Sidor som bilder
PDF
ePub

THE MILAN DOOR-KEEPER.

punished when it is detected.

105

One who is inclined to steal, is apt to suppose that he will escape detection, and not be punished. But of this he never can be sure. Crimes are

every day discovered in ways that the criminal could never have thought of. Hence no one ever thrives long by taking what is not his own. Honesty is always found ultimately to be the best policy.

at.

THE ROBBER SPARROW.

A martin had built a nice nest for himself in the upper corner of a window, leaving a little hole to go out and in As the martin had taken all the trouble of building the nest, it was rightfully his property; it belonged to no other bird, for no other bird had had any of the trouble of building it. A sparrow, of felonious dispositions, chose to pop into the martin's nest when the martin was from home: and when the martin returned, he found his place occupied by the sparrow, who, looking out of the hole, pecked at him fiercely, and would not on any account let him get into his own house. The martin, who is a gentle bird, found himself no match for the sparrow; but it is supposed that he went and related his case to a few of his friends, for in a little while a number of martins were observed to come to the spot, as if to endeavour to persuade the sparrow to retire. The intruder, however, still kept his place, easily defending himself against them all. They then went off again, and returning each with a little mud in his bill, proceeded to build up the entrance to the nest, so that the sparrow soon died for want of food and air, and was thus punished for his roguery and violence.

THE MILAN DOOR-KEEPER.

Whatever belongs to any one, continues to be always his, till he relinquishes it of his own free-will, or till he forfeits it by the award of the law. If we find, therefore, anything which another has lost, it is not our property: we are bound to give it back to him who lost it, if he can be found.

A poor man who kept the door of a lodging-house at Milan, found a purse with two hundred crowns in it; and so

The

far from thinking of keeping it to himself, he immediately gave public notice of his having found it by means of the town-crier. The gentleman who had lost the purse came to the door-keeper, and on his giving proof that it belonged to him, it was restored. Grateful to the finder, he offered the poor man twenty crowns; but the door-keeper said he had only done his duty, and desired no reward. gentleman intreated him to take ten-then five-but found him determined on accepting nothing for merely doing what he ought to have done. This greatly distressed the owner of the purse, and throwing it on the ground, he exclaimed, "Nay, then, it is not mine, and I will have nothing to do with it, since you refuse to accept anything." The honest door-keeper was then prevailed on to take five crowns, which he immediately gave away to the poor.

LEONARD.

At the age of twelve, Leonard had the misfortune to lose his father. His mother was unable to work for him, and he had no other friend to depend upon. He resolved to

be a burden to no one, but to make his own way in the world. "I can read pretty well," said he to himself; "I can also write a little, and cast accounts: if I am honest and industrious, why should I not be able to carn my own bread?" He therefore took leave of his mother, and went to a neighbouring town, where he inquired for a certain merchant, who had been a friend of his father. He begged of Mr Benson, for this was the name of the merchant, that he would take him into his employment, and promised to serve him with zeal and fidelity. The merchant, having then need of an apprentice, willingly took charge of Leonard, who did everything in his power to give satisfaction to his master. If he ever happened to forget any duty, or to make any error in writing, he frankly confessed his fault, and sought to repair it by, if possible, still greater zeal and activity. Mr Benson could not be otherwise than pleased with so faithful an apprentice, and soon began to place much confidence in him.

Leonard would have now been quite happy, if he had not chanced to excite the hatred of Mr Benson's house

[blocks in formation]

keeper, who looked upon him as a spy on her actions, which were not always quite honest. In the hope of causing him to be turned away, she told false tales of him to her master. But the whole of Leonard's conduct had been so good, that Mr Benson put no faith in these base insinuations. To make quite sure of the honesty of the boy, he resolved to put it to a severe proof. For this purpose he charged Leonard to make certain purchases, giving him more money than was necessary: to his great delight, Leonard returned every farthing over and above what was required. One day he left behind him in the countingroom a piece of gold, which Leonard found in the presence of the housekeeper. She requested him to divide it with her; but he declared, without a moment's hesitation, that he would return it to his master, to whom it belonged; and he immediately proceeded to do so. Mr Benson was so pleased with the boy's conduct, that he gave him a present of the money, and as he had no children of his own, he soon after adopted Leonard as his son, and left him the whole of his fortune.

