Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1862-12-05

Ouo eVctiIlS y pOOE HAL duu HIS sui, Az
tie boy, sat by the wayside near the gate Of an
old town in Germany. The father took q loaf
Of bread which he had bought in town and
broke it, and gave half to his son.
"Not so, father" SAID the boy; 81 shall
not eat until after you. You have been work
ing all day for small wages, to support me,
and you must be very hungry. shall wait
till after you are done"
"You speak kindly, my son." replied the
father. "Your love to me does me more
good than my food and those eyes Of yours
remind me of your dear mother, who has left
US, and told me to love you as she used to do
and, indeed, my boy, you have been great
strength and support to me. But now l have
eaten the first mcrsel to please you, it is
your turn now to eat"
Thank you, father; but break this piece
in two, and take little more; you see the
loaf is not large, and you require much more
than do"
II shall divide the loaf for you, my boy,
but eat it l shall not; have abundance
and let US thank God for his goodness, in
giving us what is better still, cheerful and
contented hearts. He who gave US the living
bread to nourish our immortal souls, how
shall he not give US all other food, which is
necessary to support our mortal bodies?"
The father and son thanked God, and they
began to cut the loaf in pieces, to begin 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 a shout
Of joy, and was springing forward to grasp
the unexpected treasure, when he was pulled
back by his father.
my son, my sou p he cried, "do not touch
the money it is not ours"
"But whose is it, father, if it is not ours? u
II know not as to whom it belongs, prob.
ably it was put there by the baker through
some mistake. Wemust inquire Run"
''But, father" interrupted the boy, "you
are poor and needy, and you have bought the
loaf, and the baker may tell a lie, and"
81 will not listen to my boy; bought the
the Loaf, but did not buy the gold in it. If
the baker sent it to me in ignorance, shall
not be so dishonest as to take advantage of
him; remember Him who told US to do un.
to others as we would have others to do to us.
The baker may possibly cheat us I am
poor, but that is no sin. If we share the pow
erty of Jesus, God s own son, oh let US share,
also, his goodness and his trust in God. We
may never be rich, but we may always be
honest. We may die in starvation, but God 3
will be done, should We die in doing it. Yes,
my boy, trust in God, and walk in his ways,
and you shall never be put to shame. Now
run to the baker, and bring him here, and l
will watch the gold until he comes"
So the boy ran after the baker.
Brother workman said the old man,
"you have made some mistake, and almost lost
your money" and he showed the baker the
gold, and told how it had been found. ais it
thine ?" asked the father. "If it is, take it
away"
"My father, baker, is very poor, and"
''Silence, my child put me not to ehame
by thy complaints. am glad we have saved
the man from losing his money!
The baker had BEEN gazing alternately at
the honest father and the eager boy, and the
gold that lay glittering on the green turf.
baker; land my ncighbor, David the flax
dresser, spoke the truth when he said thou
vert the most honest man IN the town Now
l shall tell thee about the gold. A stranger
came to my shop three days ago, and gave
me tina. loaf, and told me to sell it cheapIy.
or to give it to the most honest poor
man whom knew in the city. told David
to send thee to me as customer this morn
ing; a. thou wouldst not take the loaf for
nothing, sold it to thee, as thou knowest,
for the last penny in thy purse; and the loaf,
with all its treasnre-and certainly, it is not
small is thine,-and God grant thee bless
with it!'
The poor man bent his head to the ground,
while the tears fell from his eyes. His boy
ran and put his arms around his neck and
said
"Ishall always like you, my father, trust
God, and do what is right for am sure it
will never put us to shame, "-Edinbu,gh
Christian Magazine