NE day a large number of guests sat at the dinner-table of the principal hotel in Dresden, the beautiful capital of Saxony. Foreigners and native Germans sat side by side, eating, talking and apparently enjoying themselves highly. Suddenly a young merchant, who had travelled through India, attracted the attention of everybody by holding up a piece of gold money which he had brought with him from that country. The coin was eight-cornered, and had very strange figures on both sides of it. The company present were greatly surprised to see such a beautiful and curious piece of money, and it is no wonder they admired it. 2. The gentleman owning it let it pass round the table, and a good many remarks were made how such a queer piece of money could have been prepared. Finally it reached the hands of a gentleman sitting at the end of the table, who was apparently an officer of high rank, and who had been so intent upon conversation with his neighbour that he was really the only one in the company who had not paid much attention to the curious coin. He looked at it a moment, noticed the figures with some indifference, and then laid it down on the table, saying "Oh, I know that piece of money already; I have seen one before," and continued his conversation. 3. Shortly afterwards the people began to talk about other things, and the piece of money was apparently forgotten. As the dinner-which lasted a good while drew to a close, the young merchant who owned the money looked around upon the guests, and said, "Will the gentleman to whom my piece of money was handed last be kind enough to give it to me again, for I have not yet received it ?" 4. The people were greatly astonished at this remark, and wondered that he had not received the money again. Every one declared that he had passed it on to the one sitting next to him, but nobody seemed able to tell what had become of it. The company were in great surprise at the thought that a thief could possibly be in their number, and yet it did seem that somebody had taken the gold coin. 5. Finally, when the money could not be found, an old gentleman arose and said, in a loud voice, "Gentlemen, since every one of you says he has not got the piece of money, and since all of us in this dining-room are responsible to you for it, I propose to you that each one have his pockets searched by the landlord, and I am willing that mine should be searched first. The landlord and I will take our position at the door, and I propose that nobody leave the hall until the landlord has examined his pockets. In fact, there is nothing else that we can do, if we want to save ourselves against the supposition that some one of us is a thief." 6. It appeared that everybody was agreed to this proposition, and one after another had his pockets searched by the landlord. Finally, the officer who had given but little attention to the piece of money when it was handed to him, said, "Gentlemen, I do not agree to have my pockets searched, though I give you my honour as a soldier that I do not have in my possession the piece of money. Here is my name, and that is all I can submit to." 7. All eyes were now directed to this officer, and immediately every one else seemed to have a suspicion that he was the one who had the money in his pocket. Several said to him that, as they had been searched, it was nothing more than right that he should be also. But he protested against it, and said that he would submit to it under no condition whatever. 8. "Then," said they, "we shall have to consider that you are the thief, unless you agree to have your pockets searched." 9. "I am no thief, gentlemen; and yet I will not consent to have my pockets searched." 10. Just in the midst of the excitement, a rap was heard at the door. The landlord opened it, and seeing the chief waiter of the hotel before him, asked him what he desired. 11. "I wish to tell you, sir," said he, "that in one of the napkins which has just been brought from the table there was found this gold piece, which fell out when the napkin was thrown into the pile of soiled ones. I have come to give it to you that you may return it to the owner." 12. The whole company was greatly surprised, and there was a universal feeling of satisfaction; and those people who had accused the officer of being a thief felt very much ashamed of themselves, and would have been glad to find any place in which to hide. 13. The officer now seeing that they could no more call him thief, stood up before the company and said, "Gentlemen, I think you will now allow me the privilege of saying a word. The reason why I did not allow my pockets to be searched was, that I had in my purse a piece of gold just like the piece which the waiter has returned to the owner. If it had been found in my pocket, and the other piece had never been found, I should have been called, and with some show of reason perhaps, a thief. There are strange things in this world, and we can never be too sure we are right. my piece of money!" See, here is 14. And with that, the officer took out a piece of gold which was in every respect like that owned by An'-no Dom'-in-i, in the year of Tri-en'-ni-al, happening every An'-nu-al, yearly. SHE had been told that God made all the stars As if it were a new and perfect world, She stood alone By the low window, with the silken lash |