Mischief its own Pun isliment M E }V1 i XEMVLIF1ED IN THE HISTORY OF WILLIAM AND HARRY. PROVIDENCE : H. H. BROWN, PRINTER. «••••« alt 1831. ' i Mischief its own Fun. ishnient; EXEMPLIFIED IN THE HI1TORV OF WILLIAM AND HARRY. H. H. BROWN, PRINTER. 1831 7 Cincinnatus was greater though at the plow, than Caesar on his throne. MISCHIEF ITS OWN PUNISHMENT I I Mr, Williams and his little son Robert, as they were one fine day walking in the fields together ? passed by the side of a garden, in which they saw a beautiful pear tree loaded with fruit. Robert cast a longing eye at it, and com- plained to his papa that he was very dry. On Mr. Williams' say- ing, that he was dry also, but they must bear it with patience till they got home, Robert pointed to the pear tree, and begged his papa would let him go and get one; 4 for, as the hedge was not very thick, he said he could easily get through without being seen by any one. Robert's father reminded him, that the garden and fruit were private property, and to take any thing from thence without permis- sion, was nothing less than being guilty of a robbery. He allowed, that there might be a possibility of getting into the garden without being seen by the owner of it; but .such a wicked action could not be concealed from Him, who sees every action of our lives, and who •penetrates even into the very se- crets of our hearts , and that is Crod. His son shook his head, and said, he was sensible of his error, and would no more think of com- milting what might he called a robbery. He recollected, that parson Johnson had told him the same thing before, but he had then forgotten it. At this instant a man started up from behind the hedge, which had before concealed him from their sight. This was an old man, the owner of the garden, who had heard every thing that had passed between Mr. Williams and his son. " Be thankful to God, my child, (said the old man,) that your fath- er prevented your getting into my garden, with a view to deprive me of that which does not belong to you. You little thought, that at the foot of each tree is placed a trap to catch thieves, which you could not have escaped, and which might have lamed you for the rest 6 of your life. I am, however, hap- py to find, that you so readily lis- tened to the first admonition of your father, and shewed such a fear of offending God. As you have behaved in so just and sensi- ble a manner, you shall now, with- out any danger or trouble, partake of the fruits of my garden. 55 He then went to the finest pear tree, gave it a shake, and brought down near a hatful of fruit, which he immediately gave to Robert. This civil old man could not be prevailed on to accept of anything in return, though Mr. Williams pulled out his purse for that pur- pose. u I am sufficiently satisfied, Sir, (said he,) in thus obliging your son, and were 1 to accept of anything, that satisfaction would be lost. 55 Mr. Williams thanked him very kindly, and having shaken hands over the hedge, they parted, Rob- ert at the same time taking leave of the old man in a very polite manner. Little Robert, having finished several of the pears, began to find himself at leisure to talk to his papa. u This is a very good old man, (said he,) but would God have punished me, had I taken these pears without his leave?" " He certainly would," replied Mr. Williams, Ci for he never fails to reward good actions, and chas- tise those who commit evil. The good old man fully explained to you this matter, in telling you of the traps laid for thieves, into which you must have inevitably fallen-, had you entered his garden in a clandestine manner. Got orders everything that passes upon earth, and directs events so as to reward good people for virtuous actions, and to punish the wicked for their crimes. In order to make this more clear to you, I will re- late to you an affair which hap- pened when I wasi a boy, and which I shall never forget. Rob- ert seemed very attentive to his father, and having said he should be very glad to hear his story > Mr. Williams thus proceeded. €C When I lived with my father, and was much about your age, we had two neighbors, between whose houses ours was situated, and their names were Davis and Johnson. Mr. Davis had a son named Wil- liam, and Mr, Johnson one also of the name of Harry, Our gardens 3 were at that time separated only by quickset hedges, so that it was easy to see into each other's grounds. " It was too often the practice with William, when he found him- self alone in his father's garden, to take pleasure in throwing stones over the hedges, without paying the least regard to the mischief they might do'. Mr. Davis had frequently caught him at this dan- gerous sport, and never failed se- verely to reprimand him for it, ** threatening him *with severe pun- ishment if he did not desist. c< This child, unhappily, either knew not, or would not take the trouble to reflect, that we are not , to do amiss, even when we are alone, for reasons I have already mentioned to you. His father w being one day gone out, and there- fore thinking that nobody could see him or bring him to punish- ment, he filled his pockets with stones, and then began to fling them about at random. " Mr. Johnson happened to be in his garden at the same time, and his son Harry with him. This boy was of much the same dispo- sition as William, thinking there was no crime in committing any mischief, provided he were not discovered. His father had a gun charged, which he brought into the garden, in order to shoot the sparrows that made sad havoc among his cherries and was sitting in the summer-house to watch them. "At this instant, a servant 1 came to acquaint him that a strange i 11 gentleman desired to speak with him, and was waiting in the par- lour. He therefore put down the gun in the summer-house, and strictly ordered Harry by no means to touch it; but he was no sooner gone, than his naughty son said to himself, that he could see no harm in playing a little with the gun, and therefore took it up, put it on his shoulder, and endeav- ored to act the part of a soldier. u The muzzle of the gun hap- pened to be pointed towards Mr. Davis's garden, and just as he was in the midst of his military exer- cises, a stone thrown by William hit him directly in one- of his eyes. The fright and pain together made Harry drop the gun, which went off, and in a moment both gardens resounded with the most dismal 12 shrieks and lamentations. Harry had received a blow on the eye with a stone, and the whole charge had entered William's leg. The sad consequences of which were, the one lost his eye, and the other a leg." Robert could not help pitying poor William and Harry for their terrible misfortune; and Mr. Wil- liams was not angry with his son for his tenderness. " It is true," said he, u they were much to be pitied, and their parents still more, for having such vicious and diso- bedient children. Yet it is pro- bable, if God had not early pun- ished these boys, they would have continued their mischievous prac- tices as often as they found them- selves alone; but by this misfor- tune they learned to know, that 13 God publicly punishes all wicked- ness done in secret. This had the desired effect, as both ever after left off all kinds of mischief, and became prudent and sedate. Cer- tain it is, that an all-wise Creator never chastises us but with a view to add to our happiness. 55 Robert was very much struck with this story, and said he hoped he should never lose either a leg or an eye by such imprudent con- duct. This interesting conversa- tion was interrupted by their arri- val at their own house, when Rob- ert hastened to find his brothers and sisters, to tell them the ad- ventures of his walk, and the his- tory of William and Harry. Love and respect good men. Pity and pray for wicked men. 15 HYMN. Though I am young, yet I may die Before another dav is