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 EMBELLISHED WITH 
 
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 PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS. 
 
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 W II I T K M D> IS E 
 
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 [HE 
 
 STORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 WHITE MOUSE. 
 
 EMBELLISHED WITH 
 
 Three Elegant Copperplates, 
 A NEW AND CORRECT EDITION. 
 
 EDINBURGH : 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS. 
 
 1816. 
 
THE 
 
 STORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 WHITE MOUSE 
 
 u* 
 
 .In the kingdom of Bonbobbin, which, by 
 the Chinese annals, appears to have flourished 
 twenty thousand years ago, there reigned a 
 prince, endowed with every accomplishment 
 which generally distinguishes the sons of 
 kings. His beauty was brighter than the 
 sail. The sun, to which he was nearly re- 
 lated, would sometimes stop his course, in 
 order to look down and admire him. 
 
 His mind was not less perfect than his 
 body; lie knew all things without having 
 ever read ; philosophers, poets, and historians, 
 submitted their works to his decision ; and 
 
2 TJie White Mouse. 
 
 so penetrating was he, that he could tell the 
 merit of a book by looking on the cover. 
 He made epic poems, tragedies, and pasto- 
 rals, ' with surprising facility ; song, epigram, 
 or rebus, was all one to him; though, it is 
 observed, he could never finish an acrostick. 
 In short, the fairy who presided at his birth 
 had endowed him with almost every perfec- 
 tion; or, what was just the same, his sub- 
 jects were ready to acknowledge he possessed 
 them all ; and, for his own part, he knew 
 nothing to the contrary. A prince so accom- 
 pli shed, received a name suitable to his me- 
 rit ; and he was called Bonbenin-bonbobbin- 
 bo?ibobbinet > which signifies Enlightener of the 
 Sun. 
 
 As he was very powerful, and yet unmar- 
 ried, all the neighbouring kings earnestly 
 sought his alliance. Each sent his daughter, 
 dressed out in the most magnificent manner, 
 and with the most sumptuous retinue imagi- 
 nable, in order to allure the prince; so that, 
 at one time, there were seen at his court, not 
 less than seven hundred foreign princesses, 
 
The White Mouse. 3 
 
 of exquisite sentiment and beauty, each alone 
 sufficient to make seven hundred ordinary 
 
 men happy. 
 
 Distracted in such a variety, the generous 
 Bonbenin, had he not been obliged by the 
 laws of the empire to make choice of one, 
 would very willingly have married them all, 
 for none understood gallantry better. He 
 spent numberless hours of solicitude, in en- 
 deavouring to determine whom he should 
 choose. One lady was possessed of every per- 
 fection, but he disliked her eye-brows ; ano- 
 ther was brighter than the morning-star, but 
 he disapproved her fong whang ; a third did 
 not lay enough of white on her cheek ; and 
 a fourth did not sufficiently blacken her nails. 
 At last, after numberless disappointments on 
 the one side and the other, he made choice 
 of the incomparable Nanhoa, queen of the 
 Scarlet Dragons. 
 
 The preparations for the royal nuptials, or 
 the envy of the disappointed ladies, needs no 
 description ; both the one and the other were 
 as great as they could be. The beautiful 
 
"■* 
 
 4 The White Mouse. 
 
 princess was conducted, amidst admiring mul- 
 titudes, to the royal couch, where, after be- 
 ing divested of every encumbering ornament, 
 he came more chearful than the morning; 
 and printing on her lips a burning kiss, the 
 attendants took this as a proper signal to with- 
 draw. 
 
