Bruno

Lawrence got out into the barn just in time to find that the horse had fallen down, and had got entangled in his halter, so that he was in danger of choking to death.

“Ah, Lawrence!” said his father, “you are just in time. I want you to hold the lantern for me.”

So Lawrence took the lantern, and held it while his father disentangled the halter, and got the horse up. Lawrence, who was much interested all the time, held the lantern in the best possible way for his father to see.

“That’s right,” said his father; “hold the lantern so that you can see yourself, and then you may be sure that I can see.”

That is the right kind of interest for boys to take in what their father or mother are doing.

That was, in fact, the kind of interest that Bruno took. He was always on the watch for opportunities to do good, and when he saw that he could not do any more good, he was extremely careful not to make any trouble.

Bruno sits waiting for orders.

He would stand or sit silently by, looking on and watching what was going forward with great interest, ready to act the moment that he was called upon, as you see in the opposite engraving. They are driving some sheep to pasture very early in the morning. It was dark when they first came out with the flock, and so they brought a lantern; but the sun has risen now, and it is light. Although it was very early when the men set out with the flock, Bruno was eager to come with them. He has helped to drive the sheep all the way. They have reached the pasture at last, and there is now nothing more for him to do. So he is sitting down to rest, and contemplating with great satisfaction, while he rests, the accomplishment of the work which was to be done, and ready to do any thing more that may be required without a moment’s delay.

In the distance, in the engraving, a river is seen, meandering through a rich and beautiful country, with the beams of the morning sun reflected from the surface of the water.

A good conscience.

The satisfaction which results from the faithful performance of duty is a very solid and substantial pleasure. It endures long, and has no alloy. There is something manly and noble in the very nature of it, and he who makes it the end and aim of all his efforts in his search for happiness is sure of a rich reward.

They who are not faithful in duty can never be happy.

Learn from the example of Bruno, then, to find your happiness in the diligent and faithful performance of duty. “Duty first, and pleasure afterward,” is the true rule for all. They who seek pleasure first, or, rather, who look for their happiness in personal and selfish gratifications, lead a very low and groveling life, and never exemplify the true nobleness and dignity to which the human soul should aspire. Nor do they ever attain to any real or permanent happiness. They experience a continual feeling of self-reproach and self-condemnation which mars all their enjoyments, and adds a fresh ingredient of bitterness to all their sorrows. In a word, they are always dissatisfied with themselves, and he who is dissatisfied with himself can never be happy.

THE END

notes

1

For the positions of the chair and cradle in the hunter’s cottage, see engraving on page 30 (#x_3_i24).

2

Children, in the same way, often complain very strenuously of what their parents and teachers require of them, and resist and contend against it as long as they can; and then, if their parents persevere, they are afterward, when they come to perceive the benefit of it, very grateful.

3

The house where Lorenzo lived was a large double house, of a very peculiar form. There is a picture of it on page 58 (#x_4_i43).

4

See engraving, page 43 (#x_4_i43)

5

See Frontispiece.

6

A shingle is a broad and thin piece of wood, formed like a slate, and used for covering roofs. The word is explained here, because, in some places where this book will go, shingles are not used.

7

Such a minister as this is a high public officer of government, who resides at a foreign capital for the purpose of attending to the business of his own country there, and of protecting the citizens in case of danger.