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Show r " NOTHING FOrt THE' BIBLE. An Aged Alan's Tain Errand In a New York Pawnshop. In a Bowery pawnshop a man shuffled shuf-fled up to one of the clerks with a big bundle which he wanted to pawn. The man was old and decrepit His hair and beard were long, white and unkempt His clothes were ragged as the wrappings wrap-pings of his bundle. He laid the bundle down on the counter, pulled off the wrappings and displayed a Bible of what is known as the "family" sort It had large, heavy covers stamped in gilt and looked as if it might be illustrated with full page steel engravings. "What'll you give me on that?" said he to the clerk. "Nothing," replied the clerk, with the most discouraging accent imaginable imagina-ble and apparently without even a glance at the Bible. "Oh, yes, you wilL " said the old man. "Please give me something. " "No," answered the clerk, "not a cent" "But I've got to have it," pleaded the old man. "I haven't had anything to eat today. Give me 50 cents. " "Nothing to drink, vou mean," said the clerk, with anoth r glance at the trembling old man. 'I won't give you anything. We don't take Bibles any way." The clerk turned to talk to a man who wanted to. pawn a ring. The old man hesitated a minute and then renewed re-newed his effort "Well, give me 25 cents then, "he said. "I've had more than that on this before. ' "Not here, " answered the clerk. "I tell you we .don't take Bibles. Go on, now." The old man gathered up his Bible and shuffled away. The man who was pawning the ring looked on with evident interest He was thinking of the many stories ho had heard of men who would pawn the family Bible for drink money and reflecting that here was a pawnbroker pawn-broker whose heart was not as stony as tradition makes believe, who had some taint of sentiment, if not of reverence, left in him. "Is that a rule of the house?" he said to the clerk who was making out the ticket. "What?" asked the clerk. "That you don't take Bibles. " "No," with a laugh. "That was just I a bluff. We take anything. But that Bible was worn out and wasn't worth a cent " New York Sun. |