{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_30169/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_30169","id":"gutenberg_30169","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30169","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy","Children's stories","Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"[Illustration descriptions in {braces} were added by the transcriber\nto supplement the bare page references.]\n\n\n\n\n  [Illustration: Page 5.\n  {Husband and wife in bed looking at white mouse}]\n\n\n\n\n            _NEW JUVENILE LIBRARY._\n\n\n                      The\n\n                     STORY\n\n                     of the\n\n                  WHITE MOUSE.\n\n\n                Embellished With\n          _Four Elegant Copperplates._\n          A New and Correct Edition.\n\n\n                    LONDON:\n          Printed for the Booksellers.\n                     1816.\n\n\n\n\n  The\n  STORY\n  of the\n  WHITE MOUSE.\n\n\nIn the kingdom of Bonbobbin, which, by the Chinese annals, appears\nto have flourished twenty thousand years ago, there reigned a prince,\nendowed with every accomplishment which generally distinguishes the sons\nof kings. His beauty was brighter than the sun. The sun, to which he was\nnearly related, would sometimes stop his course, in order to look down\nand admire him.\n\nHis mind was not less perfect than his body; he knew all things without\nhaving ever read; philosophers, poets, and historians, submitted their\nworks to his decision; and so penetrating was he, that he could tell the\nmerit of a book by looking on the cover. He made epic poems, tragedies,\nand pastorals, with surprising facility; song, epigram, or rebus,\nwas all one to him; though, it is observed, he could never finish an\nacrostick. In short, the fairy who presided at his birth had endowed him\nwith almost every perfection; or, what was just the same, his subjects\nwere ready to acknowledge he possessed them all; and, for his own\npart, he knew nothing to the contrary. A\u00a0prince so accomplished,\nreceived a name suitable to his merit; and he was called\n_Bonbenin-bonbobbin-bonbobbinet_, which signifies Enlightener\nof the Sun.\n\nAs he was very powerful, and yet unmarried, all the neighbouring kings\nearnestly sought his alliance. Each sent his daughter, dressed out in\nthe most magnificent manner, and with the most sumptuous retinue\nimaginable, in order to allure the prince; so that, at one time, there\nwere seen at his court, not less than seven hundred foreign princesses,\nof exquisite sentiment and beauty, each alone sufficient to make seven\nhundred ordinary men happy.\n\nDistracted in such a variety, the generous Bonbenin, had he not been\nobliged by the laws of the empire to make choice of one, would very\nwillingly have married them all, for none understood gallantry better.\nHe spent numberless hours of solicitude, in endeavouring to determine\nwhom he should choose. One lady was possessed of every perfection, but\nhe disliked her eye-brows; another was brighter than the morning-star,\nbut he disapproved her fong-whang; a\u00a0third did not lay enough of white\non her cheek; and a fourth did not sufficiently blacken her nails. At\nlast, after numberless disappointments on the one side and the other, he\nmade choice of the incomparable Nanhoa, queen of the Scarlet Dragons.\n\nThe preparations for the royal nuptials, or the envy of the disappointed\nladies, needs no description; both the one and the other were as great\nas they could be. The beautiful princess was conducted, amidst admiring\nmultitudes, to the royal couch, where, after being divested of every\nencumbering ornament, he came more chearful than the morning; and\nprinting on her lips a burning kiss, the attendants took this as a\nproper signal to withdraw.\n\nPerhaps I ought to have mentioned in the beginning, that, among several\nother qualifications, the prince was fond of collecting and breeding\nmice, which being an harmless pastime, none of his counsellors thought\nproper to dissuade him from; he therefore kept a great variety of\nthese pretty little animals in the most beautiful cages, enriched with\ndiamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, and other precious stones. Thus he\ninnocently spent four hours each day in contemplating their innocent\nlittle pastimes.