 Perhaps I ought to have mentioned in the 
 beginning, that, among several other quali- 
 fications, the prince was fond of collecting 
 and breeding mice, which being an harmless 
 pastime, none of his counsellors thought pro- 
 per to dissuade him from ; he therefore kept 
 a great variety of these pretty little animals 
 in the most beautiful cages, enriched with 
 diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, and other 
 precious stones. Thus he innocently spent 
 tour hours each day in contemplating their 
 mnocent little pastimes. 
 But, to proceed, the prince and princess 
 ■w retired to repose; and though night and 
 secrecy had drawn the curtain, yet delicacy 
 retarded those enjoyments which passion pre* 
 rented to their view, The prince happening 
 
The White Mouse, 5 
 
 to look towards the outside of the bed, per- 
 ceived one of the most beautiful animals in 
 the world, a white mouse with green eyes, 
 playing about the floor, and performing an 
 hundred pretty tricks. He was already mas- 
 ter of blue mice, red mice, and even white 
 mice with yellow eyes,- but a white mouse 
 with green eyes, was what he long endea- 
 voured to possess : whereupon, leaping from 
 bed, with the utmost impatience and agility, 
 the youthful prince attempted to seize the 
 little charmer; but it was fled in a moment; 
 for, alas ! the mous-e was sent by a discon- 
 tented princess, and was itself a fairy. 
 
 It is impossible to describe the agony of 
 the prince upon this occasion. He sought 
 round and round every part of the room, even 
 the bed where the princess lay was not exempt 
 from the inquiry; he turned the princess on 
 one side and the other, stripped her quite 
 naked, but no mouse was to be found ; the 
 princess herself was kind enough to assist, 
 but still to no purpose. 
 
 " Alas !" cried the young prince in an 
 
 2 
 
b The White Mouse. 
 
 agony, Cf how unhappy am I to be thus dis« 
 appointed ! never sure was so beautiful an 
 animal seen; I would give half my kingdom 
 and my princess to him that would find it." 
 The princess, though not much pleased with 
 the latter part of his offer, endeavoured to 
 comfort him as well as she could; she let 
 him know he had an hundred mice already, 
 which ought to be at least sufficient to satisfy 
 any philosopher like him. Though none of 
 them had green eyes, yet he should learn to 
 thank Heaven that they had eyes. She told 
 him (for she was a profound moralist,) that in- 
 curable evils must be borne, and that useless 
 lamentations were vain, and that man was 
 born to misfortunes; she even intreated him 
 to return to bed, and she would endeavour to 
 lull him on her bosom to repose ; hut still the 
 prince continued inconsolable; and, regard- 
 ing her with a stern air, for which his family 
 was remarkable, he vowed never to sleep in 
 a royal palace, or indulge himself in the in- 
 nocent pleasures of matrimony, till he had 
 found the white mouse with green eyes. 
 
The White Mouse, 7 
 
 When morning came, he published an 
 edict, offering half his kingdom, and his 
 princess, to that person who should catch and 
 bring him the white mouse with green eyes. 
 
 The edict was scarce published, when all 
 the traps in the kingdom were baited with 
 cheese; numberless mice were taken and de- 
 stroyed, but still the much-wished-for mouse 
 was not among the number. The privy 
 council were assembled more than once to 
 give their advice ; but all their deliberations 
 came to nothing, even though there were two 
 complete vermin-killers, and three professed 
 rat-catchers, of the number. Frequent ad* 
 dresses, as is usual on extraordinary occasions, 
 were sent from all parts of the empire ; but, 
 though these promised well, though in them 
 he received an assurance that his faithful 
 subjects would assist in his search with their 
 lives and fortunes, yet, with all their loyalty, 
 they failed, when the time came that the 
 mouse was to be caught. 
 
