Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1873-03-27
Honesty.

OF store In which they had been buy
ing some pears. John had given his
money to Felix and asked him to paw for
both.
AS Felix was looking over his money,
he exclaimed, "This is capital! The
old fellow has given us too much change.
Come, we will go somewhere and buy
some candy. What an old goose he is
to cheat himself But that is his look
out
Il think it is our lookout, for we
know it, and he doesn't, answered John
West.
"Catch me carrying back money !
1t is his own work. He cheated him
self. I gave him money enough. He
asks too much for his pears, ANYHOW"
He told us his price, Felix, and we
agreed to give it to him by saying we
would take his pears. No matter if he
asked fifty dollars a dozen, and we are
bound to pay him now"
I'll be whipped if 1 pay him cent
back"
eve shall both deserve to be whipped
if we DOM pay him back Come, let us
go right in before he finds out his mis-
take himself and comes after us. j."
Z" Yes, he would be after us for quar-
ter of cent. He is real skinfint, and
that is one reason / like to get some
thing out of him"
"What he does is nothing to us. Be
cause he $ mean, shall We be dishon-
est 2"
81 don't call it dishonest to let such a
mistake goa mistake man made him
SELF
"Do you call it honest ?"
WE'LL not exactly"
81 have an ambition to be exactly
honest. So give me my five cents and I
will go in and pay my part. You can do
as you please.
'sThat VIII Just blow me up. If YOU
pay five certs, he will know 1 ought to.
l should think you would not want to
get me into serape- I should think
you would rather cheat old Gripes than
disgrace cousin"
81 shall do neither I have more
ten cents and tell him of his mistake. SO
that will settle it nicely"
And before Felix could reply, John
West darted round the corner and in at
the store.
"You made mistake, sir, in giving
us change"
II guess not, young man. I seldom
do that
Yes, sir, You made mistake of ten
cents"
"What do you say ought to pay
you ten cents ?"
"Oh, no, sir; You gave us ten cents
too much"
"Bless me oh ah you owe me ten
cents? That is quite different thing. 3"
Here is the money, sir, and John
handed it to the shopman, who could
not help being mortified that he had
shown SO clearly that, if the mistake had
been against himself, he would have been
slow to make it right.
Well,'' he said, you are an I'M
commonly honest boy"
81 should not call it more than COM
mon honesty, sir, to return these ten
cents to you"
"Ah, well to be sure, boy of COM
mon honesty would, of course, do it.
Still, many boys would not-that is,
some boys L know.
John West thought to himself that the
shopman's standard of morals was about
up to that of cousin Felix. They were
not exactly honest themselves, and so
suspected others were not, and clear
case of simple honesty surprised them.
When John returned to Felix, who
begun to feel quite ashamed of himself,
the latter sa d, "You shall not pay for
my meanness, John, and took out his
five cents.
NO, no, Felix, it is trife. I have
paid it. Let it pass row.
John, said Felix, as they walked
ON, 4" / wouldn't steal half a cent. any
more than you would, but somehow I.
l am not up to you in clear, sheer, up
and-down honesty. Now, what is the
reason? l like noble, generous deeds,
and yet L was going to do something
neither noble nor generous.
My father and mother always made
me exact In regard to the property of
others, even in the smallest thing, and I
suppose the habit is now strong, so that
my first thought is to-to-to be honest,
l suppose. / cannot think of any other
word, though did not mean to set N.Y.
self up for SO very good"
John, am heartily ashamed of my
self, and the way in which you feel and
act has given me clearer idea of hon
esty than I ever had before. I nsed, of
course, to think outright stealing dis
honesty, but any little advantage one
could take of another, such as we might
have taken to-day about the ten cents, l
called good luck, and did not think of
its real character
Did you ever read to the Little
Merchants p"
"No. What is it about ?"
I" It is book my father gave me
| years ago. The nobleness Of honesty