Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Story
August 7, 1904
Pine Bluff Daily Graphic
Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas
What is this article about?
A young woman buys wet newspapers from a swearing newsboy at an inflated price, sparking a chain of generous purchases by two men who end up giving the boy $2.20 total, teaching a lesson on cheerful giving.
Clipping
OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
"DIG!" WAS THE ORDER
AND THE SMALL NEWSBOY WAS
MADE HAPPY.
Chain of Circumstances That Led
from One Girl's Charitable Impulse
--Something of a Lesson on the Art
of Cheerful Giving.
A small newsboy was standing on
the curb swearing easily. He showed
no great interest in the performance
and seemed to do it because he felt
the situation required it. A bundle
of wet papers and his muddy hands
and clothes showed that he had fallen
a victim to the sudden change in the
weather.
He began sorting out the worst of
his papers and laid them on the side
walk.
"Ten gone to the devil!" He looked
up and made the aforesaid remark to
a young woman who had been watching him critically.
She showed no signs of being startled. "How much do you want for
them?" she asked.
He hesitated a minute and then
offered to sell the lot for five cents.
"If a good paper is worth a penny
then a muddy one should be worth
two cents, shouldn't it?" she said
argumentatively as she hunted in her
purse.
"Yes-no, ma'am--I mean I don't
know," was the astonished reply.
As she handed the boy two dimes a
man stopped. "What's the matter
here?" he asked
"Don't you want to buy some pa
pers?" The young woman put the
question without any embarrassment.
"Why, yes, give me one of each
kind."
The boy counted out five papers and
handed them to the man, who asked
"How much?"
"The lady here gave me two cents
apiece for those spoiled ones."
"I suppose that would make a good
one worth about five cents." Saying
which the man handed over a quarter.
As he turned away an acquaintance
who had just come down the steps of
an apartment house tapped him with
his cane.
"Hello, Andrews! What the devil
are you doing here?" was the newcomer's query.
Andrews turned slowly. "This boy
has had some hard luck," he answered. "Buy some papers from him
with something besides for swearing
in the presence of a lady."
The newcomer transferred
his
glove to his left hand, already holding
a cigar, a cane, and the other glove.
He reached into his trousers pocket
and pulled out a handful of change
looking at it helplessly. His friend
reached over, picked out a silver dollar, and handed it to the boy.
"Here, come back! I didn't want to
give him that," the owner expostulated.
"He gave me 25 cents himself," explained the newsboy.
"Oh, he did, eh?" The newcomer
showed his first signs of animation.
He put his cigar in his mouth, set his
silk hat more firmly on his head,
grasped his stick in his right hand
and took his friend by the collar with
his left.
"Dig!" he said.
Andrews meekly reached into his
pocket and handed the boy 75 cents.
The two men lifted their hats and
went down the avenue. The woman
turned down the side street.
The newsboy looked at the $2.20 in
his hand. -New York Times.
AND THE SMALL NEWSBOY WAS
MADE HAPPY.
Chain of Circumstances That Led
from One Girl's Charitable Impulse
--Something of a Lesson on the Art
of Cheerful Giving.
A small newsboy was standing on
the curb swearing easily. He showed
no great interest in the performance
and seemed to do it because he felt
the situation required it. A bundle
of wet papers and his muddy hands
and clothes showed that he had fallen
a victim to the sudden change in the
weather.
He began sorting out the worst of
his papers and laid them on the side
walk.
"Ten gone to the devil!" He looked
up and made the aforesaid remark to
a young woman who had been watching him critically.
She showed no signs of being startled. "How much do you want for
them?" she asked.
He hesitated a minute and then
offered to sell the lot for five cents.
"If a good paper is worth a penny
then a muddy one should be worth
two cents, shouldn't it?" she said
argumentatively as she hunted in her
purse.
"Yes-no, ma'am--I mean I don't
know," was the astonished reply.
As she handed the boy two dimes a
man stopped. "What's the matter
here?" he asked
"Don't you want to buy some pa
pers?" The young woman put the
question without any embarrassment.
"Why, yes, give me one of each
kind."
The boy counted out five papers and
handed them to the man, who asked
"How much?"
"The lady here gave me two cents
apiece for those spoiled ones."
"I suppose that would make a good
one worth about five cents." Saying
which the man handed over a quarter.
As he turned away an acquaintance
who had just come down the steps of
an apartment house tapped him with
his cane.
"Hello, Andrews! What the devil
are you doing here?" was the newcomer's query.
Andrews turned slowly. "This boy
has had some hard luck," he answered. "Buy some papers from him
with something besides for swearing
in the presence of a lady."
The newcomer transferred
his
glove to his left hand, already holding
a cigar, a cane, and the other glove.
He reached into his trousers pocket
and pulled out a handful of change
looking at it helplessly. His friend
reached over, picked out a silver dollar, and handed it to the boy.
"Here, come back! I didn't want to
give him that," the owner expostulated.
"He gave me 25 cents himself," explained the newsboy.
"Oh, he did, eh?" The newcomer
showed his first signs of animation.
He put his cigar in his mouth, set his
silk hat more firmly on his head,
grasped his stick in his right hand
and took his friend by the collar with
his left.
"Dig!" he said.
Andrews meekly reached into his
pocket and handed the boy 75 cents.
The two men lifted their hats and
went down the avenue. The woman
turned down the side street.
The newsboy looked at the $2.20 in
his hand. -New York Times.
What sub-type of article is it?
Curiosity
Heroic Act
What themes does it cover?
Moral Virtue
Triumph
What keywords are associated?
Newsboy
Charitable Impulse
Cheerful Giving
Chain Of Kindness
Wet Papers
What entities or persons were involved?
Small Newsboy
Young Woman
Andrews
Newcomer
Where did it happen?
City Street
Story Details
Key Persons
Small Newsboy
Young Woman
Andrews
Newcomer
Location
City Street
Story Details
A newsboy with wet, muddy papers from bad weather is approached by a young woman who buys the damaged ones for two cents each, prompting a man (Andrews) to buy more and pay five cents each with a quarter; Andrews's acquaintance accidentally gives a silver dollar via Andrews, then demands Andrews add 75 cents to match, resulting in the boy receiving $2.20 total from the chain of kindness.