 The prince, therefore, was resolved to go 
 himself in search, determined never to lie 
 
 md 
 
S The White Mouse. 
 
 two nights in one place, till he had found 
 what he sought for. Thus, quitting his pa- 
 lace without attendants, he set out upon his 
 journey, and travelled through many a desert, 
 and crossed many a river, high over hills, and 
 down along vales, still restless, still inquiring 
 wherever he came, but no white mouse was 
 to be found 
 
 As one day, fatigued with his journey, he 
 was shading himself from the heat of the 
 mid-day sun, under the arching branches of a 
 Banana tree, meditating on the object of his 
 pursuit, he perceived an old woman hideously 
 deformed approaching- him ; by her stoop, 
 and the wrinkles of her visage, she seemed at 
 least five hundred years old ; and the spotted 
 toad was not more freckled than was her skin, 
 " Ah ! Prince Bonbenin-bonbobbin-bonbob- 
 binet," cried the creature, " what has led 
 you so many thousand miles from your own 
 kingdom ? What is it you look for, and what 
 induces vou to travel into the kingdom of the 
 Emmets ?" The prince, who was excessively 
 
 ^plaisantj told her the whole story three 
 
Par* U 
 
 W M 1 T K ,M (M f N B 
 
The White Mouse. 9 
 
 times over, for she was hard of hearing* 
 " Well," says the old fairy, for such she was, 
 " I promise to put you in possession of : 
 white mouse with green eyes, and that imme- 
 diately too, upon one condition." " 
 condition," replied the prince in a rapture, 
 u name a thousand; I shall undergo them ait 
 with pleasure/' " Nay," interrupted thr 
 old fairy, " I ask but one, and that not very 
 mortifying neither; it is only that you in- 
 stantly consent to marry me." 
 
 It is impossible to express the prince's c 
 fusion at this demand; he loved the mouse, 
 but he detested the bride; he hesitated; he 
 desired time to think upon the proposal. He 
 would have been glad to consult his frier 
 on sueh an occasion. " Nay, nay," en 
 the odious fairy, "if you demur, I retract my 
 promise; I do not desire to force my favours 
 on any man. Here, you my attendants, 
 (cried she, stamping with her foot,) let u 
 machine be. driven up; Barbacela, queen 
 Emmets, is not used to contemptuous treat- 
 ment," She had no sooner spoken than 1 
 
 3 
 
1 1 % e J ] h ite Mi j u ££ t 
 
 fiery chariot appeared in the air, drawn by 
 two snails; and she was just going to step in, 
 when the prince reflected that now or. never 
 was the time to be in possession of the white 
 mouse ; and, quite forgetting his lawful prin- 
 cess Nanhoa, falling on his knees, he implor- 
 ed forgiveness for having rashly rejected so» 
 much beauty. This well-timed compliment 
 instantly appeased the angry fairy. She af- 
 fected an hideous leer of approbation, and 
 taking the young prince by the hand, con- 
 ducted him to a neighbouring church, where 
 they were married together in a moment. 
 As soon as the ceremony was performed, the 
 prince, who was to the last degree desirous of 
 seeing his favourite mouse, reminded the 
 bride of her promise, " To confess a truth, 
 my prince," cried she, cc I myself am that 
 very white mouse you saw on your wedding 
 night in the royal apartment. I now there- 
 fore give you your choice, whether you would 
 have me a mouse by day, and a woman by 
 night, or a mouse by night, and a woman by 
 day." Though the prince was an excellent 
 
The White Mouse. 1 1 
 
 casuist, he was quite at a loss how to deter- 
 mine ; but at last thought it most prudent to 
 have recourse to a blue cat, that had follow- 
 ed him from his own dominions, and fre- 
 quently amused him with its conversation, and 
 assisted him with its advice; in fact this cat 
 was no other than the faithful Princess Nan- 
 hoa herself, who had shared with him all his 
 hardships in this disguise. 
 
 By her instructions he was determined in 
 his choice; and returning to the old fairy, 
 prudently observed, that, as she must have 
 been sensible he had married her only for the 
 sake of what she had, and not for her per- 
 sonal qualifications, he thought it would, for 
 several reasons, be most convenient if she 
 continued a woman by day, a«d appeared a 
 mouse by night. 
 
