage behind a grille negligently informed -him that there was nothing available in the orchestra before a week from -Wednesday; but an undistinguished individual in the lobby--who may -or may not have been there for that very purpose--mentioned that the -Bilbosh Agency had some good seats. Thither went E. Van Tenner. Yes; -the agency had a few seats left. There was one in the eighth row, -three dollars and thirty cents, please. At the mention of the price the -beggar's purse leaped from E. Van Tenner's hand and fell flat on its -face upon the floor. - -E. Van Tenner took it forth and gave it air. Now in our amiable and -easy-going bachelor there was a definite streak of obstinacy. He had -undertaken to see Gertie's Green Garters and see it he would, always -assuming that the magic receptacle would permit. He retraced his steps -to the theater, retired to a corner of the lobby and drew forth the -chancellor of his exchequer. - -"What's the good?" it questioned. But the effect was that of inquiry, -not of challenge. - -"The good is that I've done a day's work and am entitled to some -amusement. What's the harm?" - -The beggar's purse appeared to accept this view complaisantly. Back to -the ticket window stepped E. Van Tenner. - -"What is the best seat you have for tonight?" he asked the duke of the -diagram. "Tenth row in the balcony; one sixty-five." - -"Can you see the stage from it?" - -"Oh, yes," replied the duke wearily. "You can see the stage." His tone, -aimed at the inquirer's vanity, commented: "If you're the kind of cheap -person who goes into the balcony." But E. Van Tenner's vanity was now -armored like the tropic ant-eater. - -"I'll take it," he said; and the beggars purse opened automatically. - -Rather to his surprise he found that his view of the play was just as -unobstructed as in the orchestra seats to which he had been accustomed; -and his hearing was much less interrupted--not to mention the fact that -he had saved one dollar and sixty-five cents at one fell swoop. Thus he -felt justified at the close of the performance in stopping for a bite of -supper. A flaring light directed him to a place where, all too late, the -frantic dissonances of a jazz band burst upon his shocked ears. Before -he could retreat a coat-room attendant had his garments in pawn. -Perforce he must go forward. As he dropped into a gilded and fragile -chair a pair of ample ladies, wearing carefully greased evening gowns, -appeared upon the stage and burst into metallic shrieks, supported by -the musical spasm of the orchestra. E. Van Tenner essayed to forget his -sufferings in contemplation of the menu--and got a fresh shock. He had -seen prices before, but never such prices as these. Even without the -magic purse he was sure that they would have given him pause. As for the -purse, he did not dare bring it out in sight of that array of figures. -Something light, a bit of fish and some stuffed green peppers, he had -thought to order. The fish were evidently goldfish; solid gold at that. -As for the peppers, his eyes encountered this legend: - -Green peppers (1) stuffed with rice and tomato--80 cents. - -At first he thought it a misprint; it must be thirty cents; or possibly -fifty. Consideration of the other vegetables dispelled that hope. They -were on an equal scale. But--eighty cents for one green pepper! Was -there, then, a fatal shortage in the green-pepper market? Or a crop -failure in the rice or tomatoes whereof the stuffing was compounded? - - "Cut it short! - Be a sport! - Buy a quart!" - -shrieked the songsters, coyly adjusting their shoulder straps. - -Enlightenment burst upon E. Van Tenner. The prices of the menu, -suggesting the daily stock market report before the depression, became -clear. Somehow that awful vocality and the hardly less agonizing -accompaniment had to be paid for. His green pepper at eighty cents was -to pay for it. It was stuffed, that green pepper, not with rice and -tomato but with ragtime jazzeries and syncopated shrieks. E. Van Tenner -laid the menu on the table and would have risen and escaped, but there -hovered over him, portentous and awful, the head waiter himself. - -"You haf ordered?" he inquired. - -"I--that is--no; I think I won't order this evening," quavered the -patron. - -"There is a table charch of one dollar," said the official severely. - -E. Van Tenner, overawed, reached for the beggar's purse. It flatly -refused to open. As the owner strove with it there was instilled into -his veins a calm and chill determination, born of a discovery that he -had made--or had the purse magically indicated it?--regarding the menu. - -"I shall not pay it," he said quietly. - -"You shouldt haf to pay it." The head waiter's threatening tone took on -a little more pronounced accent. - -"You're a German, aren't you?" inquired E. Van Tenner blandly. - -"Dot is my bisaness," retorted the other excitedly. "You pay dot table -charch!" - -"No; I shall not pay the table charge. But I will do this: I will pay -you one dollar for that menu card, which, I observe, has on it two, -four, seven, eleven--eleven different kinds of meat, on a Meatless -Tuesday! Come; what do you say?" - -The head waiter said nothing. His jaw dropped. He put his hand to -his chin undecidedly, then turned and fled, taking the card with him. -Glowing with virtue--which, after all, was the purse's, not his--E. -Van Tenner departed, not even tipping the coat-room attendant, to such -heights was his courage inspired, and found a chop-house where he supped -excellently on a strict Hoover basis, and entered an estimated saving of -eighty-five cents, and ten cents extra for the defrauded hat boy. - -All that night he slept the deep, sweet sleep of one justified of good -deeds. The beggar's purse, at least equally justified, slept equally -well under his pillow. In the morning it started work for him again. -It saved him the usual coat-room charge, and rudely checked his mildly -emotional impulse to drop a quarter in the tin cup of a pitiable and -shivering mendicant cripple who owns two tenement houses on the -East Side and has amassed a small fortune by distraining on tenants' -furniture. He hardly knew whether to repeat the entry on the morning's -taxi or not, since he felt it already a habit not to hire a cab when -he could conveniently take a car. But he was clearly to the good on one -item of a quarter, when in carrying his grip from the elevator he was -charged upon by a livered youth. Horror was writ large in that youth's -face; horror that a guest of the golden Von Gorder should carry a grip -weighing almost four pounds across ten yards of floor alone and unaided. -As Christian strove with Apollyon so strove E. Van Tenner with the -liveried youth for that grip, which he finally delivered safe out of the -enemy's hands, and himself bore, triumphant, to the street car. - -In the returning train, where he won to the day coach through the -stricken hopes of the embattled Red-Caps, he figured out his day's -savings to date as follows: - - - Station porter............................................