dorcas was born in a village far remote from the capital, amidst rocks and precipices, in the northern parts of the island. his parents laboured hard for their daily bread, and with difficulty procured a subsistence for themselves and their little son. a fever, which they both caught, put an untimely end to their existence, and dorcas was taken care of by the parish, being then of too tender an age even to be sensible of his loss.
his education was adapted to his humble situation, and extended no farther than writing and reading. as soon as he had reached the fifteenth years, the directors of the workhouse thought it time to ease the parish of their burden, and accordingly placed him as a servant to a neighbouring farmer, to watch his cattle, and attend to the duties of husbandry.
amarillis was of nearly the same age, the daughter of a farmer, and employed by her father in looking after his sheep. she would frequently bring her flock into the meadows to feed and wanton on the enamelled carpet of the sweetest herbage, where she frequently met with dorcas. the youthful shepherd did her every little service in his power, and amarillis was pleased to see him so solicitous to oblige her. dorcas was never so happy as when in company with his shepherdess, and amarillis always found pleasure in the presence of dorcas.
some years glided away in this pleasing intercourse between dorcas and amarillis, when what had hitherto appeared only under the name of friendship began gradually to assume a softer title, which at last ripened into love. their hearts were formed for each other, and they began to be uneasy when separated. dorcas talked of the happiness of marriage, and obtained permission from amarillis to ask her father's consent to their union.
the maiden's delicacy would not suffer her to be present when dorcas paid his visit to her father on that business; and, therefore, appointed a time when she was obliged to go to a neighbouring town, for him to take the opportunity of opening the matter to her parent, desiring he would meet her on her way home at night, and acquaint her with the success of his commission.
at the appointed time the shepherd waited on her father, and disclosed to him the secrets of his heart, adding, how happy he should be to have her for a wife. "i suppose so," replied the old man. "what, you are in love with my daughter! do you know what you are talking of? have you any clothes to give her? have you any house of your own? learn how to get your own living, before you think of encumbering yourself with a wife. a poor shepherd as you are, you cannot have a penny beforehand. my daughter is not rich enough to keep herself, and i am sure you cannot keep her."
"if i am not rich," replied dorcas, "i am vigorous and hearty, and those who are industrious never want for work. out of the forty shillings i receive yearly for my wages, i have already saved five pounds, which will buy us goods in plenty. i will take a little farm, and i will work harder. the richest men in the village had no better beginning, and why may not i do as well as they have?"
the old man, however, told him he was young enough, and must wait for better circumstances."get rich," said the old farmer, "and amarillis shall be yours; but speak no more to me concerning her, till your money shall induce me to listen to you."
it was in vain for dorcas to argue any more; and as amarillis was by this time on her return home, he went out to meet her. when they met, dorcas was quite thoughtful, and the pretty shepherdess knew from thence he had not met with success. "i can see," said amarillis, "that my father is averse to our marriage."—"what a misfortune it is," replied dorcas, "to be born poor! yet, i will not be cast down; for i may, by industry, perhaps change my situation. had your father given his consent to our marriage, i would have laboured to procure you every thing comfortable. but i know we shall still be married, if we do but wait with patience, and trust till it shall please providence to be more favourable to our wishes."
as the lovers were thus talking over the disappointment to their views, the night rapidly increased upon them; they therefore hastened their pace, that they might reach the cottage in good time. as they were pursuing their way home on the road, dorcas stumbled over something, and fell down. as he felt about to discover what had occasioned his fall, he found a bag, which, on his lifting it, proved very heavy. curiosity made them both anxious to know what it could be; but, on opening it, they were presently convinced, dark as it was, that it certainly was money.
"this is the gift of heaven," said dorcas, "who has made me rich to make you happy. what say you, my pretty amarillis, will you now have me? how gracious has heaven been to my wishes in sending me this wealth, such as is more than sufficient to satisfy your father, and make me happy!"
these ideas gave birth to inexpressible joy in their hearts; they anxiously surveyed the bag, they looked affectionately on each other, and then resumed the path that led to their village, eager to acquaint the old man with their unexpected good fortune.
they had nearly reached their habitation, when a thought struck dorcas, and made him suddenly stop short. "we imagine," said he to amarillis, "that this money will complete our happiness; but we should recollect that it is not ours. some traveller has undoubtedly lost it. our fair is but just over, and some dealer, coming from thence, may probably have dropped this bag; and while we are thus rejoicing over our good fortune on finding it, we may be assured that somebody is truly wretched on having lost it."
