MORAL STORIES

A ROYAL REWARD

Mr. George. C. Boldt reached USA as a poor immigrant from Europe. He did humble jobs in different hotels. In recognition of his honesty, hard work and dedication, he was raised to the level of manager in a hotel in Philadelphia.

On a cold, raining and stormy night, an enormously wealthy man, Mr. William Waldorf Astor visited the hotel with his wife and requested a room for the night. All the rooms in the hotel were already occupied. Mr. Boldt, who was very kind and considerate, did not have the mind to send them away in the stormy night to search for a room in another hotel. He offered them his own room in the hotel and spent the night in the office itself. The couple was immensely impressed by the manager’s compassionate concern for them.

The next morning, they thanked the manager most sincerely. While departing, Mr. Astor told him, “You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the USA. May be some day, I will build a hotel for you.”

Mr. William Waldorf Astor (1848-1919), was a Senator and Statesman and the richest man in the USA. He later moved to England and was made a Baron in 1916 and a Viscount in 1917.

In 1893, he completed the construction of the grand, glamorous and splendid ‘Waldorf Hotel’ in New York. He kept his promise to Mr. Boldt and invited him to New York. He appointed M. Boldt as the first manager of the grand new hotel. Mr. Boldt gladly accepted the offer and managed it most efficiently. Four years later, Mr. John Jacob Astor, the cousin of Mr. William Waldorf Astor erected the Astoria Hotel in the adjacent land and joined the two hotels as ‘Waldorf-Astoria’. Mr. Boldt managed the joint hotel excellently for several years and raised it to the level of the finest hotel in the world. It was world-renowned for the magnificent management and superb service.

God sees and values our actions, even the simplest and humblest of them. Every one who comes to us needs our care, concern and kindness. In the Parable of the Gold Coins, the king says to the faithful servant, “You are a good servant! Since you were faithful in small matters, I will put you in charge of ten cities” {Luke, 19: 17}.

“Remember to welcome strangers in your homes. There were some who did that and welcomed angels without knowing it” {Hebrews 13:2}.

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By: Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India.

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