Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-12-12
A STORY or GOOO LUCK,
How n ChIId Created sympathy, aud What
Came Of It. ...t.

The following story is told by the London
Saturday RepieS0:
Not long ago, in rural part Of England,
a,little girl was in the habit of stealing bar
ley from rick. She and her companion
persisted in following this pastime in spite
of the circumstances and threats Of the
owner, and at last he lost patience, seized
her as the oldest Of the offenders, and had
her brought before the bench ofmagistrates
As it was proved that this was not casual
hut an habitual offense the bench thought
fit TO make an example of her, and ordered
her to pay two shillings ns fine, besides
the expenses. But law, even of the simplest
kind, costs money, and the expenses were
seventeen shillings. II was not certain that
the friends of the little thief would lay
down q sovereign for her unless some gentle
pressure was exercised, and it was there
fore added TO the sentence that, unless the
fine and expenses were paid within given
time, she should 60 TO prison for three
weeks. This produced the desired effect
and the money was found and paid.
But the history was not to end there. One
or two papers that watch the proceedings
of magistrates with most jealousy and sus-
picion, got hold of the case. Here was q
monstrous outrage on common sense, and q
cruel tyranny Of the rich over the poor. A
because the simple creature, in its play,
poor little child sent TO jail for three weeks
pulled q little barley, valued at two pence
out of rick. The writers of sensation ar
ticles exulted in so telling theme, and
for once they produced an effect much
greater than usually falls to the lot of the
Catos and Brutuses Of journalism. The
readers of the sensation article took it into
their heads to subscribe for the injured in
nocent. The generosity of one was stimu
lated by the record of that of another. Sub
scriptions poured in, and in the end no less
than thirty-fve pounds were collected and
hSnded over to the friends of the child.
Such is the harvest that this lucky little
girl has reaped from the fruitful soil of Brit
ish indignation. Few instances of good
luck could be more surprising. She has
been the talk not only of her parish but of
all England. She must be famous herself
and it must even be privilege to be con-
nected with her. She will henceforth be
pointed at in school and church as the cell
ebrated Jane Smith, or whatever her name
is, whose wrongs move England to wrath,
and set in motion the pens of "Publicola'
and "Aristides," and ''Lover of HOmely
Justice" And she will not only be the he
roine of the parish, but also its heiress. If
her thirty five pounds are carefully put out
at interest she will have, at least fifty
pounds by the time she is her own mistress
Fifty pounds in hard cash is, among the
village poor, quite as great fortune for Il
young woman to have as fifty thousand is
for lady. Then, five contrast the great
ness of the end with the smallness and ig.
noble character of the means and first start
ing-point Of good fortune, we get at the
true measure of her luck. She has suddenly
become famous and rich, and this by simply
stealing twopenny-worth of barley. None
of the poets that have sung the fckleness
and blindness of fortune had ever a more
telling instance to furnish theme for their
verses.
The luck of this lucky little thief is ex-
ceedingly Ineligible. There are so many
benefits both of solid and also of an orna-
mental kind, that she may derive from it. In
the first place, portion of her wealth may
be spent on her education. She might even
be sent for quarter of year to o finishing
school at sixteen guineas per annum. Then
she might get o few books far beyond what
most of her friends could boast, which would
lelp her to keep up what she had learned,
or at any rate sustain her reputation for
learning. She might, for example, get one
of those standard books priced by the poor,
such as the "WhOle Duty of Man." and as
she would probably not feel much inclined
to use it, she might prudently 60 to the ex-
pense Of having a copy in handsome bind
ing. This would be lasting credit to her,
and would help her in many ways. We
fancy rustic lovers would speak much more
timorously and deferentially to young
woman who was known to have the "Whole
Duty Of Man" in purple morocco. AS an
heiress and heroine, she would have all
the young men of the village at her feet and
the pleasure of snubbing, coaxing and repell-
ingOne lever after another is as sweet to q
milkmaid as to a princess. When she makes
up her mind to settle, it will be she, and not
the husband who will rule the house, pro-
vided she is wise enough to keep her money,
and to check him firmly if he ever attempts
to get any barley out of her rick. In great
occasions and crises of life she will always
have fund to fall back 'on; end she may
easily allow herself some of those decora-
tions and articles of luxury which consti-
tute the glory of the cottage. Half n dozen
models in China on the chimney-piece, and
a complete set of the prodigal son on the
walls, could not be considered out of pro-
portion to her means. Nor need she refra, n
from purchasing some solid article of furni-
ture which might last her life and be her
especial pride. She might purchase a time
piece, for instance, which sixty years hence
would be known in her family as grand
mothers fine clock. Thus, courted in youth,
well-to-dO in middle life, and honored in
old age she might wear away an existence
that would have taken her whole color from
her early good fortune-and all this COM
fort, respect and honor she would have got
by stealing barley.
What Becomes of the Silvert
A A,.,n,.inn Ia ham drni n ~