 The old fairy was a good deal mortified at 
 l>er husband's want of gallantry, though she 
 was reluctantly obliged to comply; the day 
 was therefore spent in the most polite amuse- 
 ment, the gentlemen talked, the ladies 
 laughed, and were angry. At last the hap- 
 
12 The White Mouse. 
 
 py night drew near ; the blue cat still stuck 
 by the side of its master, and even followed 
 him to the bridal apartment, Barbacela 
 entered the chamber, wearing a train fifteen 
 yards long, supported by porcupines, and all 
 over beset with jewels, which served to ren- 
 der her more detestable. She was just step- 
 ping into bed to the prince, forgetting her 
 promise, when he insisted on seeing her in the 
 shape of a mouse, She had promised, and 
 no fairy can break her word; wherefore, as- 
 euming the figure of the most beautiful mouse 
 in the world, she skipped and played about 
 with an infinity of amusement. The prince, 
 in an agony of rapture, was desirous of seeing 
 his pretty play-fellow move a slow dance a- 
 bout the floor to bis own singing ; he began 
 to sing, and the mouse immediately to per- 
 form with the most perfect knowledge of 
 time, and the finest grace, and greatest gra- 
 vity imaginable; it only began, for Nanhoa* 
 who had long waited for the opportunity, in 
 the shape of a cat, fiew upon it instantly 
 •vitbout remorse, and eating it up in the hun- 
 
 * 
 
The While Mouse* 13 
 
 dredth part of a moment, broke the charm, 
 and then resumed her natural figure. 
 
 The prince now found that he had all a* 
 long been under the power of enchantment ; 
 that his passion for the white mouse was en* 
 tirely fictitious, and not the genuine com- 
 plexion of his soul ; he now saw, that his 
 Earnestness after mice was an illiberal amuse- 
 ment, and much more becoming a rat-catcher 
 than a prince. All his meannesses now stared 
 him in the face; he begged the princess^ 
 pardon an hundred times. The princess very 
 readily forgave him ; and both returning to 
 their palace at Bonbobbin, lived very happily 
 together, and reigned many years, with all 
 that wisdom, which, by the story, they appeat 
 to have been possessed of; perfectly convino 
 jed by their former adventures, that they who 
 place their affections on trifles at first for a* 
 musement, will find these trifles at last b( 
 <\>me their most serious concern. 
 
 i 
 
T-KE 
 
 STORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ENVIOUS MAN, 
 
 AND 
 
 HIM THAT HE ENVIED. 
 
 In a considerable town, two persons dwelt 
 next door to one another ; one of them con- 
 ceived such a violent hatred against the 
 other, that he who was hated resolved to re- 
 move his dwelling farther off, being persuad- 
 ed that their being neighbours was the only 
 cause from whence his animosity did arise; 
 for though he had done him several pieces of 
 service, he found, nevertheless, that his ha- 
 tred was nothing diminished j therefore he 
 sold his house, with what goods he had left, 
 and retired to the capital city of that king- 
 
L ge 
 
 W l\ I T K BffOlTS E 
 
The Envious Ma?i, $c. Ifr 
 
 dom, which was not far distant. He bought 
 a little spot of ground which lay about half a 
 league from the city ; he had a house conve- 
 nient enough, with a fine garden, and a pret- 
 ty spacious court, wherein was a deep well, 
 which was not in use. 
 
 The honest man, having made this pur. 
 chase, put on a dervise's or monk's habit, to 
 lead a retired life, and caused several cells to 
 be made in the house, where, in a short time, 
 he established a numerous society of dervises; 
 he came soon to be publicly known by his 
 virtue, through which he acquired the esteem 
 of a great many people, as well of the com- 
 monalty, as of the chief of the city. In 
 short, he was extremely honoured and che- 
 rished by every one. People came from afar 
 to recommend themselves to his prayers ; and 
 all those who came ta live w T ith him publish- 
 ed what blessings they received through his 
 means. 
 