"my dear dorcas," answered amarillis, "your thoughts are very just. the poor man161 is undoubtedly much distressed by his loss. we have no right to this money, and were we to keep it, we should act a very dishonest part."
"we are going with it to your father's," said dorcas, "and he would undoubtedly be glad to see us so rich; but what joy or happiness can we expect in possessing the property of another, whose family is perhaps ruined by the loss of it? as our minister is a worthy man, and has always been good to me, let us leave it with him. he is the properest person to consult on this occasion, as i am sure he will advise me for the best."
they accordingly went to the minister's, and found him at home. the honest dorcas delivered the bag into his possession, and told him the whole tale; how happy they were at first on finding it, and what motives, from second thoughts, had induced them to bring it to him. he confessed his love for amarillis, and acquainted him with the obstacles that poverty threw in the way of his felicity. "yet," added dorcas, "nothing shall tempt me to wander from the paths of honesty."
the minister was much pleased with their mutual affection for each other, and assured them, that heaven would not fail to bless them, so long as they persevered in that line of conduct. "i will endeavour," said the minister, "to find out to whom this bag belongs, who will, no doubt, amply reward your honesty. even out of the small matters i can save, i will add something to the present he shall make you, and i will then undertake to procure for you the consent of the father of amarillis. should the money not be claimed, it will be your property; and i shall then think myself bound to return it to you."
dorcas and his lovely shepherdess returned to their homes much better satisfied than they would have been, had they otherwise made use of the treasure they had found, and they were happy in the promises the good minister had made them. the money was cried all round the country, and printed bills were distributed in towns and villages even at some distance. many were base enough to put in their pretensions to it; but as they could neither describe the bag, nor what was in it, all they got by it was to establish their names as scandalous impostors.
in the mean time, the minister was not unmindful of the promise he had made the young lovers. a short time afterwards he put dorcas into a little farm, provided him with money to purchase stock and farming implements, and at last procured him his beloved amarillis.
the young couple having acquired every object of their humble wishes, sent up to heaven their unfeigned thanks, and called down for blessings on the head of their good minister. dorcas163 was industrious about the farm, and amarillis kept every thing right in the house; they were punctual in the payment of their rent, and lived within the bounds of their income.
two years had now passed, and no one had yet appeared to lay claim to the lost treasure. the minister, therefore, apprehended there was no necessity to wait any longer for a claimant, but took it to the virtuous couple, and gave it to them, saying, "my dear children, take what it has pleased providence to throw in your way. this bag, which contains five hundred guineas, has not yet been claimed by its right owner, and therefore must at present be your property; but, should you ever discover the real person who lost it, you must then return it to him. at present, make such use of it as may turn it to advantage, and always be equal in value to the money, should it be justly demanded."
dorcas entirely agreed with the minister, in laying out the money in such a manner that it might be ready on the shortest notice, or at least in something full the value in kind. as the landlord was proposing to sell the farm which dorcas occupied, and as he valued it at little more than five hundred guineas, he thought he could not lay out the money to greater advantage than in the purchase of this farm; for, should a claimant ever appear, he would have no reason to complain of the disposal of his money, since it would be easy to find a purchaser for it, after it had received improvements from his labour.
the good pastor entirely agreed in opinion with dorcas: the purchase was made, and, as the ground was now in his own hands, he turned it to much greater advantage. he was happy with his amarillis, and two sweet children blessed their union. as he returned from his labour in the evening, his wife constantly welcomed his return, and met him on the way with her children, who fondled round him with inexpressible cheerfulness and delight.
the worthy minister, some years after this happy union, paid the debt of nature, and was sincerely wept for by both dorcas and amarillis.—the death of this worthy pastor brought them to reflect on the uncertainty of human life. "my dear partner," said dorcas, "the time will come when we must be separated, and when the farm will fall to our children. you know it is not ours, nor perhaps ever properly will be. should the owner appear, he will have nothing to show for it, and we shall go to the grave without having secured his property."
dorcas, therefore, drew up a short history of the whole affair in writing, got the principal inhabitants to sign it, and then put it into the hands of the succeeding minister. having thus taken all the precautions they could to secure the property165 to the right owner, should he ever appear, they were much more easy and contented than before.
upwards of ten years had elapsed since they had been in possession of the farm; when dorcas coming home from the fields one day to dinner, saw a phaeton in the road, which he had hardly cast his eyes on, till he saw it overset. he hastened to the spot to give them his assistance, and offered them the use of his team to convey their baggage. in the mean time, he begged them to step to his house, and take such refreshment as it afforded, though they had fortunately received no hurt.
