Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-05-21
PRESIDE srokY ABOUT HONESTY

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PRESIDE sT0kY ABOUT HONESTY.
One evening poor man and his son.
little boy, sat by the way side, near the
gate OF an old town in Germany. The
father took loaf of bread, which he had
bought IN town, and broke it, and gaye
the half to his boy. "Not so, father.n
said the boy, II shall not eat till after
you: You have been working all day at
small wages to support me and you
must be very hungry; I shall wait till
you are done.
You speak kindly, my SON." replied
the pleased father; "your love to me
does me more good than nv food. and
those eyes of yours remind me of your
dear mother who has left us, and
who told you to love me as she used to
do; and, indeed, my boy, you have been
great strength and comfort to me: but
now that have eaten the first morsel to
please you, it is your turn to eat"
Thank you, father; but break this
piece in two, and take you little more;
for you see the loaf is not large, and you
require more than | do" aI shall di-
vide the loaf for you, my boy; tut eat il
L snail not; L have abundance; and let
us thank God for his great goodness in
giving us food, and in giving us what is
better still, cheerful and contsnted hearts.
lie who gave us the living bread from
heaven to nourish our immortal souls,
how shall He not give all other food which
is necessary to support our mortal bo-
dies {" The father and son thanked
ood, and then began to cut the loaf in
pieces, to begin together their frugal
meal. But as they cut one portion Of
the loaf there fell out several pieces Of
gold, of great value. The little boy
gave shout of joy, and was springing
forward 10 grasp the unexpected trea-
sure, when be was pulled back By his
father. My son, my SON. he cried,
. do not touch the money; it is not
OURS" "But whose is il fatcer. IL il ia
not ours !' Il know not as vet 10
whom it belongs; but probably it is put
there through some mistake. We must
inquire" "But, ia her," interrup ed
he boy, you are poor aad needy. and
you bought the loaf, aud then the baker
may tell lie, and"
81 will not listen to you, my boy; L
bought the loaf, but | did net buy the
gold IN 1t. Ii the baker sold it to me in
ignorance, shall not be SO dishonest az
to take advantage OF him remember Him
who told US to do to others as we would
have others to do to US. The baker NAV
possibly cheat us, but that is no reason
why We should try and cheat him. am
poer, indeed, but that is no sin. Ii we
share the poverty of Jesus, Gods own
son, oh! let us share also the goodness
and trust in God. We may never be
rich, but We may always be honest. We
may die Of starvation, but Gods will be
done should it be so Yes, nv boy.
trust God, and walk in his WAYS, and
you shall never be put to shame. Now
run to the baker, and bring him here;
and | shall watch the gold until he
comes" So the boy ran for the baker.
Brother workman" said the old man,
"you have made some mistake, and al
most lost your money" and be showed
the baker the gold. and told him how it
had been found. "Is it thinel 2" asked
the father, Z" if it is, take it sway.n
Z" My father, baker, is very poor, andh-
NhOhSsB my Shiio, put Luc hot 10
shame by thy complaints. l am glad
we have saved this man from losing his
money" The baker had been gazing
alternately upon the honest father and his
eager boy, and upon the gold which lay
glittering upon the green turf Thou
art, indeed, an honest fellow" said the
baker, land my neiGhbor David, the
fax dresser, spoke but the truth when
he said thou vert the most honest man in
our town. Now, l will tell thee about
the gold. A stranger came to my shop
three days ago, and gave me that loaf,
and told me to sell it cheaply, or give it
away to the honestest poor man whom I
knew in our city. told David to send
thee to me as customer, this morning,
and as thou wouldst not take the loaf for
nothing [ sold it to thee, as thou know
est, for the last pence in thy purse, and
the loaf, with all its treasures-and
certes, it is not small-is thine, and God
grant thee q blessing with it" The
poor father bent his head to the ground,
while tears fell from his eyes. His boy
ran and put his hands about his neck,
and said, .. shall always be like you,
my father-trust God, and do what is
right, for 1 am sure it will never put Us
to shame"