fortune and
position, no wonder he exclaimed, as at the beginning of our tale--'What
a happy dog I ought to be!'

Pursuing the current of his thought Frank half audibly continued--

'Yes, I have everything to make me truly happy--health, youth, good
looks and wealth; and yet it seems to me that I should derive a more
substantial satisfaction from my riches were I to apply them to the good
of mankind. To benefit one's fellow creatures is the noblest and most
exalted of enjoyments--far superior to the gratification of sense. The
grateful blessings of the poor widow or orphan, relieved by my bounty,
are greater music to my soul, than the insincere plaudits of my
professed friends, who gather around my hearth to feast upon my
hospitality, and yet who, were I to lose my wealth, and become poor,
would soon cut my acquaintance, and sting me by their ingratitude.
To-night I shall have a numerous party of these _friends_ to sup with
me, and this supper shall be the last one to which I shall ever invite
them. Yes! My wealth shall be employed for a nobler object than to
pamper these false and hollow-hearted parasites. From this night, I
devote my time, my energies and my affluence to the relief of deserving
poverty and the welfare of all who need my aid with whom I may come in
contact. I will go in person to the squalid abodes of the poor--I will
seek them out in the dark alleys and obscure lanes of this mighty
metropolis--I will, in the holy mission of charity, venture into the
vilest dens of sin and iniquity, fearing no danger, and shrinking not
from the duty which I have assumed.--Thus shall my wealth be a blessing
to my fellow creatures, and not merely a means of ministering to my own
selfishness.'

Noble resolve! All honor to thy good and generous heart, Frank Sydney!
Thou hast the true patent of nature's nobility, which elevates and
ennobles thee, more than a thousand vain titles or empty honors! Thou
wilt keep thy word, and become the poor man's friend--the liberal and
enlightened philanthropist--the advocate of deserving poverty, and foe
to the oppressor, who sets his heel upon the neck of his brother man.

The friends who were to sup with him, arrived, and they all sat down to
a sumptuous entertainment. Frank did the honors with his accustomed
affability and care; and flowing bumpers were drunk to his health, while
the most flattering eulogiums upon his merits and excellent qualities
passed from lip to lip. Frank had