The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-08-12
money with q heavy sigh; and we threw

money with heavy sigh; and we threw
the wood into her shed.
"She offered 20 hold lantern for US;
but we were glad enough to dispense
with that luxury. don know when
she discovered what q small pile the
wood made, which looked SO large in
our wagon; certainly not until after we
were gone, for she came to the door as
we backed around. said she was very
much obliged to us, and bid us good
night.
"'That's the way to do itr said my
cousin, ON the way home. Well sell
the other two loads just at dusk
Il didn't say much. I was feelin 2
sick. And when he gave me my share
of he 'plunder,' as he called it-and
ptttnd indeed it vast was with a
to my pocket. After all my antici-
pations Of pleasure in receiving money
fai rly earned. that was the miserable re-
suit. Instead.of sweet satisfaction,
not hing but remorse and disgust!
f" found that my cousin did not feel
just right about the transaction, either.
II we had shaved the sharp old dea-
CON- he said. s'twould have been a
good joke, though it t0dS almost too
hard on the widder.'
"He was, somehow, different from
me. He hardened his heart against all
compunctions; which L could not do.
1 didn't like to talk about our success,
as my father called it, after we got
home; and went to bed at night miser-
able enough.
81 did not see Medad again until the
ne xt afternoon. when he came over to
talk about taking another load of wood
to town.
".If we take any more said, it
must be honestly loaded, or I'll have
nothing to do with it. 1t was an aw-
fully mean thing we did yesterday
"He laughed foolishly, and said he
guessed was right about it. 'Pm sick
of the business. anyway he said. Let
your father take the rest, and give us
what he thinks it's worth -
$50 ended our wood speculation" J"
Uncle Asa added. I've quite forgot
ten what father gave us; indeed, that
was a matter of no consequence CON-
pa red with what made out OF the load
W sold the widow"
"But l don't see that you made
much out of thatr said Charley.
I" All, but did, though! L made
something better than the most brill
liant fortune ever achieved. I'll tell
you how. g... -sss-.
g had it in me, as you see, to be a
little or, perhaps you will say, a good
deal dishonest. And If l had begun
in different way, might have gone
on cheating more and more all my life,
until 1 should have quite forgotten
there was such a thing as conscience.
B ut, luckily, overdid the thing at the
start.
81 can never describe the shame
and misery felt in consequence of that
trick we played off on poor Mrs. Ober.
The very sight of split wood sickened
me long afterward. l got no comfort
out of my share of the m ,ney she paid
US; hadn't the heart to spend it, and
it was a source of bitter recollections
to me while l kept it. -...
'Then you may be sure that it was
anything but a relief to me to hear-as
l did the following spring-that the
poor woman was actually in want.
was at the town meeting when 1 acci-
dentally heard the matter spoken of.
why can't she get alongP one man
asked another. She works hard
Yes said the other; and she's
saving, in herway. But she don't know
how TO make trade, and anybody can
cheat her. You would think it must
be somebody pretty mean that would
take advantage of poor widow with six
children; but there are just such wretch
es in the world, I'm sorry to say
81 didn't care to hear any more. 1
went straight home, took out of the
till of my chest the dollar and ten
cents I had kept there all this time.
folded the money iu letter. on which
1 wrote, From a FRIEND a 1dressed il
to Mrs. Ober, and mailed it that very
night. ,-5-.-... -.....
'.After that part of the load was
taken off from my conscience. But
could find strength and peace of mind
only in q resolution which had already
formed, and which was fairly burned
into my soul by what had overheard at
the town meeting.
THAT resolution was, never in all my
life to resort to dishonesty of any kind,
no matter what the seeming necessity
or the temptation. .aT -,.
lit is resolution I have never
broken. 1t hasn't kept me poor. either.
l am not very rich; and yet I believe
am better off to-day than should be if
l hal been dishonest. l have always
enjoyed a reputation for fair-dealing;
anu tuc TeSulI HIS Dccu tudI lily
prosperity has been solid to the core.
"But, boys, that is nothing compared
with the satisfaction of always feeling
that my gains were fairly earned, and
that 1 had helped others while helping
myself. A few thousands, more or less,
are of no Importance. But, o my boys,
peace of mind is all-important."
"And Medad Prank-what ever be-
came of him?" Charley inquired.
az can't say that Medad took the les
son so seriously to heart as did. He
has always had the reputation of being
little tricky. Life has been scramble
with him "a scramble for riches. And
it was thought at one time that he had
large fortune. But it burst like a
bubble in seventy-three, and he has
been scrambling in the old way ever
since.
Il was the only one who really made
anything out of that load of wood. y
j. T. TrO,CbridQe, in Youths Companion.