The public square at the west end of the town would draw
improvements in that direction, all the while increasing the wealth
of Mr. Jones, while lots at the north end would remain at present
prices, or, it might be, take a downward range.
And so it proved. In ten years, Jones was the richest man in the
town, while half of Smith's property had been sold for taxes. The
five acre lot passed from his hands, under the hammer, in the
foreclosure of a mortgage, for one thousand dollars!
Thus it is that inordinate selfishness and cupidity overreach
themselves; while the liberal man deviseth liberal things, and is
sustained thereby.
THE SUNBEAM AND THE RAINDROP.
A SUNBEAM and a raindrop met together in the sky
One afternoon in sunny June, when earth was parched and dry;
Each quarrelled for the precedence ('twas so the story ran),
And the golden sunbeam, warmly, the quarrel thus began:--
"What were the earth without me? I come with beauty bright,
She smiles to hail my presence, and rejoices in my light;
I deck the hill and valley with many a lovely hue,
I give the rose its blushes, and the violet its blue.
"I steal within the window, and through the cottage door,
And my presence like a blessing gilds with smiles the broad earth o'er;
The brooks and streams flow dancing and sparkling in my ray,
And the merry, happy children in the golden sunshine play.
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