MOSES ROTHSCHILD.

At the time of the French Revolution, there lived at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, in Germany, a Jewish banker, of limited means, but good reputation, named Moses Rothschild. When the French army invaded Germany, the Prince of Hesse Cassel was obliged to fly from his dominions. As he passed through Frankfort, he requested Moses Rothschild to take charge of a large sum of money and some valuable jewels, which he feared might otherwise fall into the hands of the enemy. The Jew would have declined so great a charge; but the prince was so much at a loss for the means of saving his property, that Moses at length consented. He declined, however, giving a receipt for it, as in such dangerous circumstances he could not be answerable for its being safely restored.

The money and jewels, to the value of several hundred thousand pounds, were conveyed to Frankfort; and just as the French entered the town, Mr Rothschild had succeeded in burying it in a corner of his garden. He made no attempt

[ocr errors]

to conceal his own property, which amounted only to six
thousand pounds. The French accordingly took this, with-
out suspecting that he had any larger sum in his possession.
Had he, on the contrary, pretended to have no money, they
would have certainly searched, as they did in many other
cases, and might have found and taken the whole. When
they left the town, Mr Rothschild dug up the prince's money,
and began to make use of a small portion of it.
He now
throve in his business, and soon gained much wealth of his

own.

A few years after, when peace came, the Prince of Hesse Cassel returned to his dominions. He was almost afraid to call on the Frankfort banker, for he readily reflected that, if the French had not got the money and jewels, Moses might pretend they had, and thus keep all to himself. To his great astonishment, Mr Rothschild informed him that the whole of the property was safe, and now ready to be returned, with five per cent. interest on the money. The banker at the same time related by what means he had saved it, and apologised for breaking upon the money, by representing that, to save it, he had had to sacrifice all his own. The prince was so impressed by the fidelity of Mr Rothschild under his great trust, that he allowed the money to remain in his hands at a small rate of interest. To mark also his gratitude, he recommended the honest Jew to various European sovereigns as a money-lender. Moses was consequently employed in several great transactions for raising loans, by which he realised a vast profit. In time he became immensely rich, and put his three sons into the same kind of business in the three chief capitals of Europe-London, Paris, and Vienna. All of them prospered. They became the wealthiest private men whom the world has ever known. He who lived in London left at his death seven millions sterling. The other two have been created barons, and are perhaps not less wealthy. Thus a family whose purse has maintained war and brought about peace, owes all its greatness to one act of extraordinary honesty under trust.

Thou shalt not steal.-Eighth Commandment.

ALPHONSO, KING OF SICILY AND NAPLES.

101

JOSEPH HOLT AND THE CONVICTS.

The men who have been banished to New South Wales for crimes committed in Britain, are obliged to work in chains on the farms of the free settlers, receiving only their food for their work, and always punished by flogging on the back when they are idle or disorderly.

Some years ago, Mr Cox, a farmer, appointed one Joseph Holt to superintend the convicts who worked on his estate. Mr Holt, who was a man of good sense and considerable benevolence, resolved to try if he could manage the men by some better means than the fear of the lash. He therefore began to feed them a little better than formerly; he paid them for all they did beyond their stated tasks; and when any one stole from him, he called them together, and said, "There is a thief amongst you; till he is discovered, I stop all your extra allowances; it is therefore your interest to find him out: let him be found out accordingly, and punished by yourselves, for I do not wish that any man should be flogged." The convicts saw that this was just, and that Mr Holt wished to use them well. They therefore found out and punished the thief amongst themselves. By these means theft, and all other improper behaviour, ceased in this band of convicts. There was never afterwards the least use for the lash amongst them, and they were all as comfortable and happy as it was possible for men to be in such a situation.

ALPHONSO, KING OF SICILY AND NAPLES.

Alphonso was one of the most prosperous sovereigns of modern times, and chiefly through his gentle and benevolent dispositions. When only king of Aragon, he trusted entirely to the love of his subjects, amongst whom he used to walk without state and without guards. When some one suggested that he thus exposed himself to danger, he said, "A father has nothing to fear among his children "-meaning that he considered his people as a family, of which he was the father. Seeing a galley about to sink with its crew and a number of soldiers, he leapt into a shallop or little boat to

« FöregåendeFortsätt »