\n\nBut, to proceed, the prince and princess now retired to repose; and\nthough night and secrecy had drawn the curtain, yet delicacy retarded\nthose enjoyments which passion presented to their view. The prince\nhappening to look towards the outside of the bed, perceived one of the\nmost beautiful animals in the world, a\u00a0white mouse with green eyes,\nplaying about the floor, and performing an hundred pretty tricks. He was\nalready master of blue mice, red mice, and even white mice with yellow\neyes; but a white mouse with green eyes, was what he long endeavoured\nto possess: whereupon, leaping from bed, with the utmost impatience and\nagility, the youthful prince attempted to seize the little charmer; but\nit was fled in a moment; for, alas! the mouse was sent by a discontented\nprincess, and was itself a fairy.\n\nIt is impossible to describe the agony of the prince upon this occasion.\nHe sought round and round every part of the room, even the bed where the\nprincess lay was not exempt from the inquiry; he turned the princess on\none side and the other, stripped her quite naked, but no mouse was to be\nfound; the princess herself was kind enough to assist, but still to no\npurpose.\n\n\"Alas!\" cried the young prince in an agony, \"how unhappy am I to be thus\ndisappointed! never sure was so beautiful an animal seen; I\u00a0would give\nhalf my kingdom and my princess to him that would find it.\" The\nprincess, though not much pleased with the latter part of his offer,\nendeavoured to comfort him as well as she could; she let him know he\nhad an hundred mice already, which ought to be at least sufficient to\nsatisfy any philosopher like him. Though none of them had green eyes,\nyet he should learn to thank Heaven that they had eyes. She told him\n(for she was a profound moralist,) that incurable evils must be borne,\nand that useless lamentations were vain, and that man was born to\nmisfortunes; she even intreated him to return to bed, and she would\nendeavour to lull him on her bosom to repose; but still the prince\ncontinued inconsolable; and, regarding her with a stern air, for which\nhis family was remarkable, he vowed never to sleep in a royal palace,\nor indulge himself in the innocent pleasures of matrimony, till he had\nfound the white mouse with green eyes.\n\nWhen morning came, he published an edict, offering half his kingdom, and\nhis princess, to that person who should catch and bring him the white\nmouse with green eyes.\n\nThe edict was scarce published, when all the traps in the kingdom were\nbaited with cheese; numberless mice were taken and destroyed, but still\nthe much-wished-for mouse was not among the number. The privy council\nwere assembled more than once to give their advice; but all their\ndeliberations came to nothing, even though there were two complete\nvermin-killers, and three professed rat-catchers, of the number.\nFrequent addresses, as is usual on extraordinary occasions, were sent\nfrom all parts of the empire; but, though these promised well, though in\nthem he received an assurance that his faithful subjects would assist in\nhis search with their lives and fortunes, yet, with all their loyalty,\nthey failed, when the time came that the mouse was to be caught.\n\nThe prince, therefore, was resolved to go himself in search, determined\nnever to lie two nights in one place, till he had found what he sought\nfor. Thus, quitting his palace without attendants, he set out upon his\njourney, and travelled through many a desert, and crossed many a river,\nhigh over hills, and down along vales, still restless, still inquiring\nwherever he came, but no white mouse was to be found.\n\n  [Illustration: Page 10.\n  {Man kneeling before young witch}]\n\nAs one day, fatigued with his journey, he was shading himself from the\nheat of the mid-day sun, under the arching branches of a Banana tree,\nmeditating on the object of his pursuit, he perceived an old woman\nhideously deformed approaching him; by her stoop, and the wrinkles\nof her visage, she seemed at least five hundred years old; and the\nspotted toad was not more freckled than was her skin. \"Ah! Prince\nBonbenin-bonbobbin-bonbobbinet,\" cried the creature, \"what has led you\nso many thousand miles from your own kingdom? What is it you look for,\nand what induces you to travel into the kingdom of the Emmets?\" The\nprince, who was excessively complaisant, told her the whole story three\ntimes over, for she was hard of hearing. \"Well,\" says the old fairy,\nfor such she was, \"I\u00a0promise to put you in possession of the white mouse\nwith green eyes, and that immediately too, upon one condition.\" \"One\ncondition,\" replied the prince in a rapture, \"name a thousand; I\u00a0shall\nundergo them all with pleasure.