108 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
[COPYRIGHT SECURED.] 
CAUGHT IN THE AC T .—Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
11 Oh, the little pickpocket ! Does he not know it is 
wrong to steal, especially from his father?" Not too 
fas] there, young friends. Look into the boy's face, open, 
frank, and honest, brimful of fan, with a spice of curios- 
ity sharpening the look from his wide-awake eyes. Does 
he appear like a thief? If he were stealing, would he 
not be standing on tip-toe, reaching forward cautiously, 
keeping his eyes on his father, ready to jump back at the 
least motion, and having a mean, sneaking, guilty look ? 
If his father should suddenly awake, would he sternly 
rebuke him? No, indeed! "Oh! you little rogue,''' he 
would shout, and giving him a playful shake, they would 
have a lively frolic together. The mother's looks show 
this ; she will surprise him with " Now I've got you," 
and a merry laugh will follow. The artist here admira- 
bly tells the story of affection and confidence. The boy 
would not dare take such a liberty if his parents were 
cross, harsh, and tyrannical ; or if he attempted to pick 
his father's pocket, it would be as a thief, and not in play. 
Too Well Acquainted. 
A gentleman holding a prominent office in 'Washing- 
Ion concluded to change his lodgings. He sent one of 
the waiters of the hotel where he had selected apartments 
after his luggage. Meeting the waiter an hour or two 
afterward, he said : " Well, John, did you bring my bag- 
gage down?" "No, Bar," blandly responded the sable 
gentleman. "Why, what's the reason ?" '"Case, sar, 
de gentleman in de office said you had not paid your bill." 
"Not paid my bill— why, that's singular— he knew mc 
very well when he kept the Girard< House in Philadel- 
phia." "Well, mebbc," rejoined John, thoughtfully 
scratching his head, " dat was de reason why he wouldn't 
give me de baggage." The gentleman who was of a 
merry turn took the joke in good part. 
Eating Green Fruit* 
Cholera morbus, doctors, medicine, pain, and danger — 
these things come very naturally after eating green ap- 
ples, pears, plums, etc.; but this is not all. There are 
other fruits, pleasant and healthful when ripe, but more 
dangerous when gathered too soon. There is the fruit of 
the tongue. "Words fitly spoken are like apples of gold 
in pictures of silver," but " Hasty words stir up strife." 
They should hang on the branches of thought until filled 
out with wisdom, be mellowed by kindness and love un- 
til they drop from the lips like luscious fruit, and those 
that speak and those that hear may feast together with 
pleasure and profit. Riches, which arc the fruits oi"labor f 
may make the whole life glad, but they may also he 
grasped after in speculation, in lotteries, at the gaming 
table, and in other ways ; this is snatching at unripe fruit, 
and very few have strong enough moral constitutions to 
withstand the poison they contain. Thousands are mined 
in body and soul every year because they " make haste to 
be rich" and "fall into a snare." Pleasure is the most 
dangerous, because the most tempting, of all the fruits of 
life. It ripens on every branch of experience, in just the 
right quantities to ensure health and happiness. It 
cheers the laborer at his toil, lightens the task of the 
student, gives sprightliness to the boy at his game, and 
patience to the mother in her cares. But it must not be 
greedily gathered from every opportunity. The disfigured 
and miserable victim of intemperance sought it by hasten- 
ing the flow of blood through his veins, and it poisoned 
him; the glutton gathered it before it was ripened by 
appetite, and was made miserable by dyspepsia ; a beau- 
tiful girl was not content with the portion which one 
loving heart could bestow; she lent an eager ear to flat- 
tery, gathered pleasure from every source, and found 
swift ruin. Think of these things as fruit time comes 
on, and be wise enough to profit by the lesson. 