 The great reputation of this honest man 
 having spread to the town from whence he 
 came, it touched the envious man so much to 
 
16 Tfie Envious Man, and 
 
 the quick, that he left his house and affairs, 
 with a resolution to go and ruin him. With 
 this intent he went to the new convent of der-< 
 vises, of which his former neighbour was the 
 head, who received him with all imaginable 
 tokens of friendship. The envious man told 
 him that he was come on purpose to commu- 
 nicate a business of importance to him, which 
 he could not do but in private ; and in or- 
 der that nobody may hear us, let us, says he, 
 take a walk in your court, and seeing night 
 begins to draw on, command your dervises to 
 retire to their cells. The head of the der- 
 vises did as he required. 
 
 When the envious man saw that ke w r as a- 
 lone with this good man, he began to tell him 
 his errand, walking side by side in the court, 
 until he saw his opportunity ; and getting the 
 good man near the brink of the well, he gave 
 him a thrust, and pushed him into it, without 
 any body being witness to so wicked an ac- 
 tion. Having done this, he marched off im- 
 mediately, got out at the gate of the convent, 
 without being known to any one, and came 
 
Him that he Envied. 17 
 
 home to his own house, well satisfied with his 
 journey; being fully persuaded that the ob* 
 ject of his hatred was no more in this world; 
 but he found himself highly mistaken. 
 
 This old well was inhabited by fairies and 
 genies, which happened very luckily for the re- 
 lief of the head of the convent ; for they re- 
 ceived and supported him, and carried him to 
 the bottom, so that he got no hurt. He per- 
 ceived well enough that there was something 
 extraordinary in his fall, which must other- 
 wise have cost him his life ; whereas he nei- 
 ther saw nor felt any thing. But he soon 
 heard a voice, which said, " Do you know 
 what honest man this is to whom we have 
 done this piece of service ?" Another voice 
 answered, " No." To which the first re- 
 plied, " Then I will tell you. This man, out 
 of charity, the greatest that ever was known, 
 left the town he lived in, and has established 
 himself in this place, in hopes to cure one of 
 his neighbours of the envy he had conceived 
 against him; he has acquired such general 
 esteem, that the envious man, not able to ei 
 
18 The Envious Man, and 
 
 dure it, came hither on purpose to ruin him, 
 which he had performed, had it not been for 
 the assistance which we have given this ho- 
 nest man, whose reputation is so great, that 
 the sultan, who keeps his residence in the 
 neighbouring city, was to pay him a visit to- 
 morrow, and to recommend the princess, his 
 daughter, to his prayers." 
 
 Another voice asked, " What need had 
 the princess of the dervise's prayers?" To 
 which the first answered, " You do not know, 
 it seems, that she is possessed by Genie Mai- 
 moun, the son of Dimdim, who is fallen in 
 love with her. But I know well how this 
 good head of the dervises may cure her ; the 
 tiling is very easy, and I will tell it you. 
 He has a black cat in his convent, with a 
 white spot at the end of her tail, about the 
 bigness of a small piece of English money ; 
 let him only pull seven hairs out of this white 
 spot, burn them, and smoke the princess's 
 head with the fume, she will not only be pre- 
 sently cured, but be so safely delivered from 
 
Him that he Envied. 19 
 
 Maimoun, the son of Dimdim, that he will 
 never dare to come near her a second time. 
 
 The head of the dervises remembered 
 every word of the discourse between the 
 faries and the genies, who were very silent 
 all the night after. The next morning, by 
 break of day, when he could discern one 
 thing from another, the well being broken 
 down in several places, he saw a hole, by 
 which he crept out with ease. 
 
 The other dervises, who had been seeking 
 for him, were rejoiced to 3ee him. He gave 
 them a brief account of the wickedness of 
 that man to whom he had given so kind a re- 
 ception the day before, and retired to his cell. 
 It was not long till the black cat, of which 
 the fairies and the genies had made mention 
 in their discourses the night before, came to 
 fawn upon her master, as she was accustomed 
 to do : he took her up, and pulled seven haira 
 out of the white spot that was upon her tai^ 
 and laid them aside for his use, when occa- 
 sion should serve. 
 
