nd yet he ate it, or drank it, or
spent it in other things, as fast and so soon that he was often
borrowing from the other clerks.

Ashton joked William upon his "stiff notions," but the truth was that
William was far the happier of the two.

At last a half bale of goods was missing; searching inquiries were made,
and the theft was traced to Ashton. O the shame and disgrace of the
discovery! but alas, it was not his first theft. Ashton had been in the
habit of stealing little sums in order to get the means to gratify his
taste for pleasure; and now that his guilt had come to light, he ran
off, and before his parents were aware of it, fled to a far country, an
outcast from his beautiful home, from his afflicted friends, and from
all the comforts and blessings of a virtuous life.

William is rapidly rising in the confidence and respect of his
employers, fearing God, and faithful in duty.

[Illustration: "_An outcast from his beautiful home_."]

[Illustration: _The Fatal Ten Minutes' Delay_]

[Illustration: "_Ten minutes more to sleep in his chair_."]

TEN MINUTES' DELAY

All well-informed people are familiar with the sad account of the death
of the young Prince Napoleon, who fell pierced by nineteen wounds at the
hands of the Zulus, in South Africa, June 1, 1879.

Many will remember that Capt. Carey, in his published report, mentioned
that after they had selected the camping ground,--the object for which
the squad of six had been detailed,--and had had coffee and rested, he
suggested that they should remount and return to camp. But the young
prince, who commanded the squad, said,--

"No, let's wait ten minutes."

Just as they were preparing to remount, at the expiration of that ten
minutes, a body of Zulus came on them, and all fled but the prince,
whose horse broke from him. After a desperate resistance, he fell,
covered with wounds, and died "in the tall grass of the douga."

I presume all do not know that this pleading for ten minutes' delay was
a habit of the young prince from early childhood.

A correspondent of a leading Paris journal interviewed the empress as
she was about leaving for the scene of the tragedy that had wrecked all
her earthly hopes, and drew her into conversation on the subject of her
son.

She talked freely during the interview, but with an evident anguish of
spirit, which seemed only the more sad from her effort at control.

During this interview, while speaking of the c