\" \"Nay,\" interrupted the old fairy,\n\"I\u00a0ask but one, and that not very mortifying neither; it is only that\nyou instantly consent to marry\u00a0me.\"\n\nIt is impossible to express the prince's confusion at this demand; he\nloved the mouse, but he detested the bride; he hesitated; he desired\ntime to think upon the proposal. He would have been glad to consult his\nfriends on such an occasion. \"Nay, nay,\" cried the odious fairy, \"if you\ndemur, I\u00a0retract my promise; I\u00a0do not desire to force my favours on any\nman. Here, you my attendants, (cried she, stamping with her foot,) let\nmy machine be driven up; Barbacela, queen of Emmets, is not used to\ncontemptuous treatment.\" She had no sooner spoken than her fiery chariot\nappeared in the air, drawn by two snails; and she was just going to step\nin, when the prince reflected that now or never was the time to be in\npossession of the white mouse; and, quite forgetting his lawful princess\nNanhoa, falling on his knees, he implored forgiveness for having rashly\nrejected so much beauty. This well-timed compliment instantly appeased\nthe angry fairy. She affected an hideous leer of approbation, and taking\nthe young prince by the hand, conducted him to a neighbouring church,\nwhere they were married together in a moment. As soon as the ceremony\nwas performed, the prince, who was to the last degree desirous of seeing\nhis favourite mouse, reminded the bride of her promise. \"To confess a\ntruth, my prince,\" cried she, \"I\u00a0myself am that very white mouse you saw\non your wedding night in the royal apartment. I\u00a0now therefore give you\nyour choice, whether you would have me a mouse by day, and a woman by\nnight, or a mouse by night, and a woman by day.\" Though the prince was\nan excellent casuist, he was quite at a loss how to determine; but at\nlast thought it most prudent to have recourse to a blue cat, that had\nfollowed him from his own dominions, and frequently amused him with its\nconversation, and assisted him with its advice; in fact this cat was no\nother than the faithful Princess Nanhoa herself, who had shared with him\nall his hardships in this disguise.\n\nBy her instructions he was determined in his choice; and returning to\nthe old fairy, prudently observed, that, as she must have been sensible\nhe had married her only for the sake of what she had, and not for her\npersonal qualifications, he thought it would, for several reasons, be\nmost convenient if she continued a woman by day, and appeared a mouse by\nnight.\n\nThe old fairy was a good deal mortified at her husband's want of\ngallantry, though she was reluctantly obliged to comply; the day was\ntherefore spent in the most polite amusement, the gentlemen talked, the\nladies laughed, and were angry. At last the happy night drew near; the\nblue cat still stuck by the side of its master, and even followed him\nto the bridal apartment. Barbacela entered the chamber, wearing a train\nfifteen yards long, supported by porcupines, and all over beset with\njewels, which served to render her more detestable. She was just\nstepping into bed to the prince, forgetting her promise, when he\ninsisted on seeing her in the shape of a mouse. She had promised, and\nno fairy can break her word; wherefore, assuming the figure of the most\nbeautiful mouse in the world, she skipped and played about with an\ninfinity of amusement. The prince, in an agony of rapture, was desirous\nof seeing his pretty play-fellow move a slow dance about the floor to\nhis own singing; he began to sing, and the mouse immediately to perform\nwith the most perfect knowledge of time, and the finest grace, and\ngreatest gravity imaginable; it only began, for Nanhoa, who had long\nwaited for the opportunity, in the shape of a cat, flew upon it\ninstantly without remorse, and eating it up in the hundredth part of\na moment, broke the charm, and then resumed her natural figure.\n\n  [Illustration: Page 12.\n  {Husband in bed, wife with two porcupines holding her train}]\n\n  [Illustration: Page 13.\n  {Man and woman on arcaded terrace}]\n\nThe prince now found that he had all along been under the power of\nenchantment; that his passion for the white mouse was entirely\nfictitious, and not the genuine complexion of his soul; he now saw, that\nhis earnestness after mice was an illiberal amusement, and much more\nbecoming a rat-catcher than a prince. All his meannesses now stared\nhim in the face; he begged the princess's pardon an hundred times. The\nprincess very readily forgave him; and both returning to their palace at\nBonbobbin, lived very happily together, and reigned many years, with all\nthat wisdom, which, by the story, they appear to have been possessed of;\nperfectly convinced by their former adventures, that they who place\ntheir affections on trifles at first for amusement, will find these\ntrifles at last become their most serious concern.