SANCHO PANZA AS GOVERNOR.

THIRD CASE.

THE next that came before Sancho was a stranger, who put the following case to him, the stewards and the rest of the attendants being present:

"My lord," said he, "a large river divides in two parts one and the same lordship.1 I beg your honour to lend me your attention, for it is a case of great importance and some difficulty. Upon this river there is a bridge, at the one end of which there stands a gallows, and a kind of court of justice, where four judges used to sit for the execution of a certain law made by the lord of the land and river, which runs thus:

"Whoever intends to pass from one end of this bridge to the other, must first, upon his oath, declare whither he goes, and what his business is. If he swear truth, he may go on; but if he swear false, he shall be hanged, and die without remission upon the gibbet at the end of the bridge.'

"After due promulgation of this law, many people, notwithstanding its severity, adventured to go over this bridge; and as it appeared they swore true, the judges permitted them to pass unmolested. It happened one day that a certain passenger being sworn, declared that he was come to die upon that gallows, and that was all his business.

"This put the judges to a nonplus ;2 'for,' said they, 'if we let this man pass freely, he is forsworn, and according to the letter of the law he ought to die; if we hang him, he has sworn truth, seeing he swore he was going to die on that gibbet; and then by the same law we should let him pass.'

"Now your lordship's judgment is desired what the judges ought to do with this man: for they are still at a stand; and not knowing what to determine in this case, and having been informed of your sharp wit and great capacity in

resolving difficult questions, they sent me to beseech your lordship, in their names, to give your opinion in so intricate and knotty a case."

"To deal plainly with you," answered Sancho, "those worshipful judges that sent you hither might as well have spared themselves the trouble; for I am more inclined to bluntness, I assure you, than sharpness: however, let me hear your question once more, that I may thoroughly understand it, and perhaps I may at last hit the nail upon the head." The man repeated the question again; and when he had done, "Hark, honest man," said Sancho, "either I am a very dunce, or there is as much reason to put this same person you talk of to death, as to let him live and pass the bridge; for if the truth saves him, the lie condemns him. Now I would have you tell those gentlemen that sent you, since there is as much reason to bring him off as to condemn him, that they even let him go free; for it is always more commendable to do good than hurt. Nor do I speak this of my own head; but I remember one precept, among many others, that my master Don Quixote gave me the night before I came to govern this island, which was, that when the scale of justice is even, or a case is doubtful, we should prefer mercy before rigour; and it has pleased God I should call it to mind so luckily at this juncture.'

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"For my part," said the steward, "this judgment seems to me so equitable, that I do not believe Lycurgus himself, who gave the laws to the Lacedæmonians, could ever have decided the matter better than the great Sancho has done. And now, sir, sure there is enough done for this morning; be pleased to adjourn the court, and I will give order that your Excellency may dine to your heart's content."

"Well said," cried Sancho; "that is all I want, and then a clear stage and no favour. Feed me well, and then ply me with cases and questions thick and threefold; you shall see me untwist them, and lay them open as clear as the sun."

ABDICATION OF THE GOVERNMENT.

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Having borne the cares of government for a week, it occurred to Sancho that he would consult his own happiness and peace of mind by abdicating. With this secret resolution he made his way to the stable, followed by the steward and other attendants. On coming to Dapple, he embraced the quiet animal, gave him a loving kiss on the forehead, and with tears in his eyes, "Come hither," said he, "my friend, thou faithful companion and fellow-sharer in my travels and miseries: when thee and I consorted together, and all my cares were but to mend thy furniture and feed thy carcase, then happy were my days, my months, and years. But since I forsook thee, and clambered up the towers of ambition and pride, a thousand woes, a thousand torments, have haunted and worried my soul."

While Sancho was talking thus, he fitted on his packsaddle, nobody offering to say anything to him. This done, he mounted his ass; and then, addressing himself to the steward, the secretary, the gentleman-waiter, and Doctor Pedro Rezio, and many others that stood by: "Make way, gentlemen," said he, "and let me return to my former liberty. Let me go, that I may seek my old course of life, and rise again from that death which buries me here alive. I know better what belongs to ploughing, delving, pruning, and planting of vineyards, than how to make laws, and defend countries and kingdoms. 'St. Peter is very well at Rome;' which is as much as to say, let every one stick to the calling he was born to. A spade does better in my hand than a governor's truncheon; and I had rather have a mess of plain porridge than lie at the mercy of an officious physic-monger, who starves me to death. I had rather solace myself under the shade of an oak in summer, and wrap myself up in a double sheepskin in the winter, at my liberty, than lay me down, with the slavery of a government, in fine Holland

sheets, and case my body in furs and sables. Heaven be with you, gentlefolks; and pray tell his Grace from me, that 7 poor I was born, and poor I still remain. I have neither won nor lost; which is as much as to say, without a penny I came to this government, and without a penny I leave itquite contrary to what most governors do. Clear the way, then, I beseech you, and let me pass." With that they all embraced him, and he embraced them all, not without tears in his eyes; leaving them in admiration of the good sense he had so unexpectedly discovered, in his discourse and conduct, while holding in mockery the reins of government.

[BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, born, in Boston, 1706; died in Philadelphia, 1790. He began his career as a printer's boy; he became an eminent statesman; he wrote numerous essays on politics, history, and science; and among other periodicals he set on foot Poor Richard's Almanac, famous for its maxims and proverbs.]

COURTEOUS READER,

I have heard that nothing gives an author so great pleasure as to find his works respectfully quoted by others. Judge, then, how much I must have been gratified by an incident I am going to relate to you. I stopped my horse lately where a great number of people were collected at an auction of merchants' goods. The hour of the sale not being come, they were conversing on the badness of the times; and one of the company called to a plain clean old man, with white locks, "Pray, Father Abraham, what think you of the times? Will not these heavy taxes quite ruin

the country? How shall we ever be able to pay them? What would you advise us to do?"

Father Abraham stood up and replied, "If you would have my advice, I will give it you in short; for a word to the wise is enough,' as Poor Richard says."

They joined in desiring him to speak his mind, and gathering around him, he proceeded as follows:

"Friends," said he, "the taxes are indeed very heavy, and, if those laid on by the Government were the only ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them ; but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly; and from these taxes the commissioners cannot ease or deliver us, by allowing an abatement. However, let us hearken to good advice, and something may be done for us : 'God helps them that help themselves,' as Poor Richard says.

"I. INDUSTRY.

"It would be thought a hard Government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their time, to be employed in its service; but idleness taxes many of us much more; sloth, by bringing on diseases, absolutely shortens life. Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labour wears; while the used key is always bright,' as Poor Richard says. But dost thou love life? then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of. How much more than is necessary do we spend in sleep, forgetting that 'The sleeping fox catches no poultry,' and that 'There will be sleeping enough in the grave,' as Poor Richard says.

"If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be,' as the same authority says, 'the greatest prodigality'; since, as he elsewhere tells us, 'Lost time is never found again; and what we call time enough, always proves little enough.' Let us then up and be doing, and doing to