THE CATARACT AND THE STREAMLET. Thence, in a summer-shower, Steeping the rocks around:-Oh! tell me where Be clothed in forms more beautifully fair? Yet lovelier, in my view, The Streamlet, flowing silently serene; And livelier growth it gives ;-itself unseen! It flows through flowery meads, Gladdening the herds which on its margin browse; The alders that o'ershade it with their boughs. Gently it murmurs by The village churchyard :-its low, plaintive tone For worth and beauty modest as its own. More gaily now it sweeps By the small school-house, in the sunshine bright; Like happy hearts by holiday made light. May not its course express, In characters which they who run may read, Were but its still small voice allowed to plead ? What are the trophies gained By power, alone, with all its noise and strife, Niagara's streams might fail, And human happiness be undisturbed: Were her still Nile's o'erflowing bounty curbed! 103 CONSCIENTIOUSNESS-RESPECTING THE ALMOST all people possess some things, which they value, and wish to keep for their own use. A boy has his playthings and his books, and occasionally some pocket-money. A man may have a good deal of money; he may have a house, with furniture; he may have land. Whatever any one has fairly acquired, is his property, and no other person has a right to it. If one boy takes play-things or any thing else from another against his will, he commits the crime of theft. So, if one man takes money or any thing else, belonging to another, he commits the crime of robbery. What makes it wrong to take property that does not belong to us? It is chiefly this-that one who is deprived of his property is thereby made unhappy. He has lost, perhaps, what he had fairly earned by his own labour. His labours have therefore been vain, while one who did not labour is the gainer. But it is of importance to all that no one should ever take what is not his own. Men in general work, that they may themselves be the gainers by their labours. If they find that much of what they gain is unjustly taken from them, their inclination to labour slackens; others become indifferent too; and the comfort of the world is diminished. It is therefore proper that we should respect the property of our neighbours. We should not take the least particle of it— not even a crumb of bread. A young person may perhaps think otherwise at first. He sees something not his own, within his reach, and he thinks how delightful it would be to take that thing. Let him just consider how he should like, if any thing of his were taken, in like manner, by another boy or girl. Would he not, in that case, feel himself greatly injured, and would he not think very ill of the thief? So, by his taking property not his own, does he injure the owner; and just so is he liable to be despised as a thief. Besides, the taking of another's property is liable to be THE ROBBER SPARROW. 105 punished when it is detected. 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. 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 at. 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, any thing 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 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. The gentleman entreated 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 any thing." 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 earn 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 every thing 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 MOSES ROTHSCHILD. 107 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 Franckfort 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 Franckfort, 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 Franckfort; 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 |