 The sun was not high, when the sultan, 
 
20 The Envious Mav, and 
 
 who would leave no means untried that he 
 thought could restore the princess to her per- 
 fect lical tli, arrived at the gale of the convent. 
 He commanded his guards to halt/ whilst he, 
 with his principal officers, went in. The der- 
 vises received him with profound respect. 
 
 The sultan called their head aside, and 
 said, " Good Seheich, it may be, you know 
 already the cause of my coming hither/ 9 
 c< Yes, sir," replies he, very gravely, " if I 
 do not mistake it, it is the disease of the 
 princess which procures this honour that I 
 have not deserved." " That is the very 
 thing," replied the sultan. " You will give 
 me new life, if your prayers, as I hope they 
 will, can procure my daughter's health." 
 " Sir," said the good man, " if your majes- 
 ty will be pleased to let her come hither, I 
 am in hopes, through God's assistance and fa- 
 vour, she shall return in perfect health." 
 
 Thp prince, transported with joy, sent im- 
 mediately to fetch his daughter, who very 
 soen appeared with a numerous train of ladies 
 and eunuchs, but masked, so that her face was 
 
I'.!-'*- 12. 
 
 WW1 T K M DTD S E 
 
Him that he Envied. 21 
 
 not seen. The chief of the dervises caused 
 a pall to be held over her head, and he had 
 no sooner thrown the seven tufts of hair upon 
 the burning coals, but the genie Maimoun, 
 the son of Dimdim, gave a great cry, with- 
 out any thing being seen, and left the prin- 
 cess at liberty ; upon which she took the veil 
 from off her face, and rose up to see where 
 she was, saying, " Where am I, and who 
 brought me hither ?" At these words the sul- 
 tan, overcome with excess of joy, embraced 
 his daughter, and kissed her eyes ; he also 
 kissed the chief of the dervises' hands, and 
 said to his officers, " Tell me your opinion, 
 what reward does he deserve who has thus 
 cured my daughter ?" They all cried, " He 
 deserves her in marriage." " That is what I 
 had in my thoughts," said the sultan, " and I 
 make him my son-in-law from this moment." 
 Some time after, the prime visier died, and 
 the sultan conferred the place on the dervise. 
 The sultan himself died without heirs-male; 
 pen which the religious orders and the mill* 
 a gathered together* and the honest man 
 
22 The Envious Man, $c. 
 
 was declared and acknowledged sultan by ge- 
 neral consent. 
 
 The honest dervise being mounted on the 
 throne of his father-in-law, as he was one day 
 in the midst of his courtiers upon a march, he 
 espied the envious man among the crowd of 
 people that stood as he passed along, and call- 
 ing one of his visiers that attended him, whis- 
 pered him in the ear thus : " Go, bring me 
 that man you see there, but take care you do 
 not frighten him." The visier obeyed ; and 
 when the envious man was brought into his 
 presence, the sultan said, " Friend, I am ex- 
 tremely glad to see you." Upon which he 
 called an officer, " Go immediately," says he, 
 " and cause to be paid this man out of my 
 treasury one hundred pieces of gold ; let him 
 have also twenty load of the richest merchan- 
 dise in my store-houses, and a sufficient guard 
 to conduct him to his house." After he had 
 given this charge to the officer, he bid the 
 envious man farewell, and proceeded on his 
 march. 
 
THE 
 
 STORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 GOLDEN HEAD. 
 
 It is generally known, that Tom Two- Shoes 
 went to sea when he was a very little boy, and 
 very poor ; and that he returned a very great 
 man, and very rich ; but no one knows how 
 he acquired so much wealth but himself and 
 a few friends. 
 
