Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1868-04-17
The Duty of Lending.
By HENRY WARD BEEoHER.

sfFrOm him that would borrow, turn
not thou away" There il is plain as
writing can make 1t. matter what
YOU may think, there's your duty. Do
hear you say, A man, with any fore
cast. would never need to borrow
What then2 Do we owe no kindness to
people who are deficient in forecast p
Do you say, 'It encourages shIftless-
ness? Very likely. But would not the
refusal promote selhshness 3? Selfish
ness in yOu is far worse than shiftless-
ness in your neighbOr.
First comes domestic borrowing. A
little tea, q little sugar, a pint Of milk,
u halEloaf of bread, a grinding of COT
fee, or Il drawing Of tea, are seYerallY
the most common articles of that kind
of interchange called borrowing
Sometimes you get as good back as you
lent, rarely better. What, then YOu
should consider that your loaf OF bread
is a kind of mute missionary gone out
to inspire your neighbor with higher
ideas of bread making. Your pound Of
| best butter-yellOW as a daudeliOn,
sweet as the breath of COWS in clover
| pastures, the last particle of butter
milk worked out-dO you not believe
that it will work emulation in your
neighbor? Will he thereafter be con
tent with poor butter? When the
millennium comes, it will be known by
the universal prevalence Of sweet, pure
butberl But so depraved are people now,
that myriad pounds of eXecrable grease
are patiently consumed by people,
whose degraded taste submits TO this
enormity, without a gasp, a resistance,
or even an attempted reformation!
And So we may reason upon the
whole catalogue of groceries and house
hold Gates.
Next in order is the borrowing of
tools, vehicles, and animals. Do you
say that no cautious and selt-TeApectIng
man would ever suffer himsels to bOr-
row a fine tOol-at auy rate, unless he
was an expert that ib is an imposition
on a mans kindness to ask him for a
new, sharp ak, or for his buggy and
harness, just brought home from the
shop, and shining with repair, as good
! as new IL is trial to lend horse,
| unless it be one kept to lend. Indeed,
| if one is before handed, and lives in a
needy neigh borhoOd, it is sometimes
/ polite to have lending tools, a wagon
/ for lending, and an old India-rubber
nag for lending.
1 BUT, he Is a good man, a good neigh
! DOR, almost Christian, who, for the
! sake of kindness and good neighbor-
/ ship, will lend, cheerfuIly, a good
/ horse, and do il several times. But
/ let no man take all these compliments
/ TO himself, simply because he lends a
/ horse For some horses there are that
! a man might we'll lend, and keep lend
I ing, for his own relief Yet, even a
| good horse should sometimes be lent,
/ though [ should be slow to advise any
/ one TO borrow.
But now we come to the department
of books and papers. Shall we take
from the shelves those fair volumes, or
shall we suffer this magazine, or this
weekly paper to 60 on such periluus
ptlgrimagts as borrowers too often lead
them. Why not? What if the book is
worn, the paper sOiled, the newspaper
torn and dilapidated? Will YOU not
suffer as much as that in the cause of
Intelligence A book is a candle
VIII you put it under a bushel? A
good magazine was made for Circula-
tton. Shall it lie dead on your table,
when hundred persons might be de-
irving pleasure from it? When YOU
have read your paper through, why not
let your prOfiting appear by your kind
ness? Lend it out. Keep it going If
people do not ask for it, do You ask
them to borrow it Don't scowI when
IT. comes back thumbed, greasy, dirty.
The very kind Of men have had hold of
II that ought to read I can imagine
no way in which man, who has the
welfare of his neighbOr at heart, can do
so much with so little money, as by
keeping on hand few weII-seI Iected
weekly papers, and securing an inter-
est in them of men who are inclined to
find their enjoyments in idleness, or in
rude and sensuOus ways.
ms - my .SPAJ W CAO7g WIZ Ct3uA-
plain that their neighbOFs love 10 bOr-
row, but viii not subscribe for a news
paper. How much better Is this than
ii they would not even borrow, or read!
Keep them supplied. By and by you
will see the result of your patience
Stinginess will become ashamed of it
self knowledge will no LONGER be a
luxury but necessary Of life. Then
men that began by borrowing will buy, !
and finally become, in turn, lenders, |
and so, with a little patience and pub !
lie spirit, yOu will have contributed to !
the universal work of education. Let /
us hear the conclusion of the whole /
matter. Refuse food, if you will, or /
tools, OF animals, "But from him that |
would borrow a book or newspaper |
turn not thou away. IN Y. Ledger.