The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1884-05-23
miscellaneous.
Noble Sport.

A certain German noblcman provided his
son with tutor, who was to attend closely
TO him at all hours and improve his mind.
This tutor, il seems took for his example
certain predecessor of his, who used to coach
young Cyrus indoors and out. And both
these tutors each in his own country and his
own generation, had the brains to see that to
educate young fellow you must not merely
set him tasks to learn indoors, and then let
him run wild in the open air, but must ac-
company him wherever he goes, and guide
him with your greater experience, in his
Judgment of the various events that pass be-
fore his eyes. For how shall he learn to ap-
ply an experience which he does not possess.
What a boy learns by rotc is not knowledge,
but knowedges shadow.
One day these two came to the side of Il
wood, and there they found tree half felled,
and II pair of wooden shoes. The woodman
was cooling his hot feet in neighboring
stream. The young nobleman took up n
couple of pebbles and said to his tutor
"rll put these in that old fellows shoes,
and we'll see his grimaces."
"Hum !" says the tutor, 81 don't think
you'll get much fun out of that. You see
he's poor man, and probably thinks his lot
hard enough without his having stones put
into his Shoes can't help thinking that if
and you have plenty of that, you know, more
| than should allow you il were your faith
er-the old fellow would be far more tlabber-
gasted, and his grimaces would be far more
entertaining"
The generous youth caught fire at the idea,
and put double dollar into each shoe. Then
| the confederates hid behind hedge, and
watched the result of their trick They had
not long to wait An elderly man came back
| to his hard work-work a little beyond his
years---and slipped his right foot into his
right shoe. Feeling something hard in it, he
took it off again and discovered double dol
lar His grave face wore a look of amaze
ment, and the spies behind the hedge chuck
led. He laid the coin in the palm of his
| hand, still gazing at it with wonder; he me-
chanically Slipped his foot into the other
sabot. There he found another coin. He
took it up, and holding out both his hands,
stared with establishment at them. Then he
suddenly clasped his hands together, and fell
upon his knees, and he cried out, in a loud
voice. 80, God! this is your doing. No
body but you knows the state we are i'll at
home, my wife in her bed, my children starv-
ing, and hardly able to earn crust with
these old hands. 1t is you who have sent me
these blessed coins, or one of your angels"
| Then he paused, and another idea struck
him "Perhaps il is not an angel from hea
ven. There are human angels even in this
world. Kind hearts that love to feed the
hungry and succor the poor. One of these
has passed by, like sunshine in winter, and
has seen the poor old mans shoes, and has
dropped all this money into them, and has
then gone on again, and not even waited to
be thanked. But poor mans blessing flies
fast, and shall overtake him, and be with him
to the end of the world, and to the end of his
own time May God and his angels go with
you, keep you from poverty, protect you
from sickness, and may you feel in your own
heart little of the warmth and the joy you
have brought to me and mine. I'll do no
more work to-day. I'll go home to my wife
and children and they shall kneel and bless
the hand that has given us this comfort, and
then gone away and thought nothing of it.
He put on his shoes, shouldered his axe
and went home.
Then the spies had n little dialogue:
"Now, this call really good fun" said the
tutor, in rather shady voice land what
are you snivelling at|
"T'isn't that am snivelling; it is you"
Well, then. we are both snivelling," said
the tutor; and with that, being foreigners
they embraced, and did not conceal theil
emotions any longer.
"Come on" said the boy.
"Whcre next ?" asked the tutor.
"Why, follow him, to be sure | want te
know where they live. Do you think
would let his wife be sick, and his children
starve, after this ?"
"Dear boy, don't for moment think
that you will. Yours is not the age nor the
heart that does things by halves"
So they logged their victim home, and thu
young nobleman secured II modest compel
cnce from that hour to very worthy anc
poverty stricken family.