 After Tom had been at sea some years, he 
 was unfortunately cast away on that part of 
 Africa inhabited by the Hottentots. Here 
 he met with a strange book, which the Hot- 
 tentots did not understand, and which gave 
 him some account of Prester John's country; 
 
24 The Golden Head. 
 
 and being a lad of great curiosity and resolu- 
 tion, he determined to see it ; accordingly he 
 set out on the pursuit, attended by a young 
 lion, which he had tamed, and made so fond 
 of him, that he followed him like a dog, and 
 obeyed all his commands ; and indeed it was 
 happy for him that he had such a companion ; 
 for, as his road lay through large woods and 
 forests, that were full of wild beasts, and 
 without inhabitants, he must have been soon 
 starved or torn in pieces, had he not been 
 both fed and protected by this noble animal. 
 Tom had provided himself with two guns, 
 a sword, and as much powder and ball as he 
 could carry: with these arms, and such a 
 companion, it was mighty easy for him to get 
 food ; for the animals in these wild and ex- 
 tensive forests, having never seen the effects 
 of a gun, readily ran from the lion, who hunt- 
 ed on one side, to Tom, who hunted on the 
 other, so that they were either caught by the 
 lion, or shot by his master; and it was plea- 
 sant enough, after a hunting-match, and the 
 
The Golden Head. 25 
 
 meat was dressed, to see how cheek by jowl 
 they sat down to dinner. 
 
 When they came to the land of Utopia, he 
 discovered the statue of a man erected on an 
 open plain, which had this inscription on the 
 pedestal : « On May-day in the morning, 
 when the sun rises, I shall have a Head of 
 Gold** As it was now the latter end of April, 
 he staid to see this wonderful change ; and, 
 in the mean time, inquiring of a poor shep- 
 herd what was the reason of the statue beins 
 erected there, and with that inscription, he 
 was informed, that it was set up many years 
 ago by an Arabian philosopher, who travelled 
 all the world over in search of a real friend, 
 that he lived with, and was extremely fond 
 of, a great man who inhabited the next moun- 
 tain ; but that on some occasion they quar- 
 relled, and the philosopher, leaving the moun- 
 tain, retired into the plain, where he erected 
 this statue with his own hands, and soon after 
 died. To this he added, that all the people 
 for many leagues round came there every 
 
26 The Golden Head. 
 
 May morning, expecting to see the stone 
 head turned to gold. 
 
 Tom got up very early on the first of May 
 to behold this amazing change, and when he 
 came near the statue, he saw a number of 
 people, who all ran away from him in the 
 utmost consternation, having never before 
 seen a lion follow a man like a lap-dog. Be- 
 ing thus left alone, he fixed his eyes on the 
 sun, then rising with resplendent majesty, 
 and afterwards turned to the statue, but could 
 see no change in the stone.—" Surely," says 
 he to himself, " there is some mystical mean- 
 ing in this ! This inscription must be an aenig- 
 ma, the hidden meaning of which I will en- 
 deavour to find; for a philosopher never would 
 expect a stone to be turned to gold." Ac- 
 cordingly he measured the length of the sha- 
 dow, which the statue gave on the ground by 
 the sun shining on it, and marked that par- 
 ticular part where the head fell ; then getting 
 a chopness, a thing like a spade, and digging, 
 he discovered a copper chest, full of gold, 
 
TJie Golden Head. 27 
 
 with this inscription engraved on the lid of 
 it, " Thy ivit, oh man 1 whoever thou art, 
 hath disclosed the aenigma, and discovered 
 the Golden Head. Take it and use it: but 
 use it with wisdom ; for know, that Gold, pro- 
 perly employed, may dispense blessings, and 
 promote the happiness of mortals; but when 
 hoarded up, or misapplied, is but trash, that 
 makes mankind miserable. Remember the 
 unprofitable servant, who hid his talent in a 
 napkin; and the profligate son who squan- 
 dered away his substance, and fed with the 
 swine. As thou hast got the Golden Head, 
 observe the Golden Mean; be good, and be 
 happy." 
 
