Page:Stories after Nature.pdf/73

Rh any thing for him again, and that all was at an end. He bethought him of a speech his friend had made just before his breath quitted him, but which then had passed unheeded; it was "Would, Fred., I had died in England; I love my country, and to have been buried there I should have died content." And instantly he determined to fulfil his desire; he made a religion of the thought, and set about it with all his zeal.

From his constant attendance on his friend, all his money was gone; he knew no soul in Florence, and without a heavy sum he could not accomplish his intent. Now there was a rich man there, who was reported by the people of Florence to be charitable, and to distribute his wealth with a liberal hand; the youth went to him without hesitation, and told him of his intention, requesting the loan of some money. This rich man, however, was ostentatious, and not charitable; and, having no feeling for him, dismissed him, ridiculing his folly, and saying, "That his friend, being now dead, could have no desire; that he would assist the needy, but would not waste his coin upon the idle whims of any person; that as this was the last bed his friend would want, and must be under the surface of the earth, it mattered not where." This