254 



THE GENESEE FARMEE. 



lottitfl f tojik's 



THE THIEF AND THE BEGGAE. 



We have here another of Hochstein's spirited sketches. 

 A mouse has stolen some of the farmer's grain, and is met 

 by another mouse, who, with hat in hand, humbly solicits 

 a portion. 



What the artist intended to represent by the picture, 

 we do not exactly know. Perhaps some of our young 

 readers can discover. He may have intended to show, 

 that no matter how fraudulently property is obtained, 



that " the liberal soul shall be made fat," it is neverthe- 

 less true that it is far better to be " close," if with it we 

 are upright and honorable in our dealings, than to be 

 ever so generous it with it there is a lack of honesty. 



Perhaps, after all, he did not mean this. You see the 

 mouse with the grain has on a working jacket and a cap, 

 while the other has on a long-tailed dress-coat and a bat. 

 He is, we may suppose, one of those lazy sort of fellows 

 who think " the world owes them a living." Perhaps he 

 was "born with a silver spoon in his mouth." His 

 father and mother, by care and prudence, had laid by 

 something for a rainy day. Master Mouse thought it be- 

 eath him to work. He set up for a gentleman ; was 



~~\yiii;V*«v»i ^ 



there will always be found some who are willing to pay | 

 court to the possessor. 



Perhaps he meant to show that the receiver of stolen 

 property is as bad as the thief. 



An English gentleman once won a large sum of money 

 by betting on a race. As he was going home in his car- 

 riage, he commenced to coimt over his big roll of bills, 

 but falling asleep, the wind blew them all away. He 

 awoke .just in time to see the last bill go through the 

 window of the carriage, and exclaimed, "Light come 

 light go." Perhaps some such idea is here represented. 

 He who comes easily by his money, can afford to be gen- 

 erous. 



You have all heard the story of the two broom pedlars- 

 They were selling in the same town, and one tried to un- 

 dersell the other. "How is this !" exclaimed one, " that 

 you can undersell me ; I stole the material of which my 

 brooms are made." "Oh!" said the other, "I stole my 

 brooms ready made /" 



We sometimes hear it said that such and such a man is 

 " close ;" while of another it is said, " he does not know 

 the worth of money." Now, while we all like a generous 

 man, aud while we have the highest authority for saying 



rather fast. When his father and mother died, he wastei 

 his substance in riotous living, and now we see him, wit] 

 a forlorn look and a shattered constitution, compelled t 

 ask alms of the hard-working, active little mouse that h 

 was ashamed to speak to in the days of his prosperity. 



The Boy and the Brick. — A boy hearing his fathe 

 say '"Twas a poor rule that would not work both ways, 

 set up a row of bricks three or four inches apart, tippe 

 over the first, which, striking the second, caused it to fal 

 on the third, and so on through the whole course, until a] 

 the bricks laid prostrate. 



"Well," said the boy, "each brick has knocked dow 

 his neighbor who stood next to him ; I only tipped on< 

 Now I will raise one, and see if he will raise his neighboi 

 I will see if raising one will raise the rest." He looke 

 in vain to see them rise. 



" Here, father," said the boy, " is a poor rule ; 'twill nc 

 work both ways. They knock each other down, but wi 

 not raise each other up:" 



"My son," said the father, "bricks and mankind ar 

 alike, made of clay, active in knocking each other dowr. 

 but not disposed to help each other up. ■ 



