The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-02-01
THE GOLDEN MAXIM.

Mr.. John Richardson was one of the
most respected of London citizens. He
had arrived young in the metropolis,
very foot-sorc, and with five and nine
pence in his pocket. In the course of
thirty years he had increased the five
and-ninepcnce to fifty thousand pounds.
This was generally considered clever, but
In truth the man had no cleverness in his
composition. The lack was more than
supplied by the possession of that val
liable quality called prudence. He was
slow, to be sure; dull, but industrious :
short-seeing, but sharp eyed within his
ken. lie passed through his life acqur-
ing few ideas, but many guincas. He
began ignorant, and he ended ignorant :
he began poor, and he ended rich.
Mr. John Richardson, at the age OF
sixty, found himself retired from bust
ness, Widower with one son. Alfred.
the son, was spirited Young man. He
despised trade and tadesmen, and par
ticularly despised the tradesman. his
father. He owned to very dim notion
of the cast-end of London. but paraded
his intimate knowledge of the west. His
associates were entirely aristocratic. Lord
Cheroot, Sir Edward Alright, and the
Honorable Tom Daredevil were his sworn
friends. 1t was rather an expensive
friendship, certainly, for among them they
borrowed of him to the extent of a hun
dred pounds month or so, not one far
thing of which they made even show
of returning.
But he had his moneys worth of praise.
They assured him that his spirit, his wit,
his sagacity, were quite extraordinary,
and, for the citizen, almost miraculous.
To be sure there was a manncr-an air
a something-only to be acquired by
companionship with persons of birth !;
but he had improved greatly in this re
spect, they said, and would, in time, be
perfect. All this was ayerred to his
face, and, if behind his back their re-
marks were different, why, they afforded
them amusement and gave him no pain
One evening, Mr.. John Richardson,
that respectable, elderly, well. TODD indi-
vidual, was suddenly taken i'll. He went
to bed-and never rose again. Just be-
fore his death he called for his son, AL
fred, and, taking his hand atTectionately,
delivered himself thus, in a broken
voice;
pOu AllICu, 1 am ABOUT 10 Ulc, ana
before | do so, want to say few
words, as | have always made it rule
to do everything in business-like man
ner. shall leave you more than fifty
thousand pounds, all got honestly and
by hard work. There is something else
i shall leave you, almost as valuable
Attached by a green ribbon to the parch-
ment on which is written my will, YOU
will find sealed paper, containing the
wiscst sentence ever put together. BY
acting in the spirit of that maxim made
all my money, and by acting in it you
may use well the money | made. ! am
sot much of a philosopher, son Alfred,
but | say that all man need know is
contained in that maxim. Do not take
it only in its vulgar scnse-it applies to
every situation in life, and if people only
understood it better, they wouldn't be
such fools. As you despise or vencrate
my maxim, so will you fail or prosper
Soon after pronouncing these words
the old gentleman expired. At the
proper time the will was produced and
read. Attached to it, sure enough, by a
green silk ribbon, was small sealed
paper, on the back of which was written,
in German text, "The Golden Maxim. "
The anxiety was intense as the man in
authority broke the seal, and opened the
mysterious paper. With a loud clear
soice, he gave forth the contents, which
were rs follows;