Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1899-04-13

shall go with me before the kadi, and
he will justly punish you for stealing
my valuable emeralds, and if YOU
don't come will have you dragged
along"
II am innocent and quite willing to
appear before the kadi, so that he may
| Judge between us, replied the sailor.
So together they went to the kadi's
conrt. The merchant there stated his
case, how he had lost his purse, how
the sailor had found it, and returned
it with all the money in; but two
emerald earrings, worth, he declared,
| double the amount OF the 200 gold
| pieces, had been stolen from his purse,
and evidently by the sailor, seeing he
was the man who acknowledged hay
ing picked it up.
Again the sailor denied having stolen
emeralds or any other precious stones.
'It is true that L picked up the
purse" he said, "but there were only
the 200 gold pieces in it, just as the
crier proclaimed.
The kadi was greatly puzzled and
mystifed, not knowing whom to be-
lieve and whom to disbelieve. The
merchant was rich man and held an
honorable position in the city, Will ;
the sailor looked so fearlessly and
frankly in his face that he could not
believe he was thief. SO in his per-
plexity he pronounced this sentence:
That the sailor be acquitted of the
charge of theft, but because of his
carelessness in losing such valuable
articles he forfeit the promised re-
ward"
Great was the sailors anger at being
thus cheated out of his hundred gold
pieces.
At this time there lived in Constan-
tinople the celebrated Chorluli Ali
Pasha. The sailor decided to present
his case in petition to him. Ali
Pasha, always willing to give justice
to the poor, summoned the merchant,
the crier and the sailor to appear be-
fore him.
"What was it that the merchant
told you he had lost, and bid you cry
throughout the town?" he asked the
crier.
ga purse containing 200 gold
pieces" was the prompt reply.
Eyes, interrupted the merchant,
"that is true; purposely did not tell
him about the emeralds, fearing that
if the purse fell into the hands of an
ignorant man, who knew not the value
of gems, he might perchance under
such a great temptation, when he dis
| covered their value" here he slut
tered and stammered-" he might be
tempted to keep purse and jewels, and
say nothing about what he found"
Ali Pashi shook his head as the
man jumbled out these ridiculous rea-
sons.
''What do You say you found?" he
asked the sailor.
ga purse with 200 gold pieces" was
the unyarying reply.
"Then," said Ali Pasha, sit is very
evident that since the purse the mer-
chant lost contained two emerald ear
rings, as well as 200 pieces of money,
that the purse found was not lost by
the merchant but by some one else.
SO let the merchant have his purse
cried again and again until some God
fearing person having found itrestores
it to him; and let the sailor keep the
purse he found for forty days, and if
it be not claimed within that period,
then let him keep it for his own
"Nay, nay, Chorluli Ali Pasha,"
said the merchant, bowling low; ''now
/ come to think of it the emerald ear
rings were not in that purse. Until
this moment 1 had forgotten, but now
remember that for better security I
hid them away in place known onl
to myself.
"You speak too late" said the
pasha. "And by this lesson learn that
they who go about to deceive others
oftentimes deceive themselves; and
sometimes one falls into the ditch that
he himself made"