St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1869-10-08
THE CALEDONlAN.
for the iluuna FOLKS.
M FIRST Money.


shiny, bearing upon it the image and su-
,ar.cr;,tion OF our queen: Victoria, u,
& Br;ranniarm. &c, just like other SIN
,,,,r,.-. hut 80 white, 50 glossy, and SO (
,vcIl--truck, that no other siXpence on .
earth could have borne comparison with .
II.
Tins was not a tact open to question,
| had already clas-ed it among the art
cle- OF MY belief, when taking the 'slX-
pence" deiecatciy between my fingers
| laid it tendcrly upon my bed, and then
knelt down on the floor in order to have
a better view Of it, This was my first
alteration of Mammon, my first worship
Of the solIrn-or, to speak by the card,
the -ilvcr-calf was five years old
the sixpcncc was four years and hall
my junior Four years and half!
Thi- was great deal. the advantage OF
AGE WAS manllestly on my side, and this,
] suspect, had not q little TO do with the
semi patronizing glances which, motwlth-
standing my immense veneration for tins
idolized ,iXpencc,I occasionally vcntured
70 throw upon it. For | should not
/ feel, have gazcd thus ut AN elder SIN
pence. IA octo,cuarian coin, for in
stance, would have impressed me with
certain degree OF awe 1t might have
been round the world in the breeches
pocket Of Captain Cook, it might have
witnessed Trafalgar from the waistcoat OF
Lord Nelson, it might have passed through
the hard finger. of the Iron Duke. \
-iXpencc ot that sort could not have been
viewed with hippancy. No, it was bet
ter to have Il Young and inexperienced
-lXpcnce, n -ixpcmcc with all its troubles
before II, like a youthful bear. 1t and
| were more on footing OF equality;
there was no need for me to stand upon
ceremony with it, and could freely give
vent to my sentiments III lis presence
without tran>gressing the laws of proprie-
". There WAS no fear its looking sourly
simpicton, il Is lamentablc for "A coin ike
ne to t.il into such ill-bred hands a
yours Nor Burke. nor Sheridan, nor
Charles James Fox, all of whom | knew
most intimately, ever grinned at me as
You DO and the William Pitt Ito whom
w.- introduced by his illustrous father.
tho Ear "t Chatham) never laughed at
me.
That w~s the grcat advantage Of q
young -iXpcnce, it being 50 fresh to tho
ways of society There was no danger
of t, having learned IL manners from
The Prince Recent. or modelled ii= demcan-
OF upon thai OF Lord Castlercagh !,
could afford to be indulgcnt if chuckled
too loud ard coull make allowances. if.
in The iuh.lant pride of possession, | rub
bed my Lands too ecstatically. Beaides,
considering the matter from more ma
teriad point OF view, a YOUNG siXpence
was large brighter, heavier, than an
old one. there seemed TO be more of it
there were no disgracetul patches of black
about it, such a spoke of sojourn in
dust-bin, in the till of a rag shop, or in
the purse OF AN economical sweep. The
features OF the queen upon it We're not
-tisiigurcd by scars, crosses, or knite-marks
20 prove that It's former posScsSorS sus-
pectcd the honesty of their familiars, and
were obliged for prudence sake to mark
their COINS. 1t had no unsecmly holes
bored in it, and no Hebrew had sweated
il t" thinness OF n bit of tin. |. had
everything in It's tavor,-bcauty, youth,
distinction, and novelty. For you must
remember il was my .drt sixpence, the
first com upon which | ha,i ever gszed
Is my own, the first money of which
had ever had the free disposal. True,
a few specimens of the currency had oc-
ca~ionally passed through my hands, in
the shape Of fugitive haifpence; but as
my mother had always requested me to
put these INTO u poor-bOx. ! could scarce
iy he said to have had the full enjoy
ment OF them. Hence this money was
indeed my first, and, O Plutus the gold
mines of Peru, made over to me by bond,
duly signed and sealed. would have de-
lighted me less than this sixpencc.
1t was my father who had given il
Dnr, and uudor memorable circumstances.
tie had been = long while involved in
one Of the suits in Chancery, which arr
the triumphs Of our legislation. Sever
and-twCnty years had it lasted, but a,
tn" end OF that time, by happy dispen-
sation OF Providence, he had been so for.
tuhaic a. to gain his cause Lawyers,
solicitors. and barristers had. however
been to work SO mcrrily that, all cost.
ami expenses paid, there was left of the
e-taf" which formed the bone of couten-
ton the exact sum OF five pounds ten
-hiilIngs and twopen,e. Three letters
and a consultation from our family so,
fcitor, informing Us of this cdifying re.
suit, swallowed up the five pounds O.
.hi- total. and the conscientious member
Of i-incoln'~ Inn then ~crupulously for
Nnrl-L {. D. The rcmaiminc ten .hillin.