\n\n\n\n\n  The\n  STORY\n  of the\n  ENVIOUS MAN,\n  and\n  HIM THAT HE ENVIED.\n\n\nIn a considerable town, two persons dwelt next door to one another; one\nof them conceived such a violent hatred against the other, that he who\nwas hated resolved to remove his dwelling farther off, being persuaded\nthat their being neighbours was the only cause from whence his animosity\ndid arise; for though he had done him several pieces of service, he\nfound, nevertheless, that his hatred was nothing diminished; therefore\nhe sold his house, with what goods he had left, and retired to the\ncapital city of that kingdom, which was not far distant. He bought a\nlittle spot of ground which lay about half a league from the city; he\nhad a house convenient enough, with a fine garden, and a pretty spacious\ncourt, wherein was a deep well, which was not in use.\n\nThe honest man, having made this purchase, put on a dervise's or monk's\nhabit, to lead a retired life, and caused several cells to be made in\nthe house, where, in a short time, he established a numerous society of\ndervises; he came soon to be publicly known by his virtue, through\nwhich he acquired the esteem of a great many people, as well of the\ncommonalty, as of the chief of the city. In short, he was extremely\nhonoured and cherished by every one. People came from afar to recommend\nthemselves to his prayers; and all those who came to live with him\npublished what blessings they received through his means.\n\nThe great reputation of this honest man having spread to the town from\nwhence he came, it touched the envious man so much to the quick, that he\nleft his house and affairs, with a resolution to go and ruin him. With\nthis intent he went to the new convent of dervises, of which his former\nneighbour was the head, who received him with all imaginable tokens of\nfriendship. The envious man told him that he was come on purpose to\ncommunicate a business of importance to him, which he could not do but\nin private; and in order that nobody may hear us, let us, says he, take\na walk in your court, and seeing night begins to draw on, command your\ndervises to retire to their cells. The head of the dervises did as he\nrequired.\n\nWhen the envious man saw that he was alone with this good man, he began\nto tell him his errand, walking side by side in the court, until he saw\nhis opportunity; and getting the good man near the brink of the well,\nhe gave him a thrust, and pushed him into it, without any body being\nwitness to so wicked an action. Having done this, he marched off\nimmediately, got out at the gate of the convent, without being known\nto any one, and came home to his own house, well satisfied with his\njourney; being fully persuaded that the object of his hatred was no\nmore in this world; but he found himself highly mistaken.\n\nThis old well was inhabited by fairies and genies, which happened very\nluckily for the relief of the head of the convent; for they received and\nsupported him, and carried him to the bottom, so that he got no hurt.\nHe perceived well enough that there was something extraordinary in his\nfall, which must otherwise have cost him his life; whereas he neither\nsaw nor felt any thing. But he soon heard a voice, which said, \"Do you\nknow what honest man this is to whom we have done this piece of\nservice?\" Another voice answered, \"No.\" To which the first replied,\n\"Then I will tell you. This man, out of charity, the greatest that ever\nwas known, left the town he lived in, and has established himself in\nthis place, in hopes to cure one of his neighbours of the envy he had\nconceived against him; he has acquired such general esteem, that the\nenvious man, not able to endure it, came hither on purpose to ruin him,\nwhich he had performed, had it not been for the assistance which we have\ngiven this honest man, whose reputation is so great, that the sultan,\nwho keeps his residence in the neighbouring city, was to pay him a visit\ntomorrow, and to recommend the princess, his daughter, to his prayers.\"\n\nAnother voice asked, \"What need had the princess of the dervise's\nprayers?