take it for granted that the ring is gold, but a week or two
after the bargain is concluded, you discover that it is of brass, and
of no value what ever. The other boy knew all the while it was brass,
and also knew you supposed it was gold. What should you say of such a
transaction? Was it honest?"

Oscar turned red, and looked confused, as this question was put to him.
It was a minute or two before he made any reply, and then he said, in a
hesitating manner:

"If the other boy did n't _tell_ me it was gold, I don't see as he was
to blame."

"But we will suppose there was no need of his telling you so," added
the master; "we will suppose he managed the bargain so adroitly, that
you never suspected he was not dealing fairly with you. In that case,
should you think he had acted honestly towards you?"

"No, sir," replied Oscar, but it came out with the utmost reluctance.

"Certainly not," said the teacher; "it is dishonest to take advantage
of another's ignorance, or simplicity, or necessity, in a bargain.
Overreaching in trade is often dignified with the name of shrewdness,
but, for all that, it is contrary to the rule of honesty. And now I
have one more question to ask you: After you have discovered how your
comrade has imposed upon you, what should you expect of him?"

Oscar made no reply.

"Should you not expect him to make full restitution?"

"Yes, sir," he replied, in a scarcely audible voice.

"Of course you would," continued the master; "and if he refused, he
would deserve double punishment."

Several other forms of dishonesty were then considered, such as the
following;--withholding from another his just dues; contracting debts
which we know we cannot pay, or making promises we know we cannot
fulfil; wasting or injuring the property of others, &c. In concluding,
the teacher remarked, that it was not very pleasant to feel that we had
been wronged and cheated; but there was another feeling, a
thousand-fold more to be dreaded--the feeling that we have wronged and
cheated others. And so ended the moral lesson for that morning.

The particular bearing of this lesson upon Oscar, and the pertinency of
the "case" he was called to decide upon, were not generally known to
the class, though their suspicions might have been somewhat excited by
his confusion, and his reluctance to answer the questions put to him.
The teacher had been informed of Oscar's dishonest bargain by the boy
who suffered from it, an