The Van Buren press., 1876-01-11
TRUE HON ESTY.

One evening. . poor man and his son,
a little hoy, sat by the waysde. near the
gate of an old town in Germany The
father took loat of bread which he had
bought in town, and broke it, aud gave
half to his son. 81,
Mot SO. father. said the boy: | shall
not eat until after you. You have been
working all day. for small wages. TO sup
port me, and you must be very hungry.
| shall wait until you are DONE -.
You speak kindly, my sou replied
the father, "Your " love for 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 you to love me
as she used to do; and, indeed, my boy,
you have been gr at strength and sup
port to me. But now have eaten the
first norsei to please you, it is your turn
now tn eat"
"Thank you, father, but break this
piece in two and take little more You
see the loaf is not large and you require
more than do"
Il shall divide the loaf for you. my
boy, but eat it, shall not have abun
dance; and let us thank God for his good
ness in giving us what is ,etter slill
cheerful aud contented hearts He who
gave US the living bread to nourish the
immortal souls shall he not give US all
other food, which is necessary to support
our mortal bodies p
The father and son thanked God, and
they then began to cut the loaf. to begin
their frugal meal. But as they cut one
portion of the loaf, there. fell out several
large pieces Of gold of great value The
little boy gave shout Of great JOY. and
was sPrnging forward to grasp the un
expected treasure, when he was pulled
back by his father.
NV son, my son!" he cried. "do not
touch that money; it is not ours"
But whose is it, father, if it is not
ours p
II know not to whom it may belong.
but probably it was put there BY the ba-
ker through mistake. We must enquire,
Run
But, father" interrupted the boy.
"you are pour and needy, and YOU have
bought the loaf, and then the baker iney
tell a lie, and
~ will not istel to you. ms boy:
bought the loaf, but did not buy the geld
in it II The baker sent it to me in igno
rance, shall not be so dishonest as to
take advantage Of him; remember Him
who told us to do to others as we would
have Others do to us. The baker may
possibly cheat US; am poor but that is
no sin. If We share the poverty of Jesus,
Gods own Son, oh let us share his
good and his trust in God. We may
never he rich, but we may always be hon.
est We may die in starvation, but Gods
will be done, should we die in doing it.
Yes. my boy. trust in God, and walk in
his ways, aud you shall never be put to
shame Now run to the bak, r. and bring
him here, and 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 al.
most lost your money and he showed
the baker the gold, aud told how it had
been found. is it thineG' asked the
father . II it is, take it away"
:" MY father, baker. is very poor, and
" Silence, my child put me not to shame
ey thy o""r'Ai"ts ats glad we hava
saved the man from iosiug his money"
The baker had been gazing alternately
at the honest father and eager boy. and
the gol lay glit,ering on the green turf
Chou art, indeed an honest fellow"
said the baker" and my neighbor, David,
the flax dresser, spoke the truth when he
sal" thou vert tne mos: a.;onest man in
town. Now, l will! tell thee about the
gold. A stranger came 10 my shop three
days ago, and gave me that loaf and told
me to sell it cheaply to give it to the
most honest poor man whom | knew in
the city, ! told David to send thee to
me As customer this mornn rs thou
wohllst not take the loaf for nothing,
sold II to thee, rs thou kaowest, for the
last penny in thy purse and the loaf, with
all its treasure--and certainly it is not
snall-ts thine, and God grant thee a
blessing with it!'
The poor man bent his head to the
ground, while tears fell rom his eyes.
His boy ran and put his arm around his
neck, and said,-
:" stall alwavs. like YOU. nv father.
trust q 'i. AMI do what is right, for then
sure It will never put me m shame"