Page:Short stories for little folks, or, Little tales calculated to excite juvenile minds to the love and practice of virtue.pdf/8

(8) courſe to arms. The Cardinal wiſhed to know the foundation of this affair; and that he might be able to decide with juſtice, he aſſembled all his people, and obliged them to bind themſelves by a moſt ſolemn oath on the Goſpels, to declare the whole truth. Every one, without exception, ſubmitted to this determination; even the Biſhop of Luna, brother to the Cardinal, was not excuſed. Petrarch, in his turn, preſenting himſelf to take the oath, the Cardinal cloſed the book, and ſaid, "As to you Petrarch, your word is ſufficient."

A Story ſimilar to this is related of Zenocrates, an Athenian Philoſopher, who lived three hundred years before Chrift, and was educated in the ſchool of Plato. The people of Athens entertained ſo high an opinion of his probity, that one day when he approached the altar to confirm by an oath the truth of what he had aſſerted, the judges unanimouſly declared his word to be ſufficient evidence.

Cruelty to Insects.

ACOBUS indulged himſelf in the cruel entertainment of torturing and killing flies. He tore off their wings and legs, and then watched with pleaſure their impotent