secure commendation that is entirely undeserved. Such persons should receive no more countenance from the good society of the school than any other thief. The public, as well as private, sentiment of the pupils should condemn all such dishonesty.

Quotations. It is often convenient and appropriate to use the sentiments of an author by way of quotation. If the name of the writer is known, it is courteous to mention it; if not known, the least acknowledgment that can be made is to indicate the sentiment selected by quotation marks, thus: "Honesty is the best policy."

Property lost and found.-When property is found without an apparent owner, the finder has no right of ownership, though he have it in possession. The loser does not cease to have the right to the property because he does not know where it is. If a man shall discover a horse astray, he may take him up as lost, and take care of him for the owner. It is the finder's duty to employ all the usual and reasonable means to find the master, and restore the animal, charging a fair price for the time, labor, and expense incurred in keeping and returning him. The finder has no right to demand an additional reward for his honesty. If the owner choose to give an extra sum as a compensation, aside from the necessary costs of keeping and advertising, he may do so; but he wrongs no one if he omits the gratuity.

So, if a person find a sum of money, and the finding costs him neither trouble, care, nor expense, he has no right to demand that the owner shall pay any thing for its return. It is the duty of the finder to restore lost property, and he has no claim to remuneration for the simple performance

In what esteem should such a person be held? How are quotations made? What right has the finder in lost property? What shall be done when we find lost property? What shall be demanded for the return of lost property? Has the finder a right to demand any thing extra for his honesty? Is the owner under any obligation to pay more than the necessary expenses? Would the owner do wrong to offer a gratuity? Would the finder do wrong to receive a gratuity above his expenses?

of his obligation. There would be no impropriety in the owner's offering the finder a gift in token of his thankfulness, but he is not under any moral obligation to do so. When every proper means is taken to discover the owner of lost property without success, it belongs to the finder, since no one can show a better right to its possession.

Destruction of property.-Because property is appar ently neglected by the owner, it does not follow that it is right for anybody to destroy it. We have no right to injure our neighbor, either by stealing or abusing his property. The disposition wantonly to destroy indicates a depraved and vicious character which entirely disregards all the obligations of both public and private duty. Such vandalism is often seen among certain classes of youth in the breaking of windows in unoccupied houses, in cutting and breaking shade trees, in taking off gates and defacing fences, in daubing painted and whitewashed walls, and in tearing down handbills. This conduct is sometimes called fun, but it must be a depraved mind that can derive enjoyment from such wantonness. No excuse can be offered for behavior which sets at defiance all the obligations of good citizenship, and he who acts thus should be considered a public enemy, for there is no more reason why a boy should break a window for fun than that he should set a house on fire.

The whittler.-There is a great propensity in some to cut and deface even painted and polished surfaces, such as those of chairs, tables, door and window frames, and the habit is so inveterate that nothing seems secure from their destructive hands. A story which illustrates this disposition to destroy is told of a whittling fellow, and the method taken to rebuke and punish him. He entered a store with

When the owner can not be found, whose shall the property be? Why? Have persons a right to destroy property not in use? How is this spirit shown? Is it fun to destroy property? Have we any right to destroy property for fun? Do you know of any property destroyed willfully? Give the anecdote of the whittler. Is the habit of cutting and defacing common?

his wife to make some purchases, and, while she was busy examining the goods, he amused himself by cutting a chip with his penknife from the edge of the nicely polished walnut counter. A clerk, observing the outrage, quietly walked around where he was sitting, and, before the whittler was aware of his intention, cut off one of his coat-tails with his scissors. The astonishment of the gentleman (?) with the knife was very great when he discovered his loss, and he demanded the reason for such conduct. The clerk pointed to the defaced counter as an explanation. The counter was much more valuable than the coat, but the whittler failed to see that there was any joke in the retaliation. We leave it as a question whether the cutting of the counter or the coat was the greater outrage.

