the secret. I could not look at any body with an honest eye. 9. "These troubles kept me awake half the night. On the following morning I was feverish and nervous. When Deacon Webb, at the breakfast-table, said, 'William!' I started, and trembled, thinking the next words would be, 'Where is that piece of gold you found, and wickedly concealed to keep it from the rightful owner? But he only said, 'I want you to go to Job Baldwin's this morning, and ask him if he can come and work for me to-day and to-morrow.' 10. "I felt relieved. I left the house, and was soon out of sight. Then once more I took the coin out of my pocket, and feasted on its beauty. Yet I was unhappy. My conscience troubled me, and I almost wished I had not found the money. 'Would I not be called a thief if discovered?' I asked myself. Was it not as wrong to conceal what I had found, as to take the same amount from the owner's pocket?' 11. "But,' I said to myself, 'if I do not know who the loser is, how can I give him back his money? It is only because I am afraid Deacon Webb will take it from me that I conceal it; that is all. I certainly would not steal it; and if the owner should ask me for it, I would give it to him.' 12. "Thus I reasoned with myself all the way to Mr. Baldwin's; but, after all, it would not do. I could not satisfy myself that I had done right; and the more I thought of it, the worse I felt. The gold in my pocket was like a mill-stone around neck." a SUP-PORT', maintain; take care of. b SERV'-ICE, employment. RE-MAIN', continue. d AL-LOW'-ING, permitting. • No'-TICED, observed. EX-CITE-MENT, agitation. DREAD, apprehension; fear. my J RE-LIEV'ED, freed from apprehension. LESSON LXIX. THE GOLD SOVEREIGN-Continued. 1. "Mr. Baldwin was not at home, and I returned" to the deacon's house. I saw Mr. Wardly's horse standing at the gate, and I was terribly frightened. Mr. Wardly was a constable, and I thought he had come to take me to jail; so I hid in the garden until he went away. Then I went into the house. 2. "Deacon Webb looked angry at me. Now, thought I, he is going to accuse me of finding the gold. But he only scolded me for being gone so long. I never before received a reprimanda so willingly. His severe words sounded sweet to me-I had expected something so much more terrible. 3. "I worked all day with the treasure in my pocket; but I stopped so often to see if it was real there, that I wonder Deacon Webb did not suspect something wrong. The possession of the gold troubled me; but the fear of losing it troubled me still more. 4. "I was not happy. I was miserable.' I wished, a hundred times, I had not found the gold. I felt it would be a relief to get rid of it; and once I wrapped it in brown paper, just as I had found it, but I had not the courage to throw it away. I wondered if ill-gotten wealth made every body so miserable. 5. "At night I was sent again to Mr. Baldwin's, when I obtained his promise to work for Deacon Webb on the following day. It was already dark when I started for home, and I was afraid of robbers. I never before felt so cowardly. It seemed to me that any body could rob me with a clear conscience, because the gold was not mine. I reached home with trembling, and went trembling to bed. 6. "The next morning Mr. Baldwin came early, and took breakfast with us. He was an honest, poor man, who supported a large family by hard labor. Every body liked him, he was so industrious and faithful; and, besides making good wages, he often received presents of meal and flour from those who employed' him. 7. "At the breakfast-table something was said about the 'news.' 'I suppose you have heard about my misfortune," said Mr. Baldwin. "Your misfortune'? Why, what has happened to you'?' asked the deacon. 8. "I thought every body had heard of it,' replied Mr. Baldwin. 'The other night, when Mr. Wardly paid me for my work, he gave me a gold piece-a sovereign. k 9. "I started, and felt the blood forsake my cheeks; but as all eyes were fixed upon Mr. Baldwin, my confusion was not observed.1 10. "Mr. Baldwin continued: 'I thought, if I should put the money loose into my pocket, like a penny, I might lose it. So I wrapped it in a piece of paper, and put it into my coat pocket, where I thought it would be safe. I never did a more foolish thing. I must have lost the coin on taking out my handkerchief; and the paper would prevent its making a noise as it fell. 11. "When I reached home I discovered my loss, and went back to look for the money; but somebody must have picked it up.' "Who could be so dishonest as to keep it?' asked the deacon. "I felt as if I should sink through the floor. 12. "I don't know,' said Mr. Baldwin, shaking his head sadly. I hope his conscience won't trouble him more than the money is worth; though I know this-I sadly miss my earnings.' 13. "This was too much for me. The allusionTM to my conscience brought the gold out of my pocket. I resolved" to throw off the weight of guilt which oppressed me, and be honest, in spite of poverty and shame. So I held the gold in my trembling hand, and said, 'Is this yours, Mr. Baldwin? 14. "My voice was so faint that he did not hear me. So I repeated the question in a louder tone. All eyes were at once turned upon me, and the deacon demanded when and where I had found the money. 15. "I burst into tears, and confessed every thing. I had expected the deacon would punish me severely; but he patted my head, and said kindly, ‘Don't cry about it, William. You are an honest lad, though you have had a narrow escape. Always be honest, my boy; and if you do not become rich, you will be happy in having a clear conscience.' 16. "I cried, but it was for joy. I laughed too, I was so happy for having overcome the temptation, and driven the tempter from me. Of what a load was I relieved! I felt, then, that honesty is the best policy. 17. "As for Baldwin, he declared that I should have half the money for finding it; but I wished to keep clear of the troublesome stuff for a time, and I did. I would not accept the gold; and I never regretted it. 18. "I was the deacon's favorite after this. He was very kind to me, and trusted me in every thing. I was careful not to deceive him. I preserved the strictest candor and truthfulness in all things, and that has made me what I am. 19. "When the deacon died, he willed me five hundred dollars, with which I came here and bought new lands, which are now worth a great many sovereigns. But this has nothing to do with my story. That is told; and all I have to add is, I have never regretted clearing my conscience of poor Job Baldwin's sovereign." RE-TURN'ED, went back. MIS-ER-A-BLE, wretched. SUP-PORT -ED, maintained; subsisted. i EM-PLOYED, hired. MIS-FORT-UNE, ill fortune; calamity. m AL-LU ́-SION, reference. [LESSONS LXVIII. and LXIX. This story of TEMPTATION is a practical illustration of the importance of adhering to the principle set forth in LESSON LXVII.—that of “keeping to the right” in all matters of moral conduct. Although the lad who found the money tried hard to persuade himself that it was right to keep the secret to himself, and that the coin |