\" To which the first answered, \"You do not know, it seems, that\nshe is possessed by Genie Maimoun, the son of Dimdim, who is fallen in\nlove with her. But I know well how this good head of the dervises may\ncure her; the thing is very easy, and I will tell it you. He has a black\ncat in his convent, with a white spot at the end of her tail, about the\nbigness of a small piece of English money; let him only pull seven hairs\nout of this white spot, burn them, and smoke the princess's head with\nthe fume, she will not only be presently cured, but be so safely\ndelivered from Maimoun, the son of Dimdim, that he will never dare\nto come near her a second time.\"\n\nThe head of the dervises remembered every word of the discourse between\nthe fairies and the genies, who were very silent all the night after.\nThe next morning, by break of day, when he could discern one thing from\nanother, the well being broken down in several places, he saw a hole,\nby which he crept out with ease.\n\nThe other dervises, who had been seeking for him, were rejoiced to see\nhim. He gave them a brief account of the wickedness of that man to whom\nhe had given so kind a reception the day before, and retired to his\ncell. It was not long till the black cat, of which the fairies and the\ngenies had made mention in their discourses the night before, came to\nfawn upon her master, as she was accustomed to do: he took her up, and\npulled seven hairs out of the white spot that was upon her tail, and\nlaid them aside for his use, when occasion should serve.\n\nThe sun was not high, when the sultan, who would leave no means untried\nthat he thought could restore the princess to her perfect health,\narrived at the gate of the convent. He commanded his guards to halt,\nwhilst he, with his principal officers, went in. The dervises received\nhim with profound respect.\n\nThe sultan called their head aside, and said, \"Good Scheich, it may be,\nyou know already the cause of my coming hither.\" \"Yes, sir,\" replies he,\nvery gravely, \"if I do not mistake it, it is the disease of the princess\nwhich procures this honour that I have not deserved.\" \"That is the very\nthing,\" replied the sultan. \"You will give me new life, if your prayers,\nas I hope they will, can procure my daughter's health.\" \"Sir,\" said the\ngood man, \"if your majesty will be pleased to let her come hither, I\u00a0am\nin hopes, through God's assistance and favour, she shall return in\nperfect health.\"\n\nThe prince, transported with joy, sent immediately to fetch his\ndaughter, who very soon appeared with a numerous train of ladies and\neunuchs, but masked, so that her face was not seen. The chief of the\ndervises caused a pall to be held over her head, and he had no sooner\nthrown the seven tufts of hair upon the burning coals, but the genie\nMaimoun, the son of Dimdim, gave a great cry, without any thing being\nseen, and left the princess at liberty; upon which she took the veil\nfrom off her face, and rose up to see where she was, saying, \"Where am\nI, and who brought me hither?\" At these words the sultan, overcome with\nexcess of joy, embraced his daughter, and kissed her eyes; he also\nkissed the chief of the dervises' hands, and said to his officers,\n\"Tell me your opinion, what reward does he deserve who has thus cured my\ndaughter?\" They all cried, \"He deserves her in marriage.\" \"That is what\nI had in my thoughts,\" said the sultan, \"and I make him my son-in-law\nfrom this moment.\" Some time after, the prime visier died, and the\nsultan conferred the place on the dervise. The sultan himself died\nwithout heirs-male; upon which the religious orders and the militia\ngathered together, and the honest man was declared and acknowledged\nsultan by general consent.\n\nThe honest dervise being mounted on the throne of his father-in-law, as\nhe was one day in the midst of his courtiers upon a march, he espied the\nenvious man among the crowd of people that stood as he passed along, and\ncalling one of his visiers that attended him, whispered him in the ear\nthus: \"Go, bring me that man you see there, but take care you do not\nfrighten him.\" The visier obeyed; and when the envious man was brought\ninto his presence, the sultan said, \"Friend, I\u00a0am extremely glad to see\nyou.\" Upon which he called an officer, \"Go immediately,\" says he, \"and\ncause to be paid this man out of my treasury one hundred pieces of\ngold; let him have also twenty load of the richest merchandise in my\nstore-houses, and a sufficient guard to conduct him to his house.\"\nAfter he had given this charge to the officer, he bid the envious man\nfarewell, and proceeded on his march.