The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1886-04-23

nnd-forty years. and he vowed Nc
would never 20 beyond the sight IL II.
walls. The Duke Of Ossone heard ol
the old mans speeches. and sent %
him one Of his officers forbidding him,
IN the part Of the King. 20 leave the
Kingdom on pain Of FORGETTING fine 81
. thousand crowns. Morelli received
the prohibition with mockery. and
TESTED about il with his friends. Ia
leave the kingdom was the last thing
IN the world he should think Of doing.
Had he not said that nothing could in.
duce him 10 travel out Of sight III his
beloved Naples? Soon. however, he
began TO feel curiosity as TO what
could have prompted this command Of
the Kings, and he began TO torment
himself by all sorts Of vague guesses
and reflections. till the matter took such
hold Of his thoughts that il threw him
into q nervous and miserable condition,
and even prevented him from sleeping.
At last. to deliver himself from 4
state Of inqUietude which he could no
longer bear. and to satisfy his long
ings TO do that which had been
forbidden him. he sent thousand
crowns TO the Viccroy. and passed
over the Ncapolitan border into the
Papal States. lie sfaid there only one
night and then returned to Naples.
The Viceroy. upon hearing Of his re-
turn, distributed half Of the thousand
crowns among Ncapolitan hospitals.
and returned the rest to Morelli, say
ing that this would suffice 10 teach the
public how fools are punished.
About the same time there was In
Naples another rich merchant named
Ferronelli. noted for his avarice. This
man had had the misfortune to lose an
embroidered purse containing fifty
gold ducats and fifty Spanish pistoles,
together with a ring worth a thousand
crowns. This loss was cause Of great
grief TO Ferronclli; and he sent a crier
through Naples proclaiming that any
one finding the purse and restoring il
and its contents 20 the owner, should
be rewarded with the fifty pistoles. A
poor old widow found il. and brought
II to Ferronelli As soon as he saw Il
and its rich contents. he felt tempted
10 cozen the old women out Of the
greater part Of the promised reward.
The temptation was too strong for the
avaricious man TO resist; and while he
was counting over the pistoles. he
dexierously pushed out Of sight thirty
Of them. and said to the widow: II
promised the fifty pistoles that were in
side the purse TO the finder; but j see
you have already taken thirty Of them.
Here are the other twenty.'s
The old woman protested that she
had not taken a single coin; but it was
in vain. Fcrronelli insisted that she
had already appropriated thirty Of the
plst0les. and must therefore. now be
contented with the balance Of twenty.
The old woman was obliged to yield.
and went away with what she could
get, which was indeed q large sum for
her.
Talking matters over. however. with
her friends afterwards. she was advised
TO lay the affair before the vicervy and
bcseech his interference. The mer-
chant was summoned before the Vice
roy, and gave his account Of the mat
ter
The Duke. when he had heard Fer.
ronelli's story, replied: 1T is not likely
that the old woman would have alb
stracted part Of the money in the purse
as. If she had been dishonesty inclined.
she might have taken the whole. This
purse. therefore. can not be yours; for
yours. you say. contained fifty pistoles.
and this one does not. In my opinion.
you ought to be punished for having
appropriated what does not belong 10
You
MY lord, urged Ferronclli. II recog.
nize the purse perfectly. / know the
besides. there are nv ring
and my fifty ducats In it. beseech
your Exccllcncy not to allow me to be
Of what is rightfnlly mine.''
You must be deceiving yourself. :
replied the viccroy. docs not the mint
turn out all the ducats alike. and il il
not possible that the jewellers should
have made more than one ring like
yours. and that there should be more
than one purse embroidered in the same
fashion as yours? The essential point
Is that your purse contained fifty
pistolcs. while this one does not.
Then addressing himself TO the wild
ow, he said. Go. my good woman.
lake the purse; you are fairly entitled
TO il"
One example more Of this viceroy's
method Of dispensing Justice, and we
will conclude. There was in Naples a
young Spanish exquisite, one Bertrand
Solus. One day while he was lounging
about in one Of the buster parts Of the
city. porter, carrying a bundle Of
wood on his shoulder, tried 70 make
Ms way through the crowd. Solus was
directly in his path, and the porter
.alled out TO him several times: "Make
way. please" without producing any
fleet He then attempted to pass him
IS best he could; but, unfortunately,
he wood came in contact with the
5oung mans velvet dress and gave il |
IN ugly rent. Highly indignant he
aid an information against the porter, |
md asked that he might be punished.
The Viccroy. having inquired privately
nto the circumstances before going |
nto court. told the porter that he |
vas to pretend to be dumb, and was 10 |
'cply. BY signs only. TO any thing that |
night be said to him. When the |
viccroy took his seat on the bench,
,olus laid his complaint before him,
md asked for judgment against the
,orter. The viccroy turned to the
,ortcr and asked him what he had to
- ~.