A public shame.-It is a shame that no public building in our country is safe from injury and abuse without the intervention of the police or some similar officer. Courthouses, public halls, hotels, and even churches and cemeteries, are thus despoiled. Buildings admirably adapted for the amusement, instruction, comfort, and convenience of the public, beautifully constructed ornaments to city or town, are defaced and deformed by the hands of citizens. The finest monuments in wood, metal, and stone are often mutilated without any feelings of shame or compunctions of conscience. For the credit of our people this practice should be changed, and public property rendered as secure and safe from abuse as any other. These practices have their origin in the schools, and it is there that the reformation must commence. When our school-houses are kept, year after year, as models of neatness and good taste, then may we expect that the public taste will be reformed.

Who was most to blame-the man who injured the counter, or the clerk? Why is it that such a spirit of vandalism prevails? Why is it a public shame? How shall such outrages on good taste be prevented? Can the young be educated to respect the rights of others? Why should there be a change in these habits? Where do these things have their origin? Is your school-house neat, clean, and tasteful? Is it free from marks, stains, and abuse? If not, can it be reformed and purified?

CHAPTER XVIII.

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's."

COVETOUSNESS.

An intense desire to perform any particular action, or possess any special object, is the incentive to extraordinary efforts for its accomplishment. This craving may be right or wrong, according as the objects sought are good or bad. If the mind be filled with anxiety to acquire knowledge, no effort will be spared, and no study remitted, to secure the object; if, however, the desire be toward the performance of some unworthy action, the operation of the mind is not changed the wish prompts the effort.

But unlawful cravings are more likely to affect the mind, and engage the fancy, than those that are right; and thus we are enticed into unlawful actions. Therefore, the moral law declares, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house,

nor any thing that is thy neighbor's." In this sense covetousness is a wrong, for it leads to the transgression of the rights of our neighbor. Theft, robbery, and even murder are not unfrequently the effects that date their origin from covetousness. We may wish for wealth, be

What is the subject of Chapter XVIII? Repeat the text. What is the cause of covetousness? Whether are we more likely to have good or evil desires? When such desires arise, what efforts do we make to accomplish them? Why may we not covet our neighbor's house? Is it lawful to buy my neighbor's ox? What is the difference between desiring to buy the ox, and coveting it? What are the fruits of covetousness? Explain how theft is produced by covetousness.

cause it may enable us to do good; we may desire friends to minister to our comfort; we may crave position, as it adds to our influence; and in hoping to gain these things we need not necessarily do wrong, unless the desire is so extreme as to endanger our sense of right and duty by leading us to use improper means to secure our ends. The inordinate ambition of many a man has caused his ruin. The intense desire manifested by some young people to attract attention, their undue love for dress and ornament, is a violation of this law which has often resulted in shame and sorrow and crime.

Covetousness a virtue.—There is a sense in which covetousness is spoken of in the moral law as a virtue, since there are mental and moral attainments which are worthy of our most ardent aspirations. We are not likely to overestimate their value, or to make undue efforts to obtain them. We may very properly covet "Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance," as the adornments peculiar to the lady and gentleman. These are the "fruits" of the highest and noblest education, and in endeavoring to secure them we only obey the moral law, which enjoins us to “covet earnestly the best gifts.”

Gambling.—One of the worst manifestations of covetousness is seen in the effort to secure wealth suddenly and without the intervention of labor. There are various means resorted to, to escape the necessity of working for a living; of these, one of the principal is gambling, which may be defined as the playing of some game for money or other valuables. A gambler may be described as one who is unwilling to engage in honest employment, is fond of social excitement, and secures his living without any visible means

Does the desire for good things always cause us to do wrong? How does an intense desire for dress and show cause some to sin? Is covetousness ever a virtue? What may properly be coveted? Is it likely we shall do wrong in intensely desiring these virtues? Why may gambling be included under covetousness? Why do persons gamble? Define gambling.