Illustrations of political economy, Volume 1 (of 9)Martineau, Harriet
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Illustrations of political economy, Volume 1 (of 9)
Martineau, Harriet
Didactic fiction, English; Political fiction, English; Social problems -- Fiction
“Keep your coin, sir, and take care of it, I advise you; for I hope to
see the time when gold and silver will pass from hand to hand; but much
must be done first. We must have more productions before a regular
system of exchange can take place; and that exchange will be of the
productions themselves for some time before we find it convenient to pay
in coin: and before coin can come into common use among us, there must
be more of it than your bag holds, Mr. Arnall.”
“What is to be done then, captain? How am I benefited by the arrival of
these goods?”
“Your labour will be made easier, that is all. Labour is still the
purchase money of every thing here.”
Arnall had no heart to remain any longer. He walked away by himself,
vexed that he had let out the secret of his gold, and sighing for the
gentility of keeping a shop in preference to the drudgery of
hand-labour. Nobody looked after him, and nobody wished for his
money-bag while so many better things were spread before their eyes.
One package, directed to Mr. Stone, drew more tears from the beholders
than had been shed since the first day of their misfortune. The
governor’s chaplain at Cape Town having learned from Richard that every
book in the settlement had been destroyed with other possessions, had
sent a supply of such as he imagined would be most useful in their
circumstances. On the first day of the week the people had assembled
regularly for worship, when Mr. Stone, in addition to his addresses, had
recited such portions of the Scriptures as he could sufficiently
remember to convey the sense. It was not to be expected that his flock
in general should know and remember as much of the sacred books as
himself; but many an one was surprised and humbled to find how imperfect
and how unconnected were his own notions of the sense and design of even
the most important parts of the sacred volume. Finding amidst their
distresses the need of that which they had not hitherto sufficiently
prized, and having in Mr. Stone a friend ever ready to help them to what
they wanted, when, with a Bible at hand, they might, perhaps, have put
off the inquiry to a future day, it strangely happened that some learned
more of what was in the Bible when there was not a copy within many
miles, than they had done when there was one in every family. They were
much assisted by Richard’s old mother, whose memory was better stored
with some parts of Scripture than even Mr. Stone’s. When she found her
sight beginning to fail, she applied herself to learn that which she
could never more read; and, by the help of her good son, she
accomplished her wish. During his absence, it had been a frequent custom
for groups to gather round the aged woman in the porch, when the toils
of the day were done, to listen to a psalm, or a parable, or a
discourse, which would send them home to their rest full of calm and
serious thought. They were thus prepared to value the precious gift
which they received from the chaplain; viz.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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