 This lesson, coming as it were from the 
 dead, struck him with such an awe and reve- 
 rence for piety and virtue, that before he re- 
 moved the treasure, he kneeled down, and 
 earnestly and fervently prayed that he might 
 make a prudent, just and proper use of it. 
 He then conveyed the chest away ; but how 
 he got it to England is not known. It* may 
 not be improper, however, in this place, to 
 
28 The Golden Head. 
 
 give the reader some account of the philoso- 
 pher who hid this treasure, and took so much 
 pains to find a true and real friend to enjoy 
 it. As Tom had reason to venerate his me- 
 mory, he was very particular in his inquiry, 
 and had this character of him : That he was 
 a man well acquainted with nature and with 
 trade ; that he was pious, friendly, and of a 
 sweet and affable disposition; that he had 
 acquired a fortune by commerce, and hav- 
 ing no relation to leave it to, he travelled 
 through Arabia, Persia, India, Lybia, and 
 Utopia, in search of a real friend. In this 
 pursuit he found several, with whom he had 
 exchanged good offices, and who were polite 
 and obliging; but they often flew off for trifles, 
 or as soon as he pretended to be in distress, 
 and requested their assistance, had left him 
 to struggle with his own difficulties. So true 
 Is that copy in our books, which says, " Ad- 
 versity is the touchstone of friendship." 
 
 At last, however, he met in with the Utopian 
 Philosopher, or the Wise Man of the Mountain, 
 as he is called, and thought in him he had found 
 
The Golden Head. 29 
 
 the friend he wanted; for though he had 
 often pretended to be in distress, and aban- 
 doned to the frowns of fortune, this man al- 
 ways relieved him, and with such chearfulness 
 and sincerity, that concluding he had found 
 out the only man to whom he ought to open 
 both his purse and his heart, he let him so 
 far into his secrets, as to desire his assistance 
 in hiding a large sum of money, which he 
 wanted to conceal, lest the prince of the 
 country, who was absolute, should, by the 
 advice of his wicked minister, put him to 
 death for his gold. The two philosophers met 
 and hid the money, which the stranger, after 
 some days, went to see, but found it gone. 
 Kow was he struck to the heart, when he 
 found that his friend, whom he had often 
 tried, and who had relieved him in his dis- 
 tress, could not withstand this temptation, 
 but broke through the sacred bonds of friend- 
 ship, and turned even a thief for gold which 
 he did not want, as he was already very rich ! 
 ; ' Oh !" said he, " what is the heart of man 
 made of? Why am I condemned to live 
 
SO The Golden Head. 
 
 among people who have no sincerity, and bar- 
 ter the most sacred ties of friendship and hu- 
 manity for the dirt that we tread on ? Had I 
 lost my gold, and found a real friend, I should 
 have been happy with the exchange, but now 
 I am most miserable." After some time he 
 wiped off his tears, and being determined not 
 to be so imposed on, he had recourse to cun- 
 ning and the arts of life. He went to his 
 pretended friend with a chearful countenance, 
 told him he had more gold to hide, and de- 
 sired him to appoint a time when they might 
 go together and open the earth, to put it into 
 the same pot ; the other, in hopes of getting 
 more wealth, appointed the next evening. 
 They went together upon the ground, and 
 found the money they had first placed there, 
 for the artful wretch he so much confided in, 
 had conveyed it again into the pot, in order 
 to obtain more. Our philosopher immediate- 
 ly took the gold, and putting it into his 
 pocket, told the other he had now altered his 
 mind, and should bury it no more, till he 
 
The Golden Head. si 
 
 found a man more worthy of his confidence, 
 See what people lose by being dishonest ! 
 
 Remember this story, and take care whom 
 you trust; but do not be covetous, sordid, 
 and miserable ; for the gold we have, is but 
 lent us to do good with. We receive all from 
 the hand of God, and every person in dis- 
 tress hath a just title to a portion of it. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 ^184 51 
 
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