The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1857-08-19
cNAwINc A FILE.

| house lived an old rat. BY means OF cracks
and kpoi-holes, and sundry holes Of his own
making, be had an extensive circuit through
the whole house. From front TO L., and from
cellar 10 ssrret, wherever there was anything
that would minister 10 the comfort Of his
! outer man, he was sure 10 find il and help
himself. One room was used rs a granary,
and The door was kept carefully closed. The
old rat used 10 hear the sound of the grain,
as 1t was poured upon the floor, or into the
barrels, and q strong desire possessed him
TO know, from personal observation, wha,
was in the room. Bot there was no way foI
him 10 crafty iha, desire but bymsking On
bsen,rancs through 90. OAK bosfd pas,iiisa.--,
bSo, one night, after all was quiet In the
house, he sat himself vigorously about the
undertaking and though be found il rather
jaw-aching operation. yet he kept up such
an incessan, nibbling, that long before day
light his task was accomplished, and his
hard toll was rewarded by a plentiful reparl
at the pile of grain. For some days and
nights he passed in and on; a, pleasure, and
enjoyed high living, wilhou, ler or hinderance.
But the proprietor at length discovered the
hole which he had made through the parli.
tion, and al once concluded that be would
lay an embargo upon that sort Of fun; so he
thrust a file into the hole.
The next time the old rat essayed 10 pass
in he found a slight impedimen, in his way;
and he tried in vain 10 remove it, At last
said his raIship, 81 know what have done.
lean gnaw of that stick, for it isn't half as
thick as the oak board through which
gnawed the hole.n So al il he went again.
He thought The file was good deal harder
than the board, but be was not determined
not TO give it up. Indeed, il was promi-
neni article in his creed, never 10 back out
"Ah, workman IS known by his chips"
said he, as he looked and discovered ute
a little pile, that looked very mnch like
ivory saw-dust, though he wondered that
his chips should be SO light colored. "I
shall fetch it YET" said he, and he applied
himself with renewed vigor.;
But at length he discovered some blood
on the file where he had been gnawing.--
He inslan,ly cIapped bis paw TO his bleed
ing mouth, when behold he made this
discovery: that instead Of gnawing the file,
the file had actually gnawed his teeth down
to the gums. For moment he stood quite
-cUnfounusas NJ ss-fuszssssssr
made food out of myself" And SO be
had for he was not only obliged to 60 sup
PEERLESS to bed, but what was of vastly more
consequence, he had lost good Sc, of teeth
which would be quite indispensable in pro.
curing his future suppers. And here we
will leave bis ralship, in order TO make an
application of The story.
Men ought TO be wiser than rats; but they
are not, foi they also frequently gnaw file.
A person gnaws dle when, just for the
sake of having his own wsy, he obstinately
persists in doing that which is against his
own inlerests-lhat which Injuries himself q
vast deal more than anybody else.
Here is an illustration A boy careiessly
bit his foot agains, stone, and as natural
consequence ii ached dreadlully. He In.
slantly made up his mind that he would
have his revenge. So he sat down and
went to beating the stone with his fist; and
he only dess,ed when he ceased to feel any
pain in his foot, in consequence of the more
severe pain in his bruised knuckles. Now
he had his own way--he took his revenge,
but il was gnawing a file.
Here is another: A boy whose name
feel little delicate about mentioning, once
20, little grou,y al something which his
mother required him to do; so when he vas
called 10 dinner, 10 show his Independence,
said, with pointing lips, 81 don't want any
dinner.n Now he was hungry enough, but
he was determined he would not eat, out Of
spite. He overheard bis sister say, "Guess
he'll get hungry by supper time;" but he
thought within himself, "You'lI see." So
be nourished bis wrath 10 keep il warm, and
when his sister called him 10 supper, he
grunied out more grouty than ever 'G don't
want any supper"
But as he turned TO 90 of he heard his
mother say, "You'll be cheap boarder al
this raie.p So be had the blessed satisfac-
,ion Of having his own way and went sup
PEERLESS to bed, where he repened at his
leisnre. There he lay and thought the mat
ter all over again and again. He finally
came to the "unanimous conclusion" 10 bis
own mind lhs, be was great fool for hav-
ing done as he had; for be had injured no
mortal living SO much as himself. II is al.
mos. unnecessary 10 add, ,ha, be had re-
markahIe good appetite for breakfast; aud
that, from that he was Of the mistaken opin.
ion that il was miserably poor policy TO gnaw
file. ssSss hsL Fts
We might give illustrations equally peril
nent from those Of fiper years, but We for
bear. 20. sassfsas - sassg
MoEEy Misunderstanding the Treas.
ury estimate, there are in Ills country about
$3.50, 100000 in gold, Of which little more
than fifth Ia in the ;banks--leaving liule
- -. f aoof. saa aaa Ia. ~. c,,,ef