St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1895-02-08
Selected Stnru.
THE LUCKY COINS.

walls to hear him say mass for them.
These good people used to bring lit
Z tle offerings of food for the support
4 Of the hermit during the week,
One Sunday, alter his congregation
A had departed, the monk perceived
man laden with traps and nets for
catching birds, crossing the field be-
4 fore the hermitage. The good monk
went out to him.
where do you come from ?" he in
ouired, land what are you going to
4 do, my son"
IL live some miles from here, good
4 father" he replied, land have Dor
rowed few nets and traps to try TO
catch some doves to sell, So as to get
little butter for our bread; for with
"A that and a draught Of water from
the spring my wife and | are salts.
fed or else to get some work to do,
N that may earn enough for our sup
port, for we have neither bread nor
a single farthing to buy it,
The hermit took the man into his
hermitage and gave HIM the little Of
ierings of food which had been
brought that morning by the villag-
ers, leaving Providence to provide for
his own simple wants.
Brother" he said, take this for
Yourself and wife; and if you want
money | viii give you some. But
YOU must first tell me which you
choose, to earn single coin honest
81 " or hundred dishonesty"
The poor man hesitated, tor great
was the temptation.
II will consult with my wife, '" he
81 said at last, land return tomorrow
to inform you"
With the food in his hands he re-
turned to his miserable home. where
he and his wife made an excellent
meal, for which they returned thanks
to heaven. They then consulted to-
gether about the money, and,
N though the temptation was great to
take the 100 coins, yet, being Cod
tearing folks, they decided upon the
one coin honestly acquired and let
alone the 100
The man accordingly returned to
81 the hermit and told him what they
had decided.
The good monk gave him two half
# reals
Take this money" he said, land
# may heaven prosper you"
Full of JOY, the man departed. But
on the road home, in solitary spot,
81 he encountered two lads lighting des-
IA perately; they were dealing each
NJ other terrible blows, and blood was
streaming down their faces. The
man rushed up to separate them, but
"a all his efforts only served to make
~ them fercer.
why do you fight like this?' he
cried.
I'VE are fighting for that stone, y
replied one of the lads. Il saw it
first.
NO, you didn't" replied the other;
1T was |, and it belongs to mel'
and they fell to blows more desper-
III ately than before.
The poor man, fearing that the
quarrel might end fatally, cried out
e to them
Here, take each of you one OF
these coins, and let alone the stone
Sd it is of no value, for it is no bigger
than a walnut, And be off with
"a you"
The lads were glad to take the
money, and ran away, thinking
themselves lucky to make so good a
bargain.
His wife was at the cottage door
impatiently awaiting her husband.
Great was her disappointment when
all he brought her was a stone.
well, to be sure!" she cried, after
he had recounted what had taken
place, II am disappointed" And
taking the little stone, she threw ii
into the corner of the room.
Dear wife" replied the man, "do
not take it so to heart. The money
was spent in good work; in max
ing peace between the children OF our
neighbors."
His wife at length became more rec
onciled to the loss, considering that
after all he had done right to make
peace between their neighbors sons
at any cost. Not many minutes at
ter the parents of the two lads came
to thank him for the money he hac
given to the boys, for they knew he
sorely needed it himself. Each of the
parents gave him present for hi:
friendly service; and from that day
they always treated him most kind
", and often gave him little jobs tc
do so that the poor couple never
wanted bread.
Not long afterwards it happened
that the kings ambassador passee
@ that way with great retinue OF OF
hcials, secretaries and servitors, anc
1t Tell out that, night coming on, thu
ambassador decided upon taking W
IN his quarters in the village.
The village inns were small, ant
could not afford accommodations to-
so large retinue, and the various
cottagers were asked to take in on
or more of the servants. Among
those who gave lodgings TO the reti
nue. were our good couple, who tool
in a ledger, for whom they wer'
r I'll L.