$0.15 - Parlor car...................................................55 - Pullman porter...............................................25 - Red-Cap......................................................15 - Cable car vs. taxi...........................................35 - Chauffeur's blackmail........................................15 - Pride of hotel room that went before a fall in price.......1.00 - Washroom hold-up.............................................10 - Coat check...................................................10 - 2d Chauffeur's supertax......................................25 - Cocktail forgone.............................................25 - 3 Check-room petty larcenies.................................30 - 1 Theater-ticket-agency grand larceny......................1.65 - Cabaret highway robbery......................................85 - Victory in wrestling match with hall boy.....................25 - Cripple's curse..............................................25 - Cable car vs. taxi [he decided to put it in, including tip] .50 - Triumph in footrace with Red-Caps............................15 - Parlor-car fare and tip......................................80 - - Making a grand, impressive, but insufficient total of.....$8.05 - - -Insufficient, because two of the beggar's War Savings Stamps would cost -$8.28. At the Philadelphia terminus he would save fifteen cents more -of his accustomed expenditure by dispensing with the porter's service. -Still he would be eight cents short of the total. Suddenly E. Van Tenner -felt himself bitterly disappointed. The zest of the game had got into -his veins. Had he braved hotel clerks, striven with bell boys, bearded -head waiters and outfooted the fleet and determined Red-Cap only to fail -in sight of the goal? - -Perish the----"Evening papers! All the magazines! Here y'are before the -train starts." - -"Evening Sentinel and Sat--" began E. Van Tenner, and dropped his voice -and the beggar's purse simultaneously. "Never mind. Don't want--I mean -need--'em." For here was his eight cents saved! With a triumphing -heart he retrieved the wallet, took out the pencil and entered upon -the celluloid tablet the final and victorious eight cents--that is, he -thought he had entered it. But lo! the line upon which he had written -remained blank. He examined the pencil. - -Its point was perfect. The celluloid surface invited it. Again he -essayed to set down the consummating eight cents. It was as if he had -written with a wand upon water. - -"This is not white but black magic," said E. Van Tenner, appalled. - -In response there came back to him again the words of the beggar: "What -you save on current expenses without giving up anything that you need or -want or aren't better off without." Obviously, then, the beggar's purse -was backing up the beggar's undertaking. It considered that he was -better off with than without his favorite reading. E. Van Tenner pursued -the boy and spent the eight cents. - -All the way back to Philadelphia, however, his mind reverted painfully -to the problem. In vain did he pass up a subsequent train boy's -blandishments on the subject of chocolate; he never ate chocolate. The -sensitive tablet refused to be gulled into accepting an entry on any -such pretext. Equally idle was it to pretend that he might have given a -quarter instead of fifteen cents to the porter at Philadelphia. Fifteen -cents was his un erringly methodical tip. To make matters worse -the train was nearly an hour late. Consequently there would be no -opportunity of further saving; not even eight cents. - -Heavy-hearted he disembarked. The beggar had asked to be informed about -the experiment. Well; he'd tell him. Too bad! Might as well get it over -with. And there was only ten minutes' leeway. He'd phone from that -hotel opposite. Possibly the beggar could, of his magic, evolve some -last-moment plan. So approaching the telephone girl he began: "Broad, -Four-four----" and gasped. - -The beggar's purse had stirred. It had more than stirred. It had -flopped. It was now doing more than flopping. It was turning frantic -handsprings in his pocket. - -"Never mind that call," said the perturbed E. Van Tenner. "I'll--I'll -write." - -The beggar's purse settled down and went to sleep. - -"How--how much would that call have been?" asked E. Van Tenner -breathlessly. - -"Local. Ten cents." - -"And a letter--no, a postal card--is two cents. That's eight cents -saved. The exact amount! Gimme a postal card. No; I don't need to write. -I'll save the whole ten cents and be two cents to the good. I've done -it! I've done it! Whoopee!" said E. Van Tenner, dancing upon the marble -floor. - -"Police!" said the telephone girl. - -With the purpose of calling up the beggar on his own phone, free of -charge, E. Van Tenner hurried joyously to his office. The beggar was -there awaiting him. - -"Well?" said he. - -"Yes," said E. Van Tenner. - -"Two stamps?" - -"And two cents over for a third. The magic worked." - -"What about the price of the lessons?" - -"Lessons?" - -"Haven't you learned anything in the last twenty-four hours?" - -E. Van Tenner considered. "I've learned that every time I spend a -dollar I spend an extra quarter for vanity and a dime for timidity. I've -learned how to go without things I don't want, and to stop doing -things I dislike myself for doing. I've learned the difference between -parsimony and thrift." - -"Is it worth anything to you?" insinuated the worker of white magic. - -"How many stamps can I take?" - -"One hundred and ninety-eight more. That'll make your total investment -$828 and it'll bring you in $1000 at maturity." - -"I'll buy." Thus did E. Van Tenner, exwaster, join the Take-the-Limit -Club. - - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Beggar's Purse, by Samuel Hopkins Adams - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BEGGAR'S PURSE *** - -***** This file should be named 44327.txt or 44327.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/3/2/44327/ - -Produced by David Widger - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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