\n\n\n\n\n  The\n  STORY\n  of the\n  GOLDEN HEAD.\n\n\nIt is generally known, that Tom Two-Shoes went to sea when he was a very\nlittle boy, and very poor; and that he returned a very great man, and\nvery rich; but no one knows how he acquired so much wealth but himself\nand a few friends.\n\nAfter Tom had been at sea some years, he was unfortunately cast away\non that part of Africa inhabited by the Hottentots. Here he met with a\nstrange book, which the Hottentots did not understand, and which gave\nhim some account of Prester John's country; and being a lad of great\ncuriosity and resolution, he determined to see it; accordingly he set\nout on the pursuit, attended by a young lion, which he had tamed, and\nmade so fond of him, that he followed him like a dog, and obeyed all his\ncommands; and indeed it was happy for him that he had such a companion;\nfor, as his road lay through large woods and forests, that were full of\nwild beasts, and without inhabitants, he must have been soon starved or\ntorn in pieces, had he not been both fed and protected by this noble\nanimal.\n\nTom had provided himself with two guns, a sword, and as much powder and\nball as he could carry: with these arms, and such a companion, it was\nmighty easy for him to get food; for the animals in these wild and\nextensive forests, having never seen the effects of a gun, readily ran\nfrom the lion, who hunted on one side, to Tom, who hunted on the other,\nso that they were either caught by the lion, or shot by his master; and\nit was pleasant enough, after a hunting-match, and the meat was dressed,\nto see how cheek by jowl they sat down to dinner.\n\nWhen they came to the land of Utopia, he discovered the statue of a man\nerected on an open plain, which had this inscription on the pedestal:\n\"On May-day in the morning, when the sun rises, I\u00a0shall have a _Head of\nGold_.\" As it was now the latter end of April, he staid to see this\nwonderful change; and, in the mean time, inquiring of a poor shepherd\nwhat was the reason of the statue being erected there, and with that\ninscription, he was informed, that it was set up many years ago by an\nArabian philosopher, who travelled all the world over in search of a\nreal friend, that he lived with, and was extremely fond of, a\u00a0great\nman who inhabited the next mountain; but that on some occasion they\nquarrelled, and the philosopher, leaving the mountain, retired into the\nplain, where he erected this statue with his own hands, and soon after\ndied. To this he added, that all the people for many leagues round came\nthere every May morning, expecting to see the stone head turned to gold.\n\nTom got up very early on the first of May to behold this amazing change,\nand when he came near the statue, he saw a number of people, who all ran\naway from him in the utmost consternation, having never before seen a\nlion follow a man like a lap-dog. Being thus left alone, he fixed his\neyes on the sun, then rising with resplendent majesty, and afterwards\nturned to the statue, but could see no change in the stone.--\"Surely,\"\nsays he to himself, \"there is some mystical meaning in this! This\ninscription must be an \u00e6nigma, the hidden meaning of which I will\nendeavour to find; for a philosopher never would expect a stone to be\nturned to gold.\" Accordingly he measured the length of the shadow, which\nthe statue gave on the ground by the sun shining on it, and marked that\nparticular part where the head fell; then getting a chopness, a\u00a0thing\nlike a spade, and digging, he discovered a copper chest, full of gold,\nwith this inscription engraved on the lid of it, \"Thy _wit_, oh man!\nwhoever thou art, hath disclosed the \u00e6nigma, and discovered the _Golden\nHead_. Take it and use it: but use it with wisdom; for know, that\n_Gold_, properly employed, may dispense blessings, and promote the\nhappiness of mortals; but when hoarded up, or misapplied, is but trash,\nthat makes mankind miserable. Remember the unprofitable servant, who hid\nhis _talent_ in a napkin; and the profligate son who squandered away his\nsubstance, and fed with the swine. As thou hast got the _Golden Head_,\nobserve the _Golden Mean_; be _good_, and be happy.