"this place," said one of the gentlemen, "is always mischievous to me, and i suppose i must never expect to pass it without some accident.—about twelve years since, i somewhere hereabouts lost my bag, as i was returning from the fair, with five hundred guineas in it."
"five hundred guineas, sir!" said dorcas, who was all attention. "did you make no enquiry after so great a loss?"—"i had it not in my power," replied the stranger, "as i was then going to the indies, and was on my road to portsmouth, which place i reached before i missed my bag. the ship was getting under way when i arrived there, and would have gone without me had i been an hour later. considering it was money i had lost, it appeared to me a doubtful matter whether i should hear any thing of it after making the strictest enquiry; and had i been fortunate enough to succeed, even in that case, by losing my passage, i should have sustained a much greater loss than that of my bag and its contents."
after the part dorcas has acted, this conversation was undoubtedly pleasing to him, and he consequently became more earnest in wishing the travellers to partake of the fare of his table. as there was no house nearer, they accepted the offer; he walked before to show them the way, and his wife came out to meet them, to see what accident had happened; but he desired her to return, and prepare dinner.
while the good woman was dressing the dinner, dorcas presented his guests with some refreshments, and endeavoured to turn the conversation on the traveller's loss. being convinced of the truth of his assertions, he ran to the minister, told him who he had with him, and begged he would come and dine with him. they all sat down to dinner, and the strangers could not help admiring the order, decency, and neatness that were every where conspicuous. they could not but notice the generosity and frankness of dorcas, and were highly delighted with his helpmate, and the manner in which she treated her children.
as soon as dinner was over, dorcas showed them his house, his garden, sheepfold, flocks, and granaries. "this house and premises," said he, addressing himself to the traveller who had formerly lost his money, "is your property. i was fortunate enough to find your bag and money, with which i purchased this farm, intending to restore it to the owner, should he ever come forward, and show himself. for fear i should die before an owner was found, i left a full detail in writing with the minister, not wishing my children to enjoy what was not their own."
it is impossible to express the surprise and astonishment of the stranger, who read the paper, and then returned it. he first gazed on dorcas, then on amarillis, and then on their young ones. at last, "where am i?" cried he; "and what is it i have heard? is this world capable of producing so much probity and virtue! and in what an humble station do i find it! is this the whole of your property, my friend?"
"this house, my herd, and my cattle," replied dorcas, "are all i possess. even though you should keep the premises in your hand, still you will want a tenant, and i shall wish to be indulged with the preference."
the stranger replied, after a moment's pause, "integrity like yours merits a more ample reward.168 it is upwards of twelve years since i first lost the money, and providence threw it in your way. providence has been no less kind to me, in blessing my undertakings. i had long since forgotten my loss, and even were i to add it to my fortune this day, it would not increase my happiness. since it has pleased god that you should be the fortunate finder of it, far be it from me to wish to deprive you of it. keep then what you have so well merited, and may heaven bless and prosper you with it."
he then tore the paper, on which dorcas had made his acknowledgment of finding the purse, saying, "i will have a different writing drawn up, which shall contain my free gift of these premises, and shall serve to hand down to posterity the virtue and probity of this amiable pair." he fulfilled his word, by immediately sending for a lawyer, when he made over the premises to dorcas and his heirs for ever.
dorcas and amarillis were then going to fall at the feet of their generous benefactor, but he would by no means permit it. "i am infinitely happy," said the generous stranger, "in having it in my power this day to confirm your felicity. may your children long after you inherit your farm, and imitate all your virtues!"
remember, my youthful readers, that the pleasures and the comforts of human life are not169 in proportion to the extent of our possessions, but to the manner in which we enjoy them. the cottage of liberty, peace, and tranquility, is preferable to the gilded palaces of slavery, anxiety, and guilt.
