WHAT IT IS TO BE TESTED.
When a new engine is made, it is customary to test it to see how it works. Great care has been taken to make every part perfect, and to put all the parts together properly; yet, after all this, it is possible that when the engine is tried there will be some defect discovered which was not seen before, and which never would have been seen but for the test.
It is so with character. Care is taken by parents and teachers, in order that the children under their charge may have a good character. This is right; yet sometimes when character is tested it is found weak.
A boy once yielded to a temptation to steal when he saw a banknote lying on the store-counter near him. Conscience
said: "Give it to the gentleman standing near you. He dropped it from his pocketbook a moment ago, and you saw him." But instead of that he slyly slipped it into his pocket.
This boy had never been taught to steal. On the contrary, he had often been told that he must be honest.
When he went into that store it was not with the intention of stealing; he went on an errand for his father.
But for him temptation came in this way, and he yielded. It was a test of his character, and his character could not bear the strain.
Quite different was the result in the case of Frank Jones, who one day saw a gold watch and chain slip to the ground from a lady who was walking in front of him. The lady passed on unconscious of her loss, and Frank could easily have put the watch and chain into his pocket without her knowledge. But such a thought never entered his mind. As soon as possible he picked up the valuable articles and gave them to the owner.
He did not stop to say, " She will advertise and offer a reward, and I will keep them until I see the advertisement."
No; his first and only impulse was to restore the property to the one who had lost it, whether he received a reward or not. Frank's character stood the strain, and this incident showed that he
could be trusted. He had been tested, and was found to be right.
Children's Friend.