\"\n\nThis lesson, coming as it were from the dead, struck him with such an\nawe and reverence for piety and virtue, that before he removed the\ntreasure, he kneeled down, and earnestly and fervently prayed that he\nmight make a prudent, just and proper use of it. He then conveyed the\nchest away; but how he got it to England is not known. It may not be\nimproper, however, in this place, to give the reader some account of the\nphilosopher who hid this treasure, and took so much pains to find a true\nand real friend to enjoy it. As Tom had reason to venerate his memory,\nhe was very particular in his inquiry, and had this character of him:\nThat he was a man well acquainted with nature and with trade; that he\nwas pious, friendly, and of a sweet and affable disposition; that he had\nacquired a fortune by commerce, and having no relation to leave it to,\nhe travelled through Arabia, Persia, India, Lybia, and Utopia, in search\nof a real friend. In this pursuit he found several, with whom he had\nexchanged good offices, and who were polite and obliging; but they often\nflew off for trifles, or as soon as he pretended to be in distress,\nand requested their assistance, had left him to struggle with his own\ndifficulties. So true is that copy in our books, which says, \"Adversity\nis the touchstone of friendship.\"\n\nAt last, however, he met in with the Utopian Philosopher, or the Wise\nMan of the Mountain, as he is called, and thought in him he had found\nthe friend he wanted; for though he had often pretended to be in\ndistress, and abandoned to the frowns of fortune, this man always\nrelieved him, and with such chearfulness and sincerity, that concluding\nhe had found out the only man to whom he ought to open both his purse\nand his heart, he let him so far into his secrets, as to desire his\nassistance in hiding a large sum of money, which he wanted to conceal,\nlest the prince of the country, who was absolute, should, by the\nadvice of his wicked minister, put him to death for his gold. The two\nphilosophers met and hid the money, which the stranger, after some days,\nwent to see, but found it gone. How was he struck to the heart, when he\nfound that his friend, whom he had often tried, and who had relieved him\nin his distress, could not withstand this temptation, but broke through\nthe sacred bonds of friendship, and turned even a thief for gold which\nhe did not want, as he was already very rich! \"Oh!\" said he, \"what is\nthe heart of man made of? Why am I condemned to live among people who\nhave no sincerity, and barter the most sacred ties of friendship and\nhumanity for the dirt that we tread on? Had I lost my gold, and found a\nreal friend, I\u00a0should have been happy with the exchange, but now I am\nmost miserable.\" After some time he wiped off his tears, and being\ndetermined not to be so imposed on, he had recourse to cunning and\nthe arts of life. He went to his pretended friend with a chearful\ncountenance, told him he had more gold to hide, and desired him to\nappoint a time when they might go together and open the earth, to put it\ninto the same pot; the other, in hopes of getting more wealth, appointed\nthe next evening. They went together upon the ground, and found the\nmoney they had first placed there, for the artful wretch he so much\nconfided in, had conveyed it again into the pot, in order to obtain\nmore. Our philosopher immediately took the gold, and putting it into his\npocket, told the other he had now altered his mind, and should bury it\nno more, till he found a man more worthy of his confidence. See what\npeople lose by being dishonest!\n\n\nRemember this story, and take care whom you trust; but do not be\ncovetous, sordid, and miserable; for the gold we have, is but lent us to\ndo good with. We receive all from the hand of God, and every person in\ndistress hath a just title to a portion of\u00a0it.\n\n\nFINIS.\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n           *       *       *       *\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  Errors and Anomalies (noted by transcriber):\n\n  These spellings are standard for the book:\n    acrostick, chearful\n    dervise [for dervish], Lybia, Scheich [for sheikh?], Visier\n\n  he came more chearful than the morning  [_text unchanged_]\n  but no white mouse was to be found.  [_. missing or invisible_]\n  the arching branches of a Banana tree\n    [_text unchanged, but author may have intended \"Banyan\"_]\n  come near her a second time.\"  [_closing \" missing_]\n  the discourse between the fairies and the genies  [faries]\n    [_the words \"fairy\" and \"fairies\" occur many times_]\n  twenty load of the richest merchandise\n    [_text unchanged: usage may be normal for 1816_]","title":"The Story of the White Mouse","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":5463}