Hart for the kind I always buy, and don't
pay over a dollar and a half for them.'"
Yet many persons charged this man with stinginess--a charge to which
every rich man lays himself open who does not give to all who ask him.
Even the rich must refuse sometimes, for there is no reason why they
should answer _all_ the calls made upon them--a course which would soon
impoverish them. They must discriminate somewhere, and how this shall be
done is a question which each must decide for himself. Longworth
exercised this discrimination in an eccentric manner, eminently
characteristic of him. He invariably refused cases that commended
themselves to others. A gentleman once applied to him for assistance for
a widow in destitute circumstances.
"Who is she?" asked the millionaire. "Do you know her? Is she a
deserving object?"
"She is not only a woman of excellent character," answered his friend,
"but she is doing all in her power to support a large family of
children."
"Very well, then," said Mr. Longworth, "I shan't give a cent. Such
persons will always find a plenty to relieve them."
He was firm, and turned coldly from the entreaties of his friend.
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