Reasonable.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 75, 21 December 1907, Page 21

Reasonable.

''Kbnheth was'liaving :a " lesson, in colour and finally.his aunt touched her grey'skirt aild.Kskea,' l "Wliat•colour'.'.is this? . Kcrineth "hesitated said,' "Dark whitii." ' 1 ' ' . '."N0,"., laughed.. his.. aunt..... ."Dark.. whito isn't a colour.' . Think.'.again;" > ;•Kcnheth"'fidg6tdd, but'at" last 'ho said opnfidontl.Y ; ..,"lf it isn't dark whiter it must bo r *liglit 'black.'' ' ■■ /. . -J- BRpADHURST.

readiness for. his roturn, ho hastohe'd -to tho' market..'' <; ;Aftor m'aking. his purchaso, tlio butcher'Vituriied his.; face homewards, congratulating -himself .upon tho. lucky: incident of tho morning, without troubling himself as to .auty. Continuing his journey, ho camo -to- a-lonely and gloomy part of the road,; andiho' began to be : afraid oT robbers; and was.full of:anxiety:for;the;security of his newly-gotten wealth.' ; • ' Presently lie'hit upon tho-'idea. of, inducing, thp;. cow'!''-.to swallow tho money, and this operation ■successfully ' perfornied, . the honest fellow,ivonti on his. way rojoicing. But when ho was in sight of tho yillago ho. was met by his son.'.with;.a mcssagpVtnat placed,liim under tho .necossity returning to_ the town. Keeping his own counsel'respecting tho "gold pieces and their novel place of concealment, ho gave up the.custody'of the beast : and ro'traced hii steps. . ■'• 3S T o>y, the farmor had just arrived homo, and..the of the' lnitclicr's sori/driying a fine cow brought to his mind t.Ko .vow-ho liad vowed some time ago to sacrifico a heifer. So_ ho stopped''tho' butchcr's'son, and bargained for-tho beast. In the end a very good prico was paid, and tho cow changed owners; - As,' soon ■ as preparations for.; tho., sacrifico. wcro set on foot tho farmer hastencd into thei' house to sccuro his treasure. Consternation 1 Tho nitcher gone I What had become' of. it? In silonco and ' perturbation ho searched• every room.. .AVith an appearanco. oLiincoft,. xern ho nuostioned the inmates. Presently ; his wife, hearing of tho enquiries about tho pitcher,' tamo, and told what. she had dono. .With forlorn hopo, tho distracted farmer ran all the way to tho well and m a do, diligent search, but, of course, found only the empty vessel. • Dismay, anxiety, regret, suspicion,"all in turn racked bis breast: but at last, I with, pious resignation, ho said-r' " "Tho will of God bo done." He then calied together, his household and' went out to sacrifico tho heifer'.' " It'can well bo imagined what .surprise, delight, and wonder ensued when' tho three liuudrcd pieces of gold wero discovered all safely imbedded in tho stomach of tho slaughtered cov,*. Grateful for tho miraculous restoration of his' property, ho decided to henceforth carry tho .purso of gold about with him clay and night secured to his girdle. Then' tho good wifo reproached her husband with want of relianco on Providence; but. tho farmer answered, arid "said — ".In this.,world of chanco and chango it is our duty precaution's. Self-.relianco •is a virtue approved- of Heaven." One day, on. returning ' home, tired with many hours' tho farmer camo to a pool and stripped for a bathe, placing his garments with the girdle and purse together

approaching, ho reluctantly departed,, with a heavy heart and. light pocket: .Yv T. ;• ..Subsequbntly,;! thcvgood /husbandinan,-. w;as. passing" tho now deserted well. Tho-moon, was up and tho evening breezes wero sweeping the. plain,, siiddpn gust blew; his ■cap - off, and ,deposited. it jh:; tho well.-, ,Dc-: scending tho,. steps that led to tho interior;' among tho shadows, and, ifindliVg" •hw cap," was "led to tho disco'vpry'.'.'pf tho bag of goldfinch the shepherd "liad 'dropped." ltotiring hastily and ..speeding homewards, tho lucky farmer entered liis business room and .shut -to- tho door, so as to ,ascertain' in secrct tho value 1 ' of what ho had found. To his great amazement, when ho opened the bag, there fell, out a Heap of gold; coins, that coincided exactly-with the, amount of, liis'-re-ccnt loss. ■ Greatly elated"trith liis good for-" tuno,' ho called in his wife, and sho, sharing, his, joy, said—.' ■. c . .;T 1 "Let us not agaiii incur "tho"displeasure.of IVovidcnce, but inako just use, of tho wealth" thus restored.to us tho.second'time." . So tho ,'faririer." .began' n'oxt;nioi'niiig",to fdis-' burso,tli'o 'inon'oy,-not lonly.'for'household and farm' expenses, 'but' also in' fulfilment of sbye--ral vows which wero in arrcar, retaining only ono hundred pieces for emergencies. .On tho evening of that day I lib''! shepherd called at tho farm .and .related all. the. circumstances, connected, - with .."tho' loss,, whieli' ho -represented "as th'P accta'ulatcd. savings of his lifo, and which he felt sure.;had been, ■carried 'off by-tho. rascaljy; robbers' lie' had left be'hiiid him at tho well,. ' ■ Tho honest farmer ;iyas deeply-concerned," and went to .consult l)is wife' as to'-his 'conduct in this r gravo juncturb .of their affairs-:'-Doth -agreed' that' -they must act-'honfistly and mako'restitution. -. ! So tho upright.farmer, narrating all tho particulars of tho discovery, at tho well, and tho motives which led to tho disbursement of tho money, offered flip whole of tho remaining one hundred ■ pieces of gold to tho shepherd as part paymentiof •the sum ho uow felt indebted to him. . Tho .-shepherd took tho money with ill grace, remarking that ho .only received it as an • instalment; arid should certainly expect the. whole amount to bo mado up at an early date. ' Thus matters stood when, a few days later, the shepherd came with his (look to tlio bank of. a river. Now, for 1 tho bettor 'scciirity-'or his diminished fortune, ho had conceived I,lib idea of filling up the hollow ;of his staff with tlio one hundred gold pieces. This he had accordingly done. 1 Whilo ho was looking at the rapid current thero camo floating down something in tho form of a parcel. As it, was apparently within reach, he attempted to fish it out with tho aid of his'stall, which accidentally fell from his hands and was carried away beyond .recovery., 4 ..."

ro . ■ QonfuSinCj. Harold 13 tho-only child of a father ..wlioso name is Howard, ami tho v two names, so dear, to c tlio mother, aro very often on . her 'lips; • When* Harold was four and a half ho.expressed a desiro to learn the . "big prayer" ;to say at night instead of tho childish "Now riay ; iiie.""-'.- His mother taught it to-.him, and after ho had been saying it, as- sho thought, perfectly for. scvoral months, 110 said'ono night, as sho; was leaving itho room: .... "Mamma,. I'm not suro I say that prayer just right. Is it Howard bo Thy name, or Harold bo Thy name?" ' —M. M. 13.