quaintance in the town where he was newly employed, was arrested upon the charge of stealing a pocketbook containing $1,000 from the desk of a man whom he had called upon in a business way the previous day. He was in a desperate plight, for circumstances were strongly against him. The man stated that he had the pocketbook just a few minutes before the young man came in, and upon looking for it immediately afterward, it was gone, and nobody else had been in the room. The young man's only hope was in the establishment of a previous good character, and he had no one to whom he could at the moment apply. Not knowing what to do he sent for his single acquaintance, and told him of his predicament and the circumstances of the whole affair, and said, "Of course, you have only my word that I did not take the pocketbook, but it is the truth." His acquaintance looked at him critically for a few minutes, and then said, "No, I don't believe you did take it, and I am going to stand by you in this, and see that you are cleared." The new acquaintance immediately gave bail, and told him to go back to work, and say nothing. Then he sent to the home of the boy, and arranged to have some influential men of the place come on at his own expense to testify to the character of his friend, and upon the day of trial, secured his honorable discharge. When asked why he did all this he replied, "Why, I am your friend." This was his idea of the meaning of a friend.—James T. White, "Character Lessons."
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See Kindness.
Friendship and Peace—See Peace Pact.
FRIENDSHIP, CONCEPTIONS OF
The Greek idea of friendship is represented
by the figure of a girl, with uncovered
head; one hand on her heart, the other resting
on an elm struck by a thunderbolt, and
about which a vine, heavy with grapes, is
entwined. Her dress was high and close
fitting, her attitude chaste. The Roman conception
of friendship was more complicated
and modern. The girl's dress was cut á la vierge, her head crowned with myrtle and
pomegranate flowers; she held in her hand
two hearts enchained. On the fringe of her
tunic was written, "Life and death"; on her
forehead were the words, "Summer and
winter." With her right hand she pointed to
her left side; exposed over heart and on it
was written, "From far and near."—Dora Melegari, "Makers of Sorrow and Makers
of Joy."
(1164)
FRIENDSHIP, PERFECT
William Anderson tells us what true friendship is in this poem:
True friendship is a perfect, priceless gem.
Its greatest glory is its flawlessness.
My friends must give to me, as I to them,
Their best or nothing—I'll accept no less.
I want the perfect music, or no song;
I want the perfect love, or none at all;
Right is not right when coupled with a wrong;
Sweet is not sweet when touched with taint of gall.
(1165)
FRIENDSHIP, SELFISH
The motives of some men in cultivating friendships may be compared to that of the foxes mentioned below:
To see a fox get round the farmer's dogs,
in order to make friends with them, is one
of the most astonishing revelations of character.
Usually the dogs seem hardly to
know at first what to make of his advances,
but the fox is pretty certain to succeed in
bringing him to his side in the end, and
after that they may be seen playing together
day after day.—Witmer Stone and William Everett Cram, "American Animals."
(1166)
FRIGHT
One of the numerous incidents connected
with the Sicilian earthquake was the escape
of an artilleryman named Gashane Valente
at Messina which was remarkable. A tidal-wave
swept him from inside the barracks
out to sea, where a fishing boat rescued him.
He was landed near Messina, and ran without
stopping eleven hours, reaching Acireale,
fifty-five miles away. Terror gave him the
necessary endurance.
(1167)
Frowns—See Smiles and Frowns.
Fructification, Spiritual—See Life, New,
from God.
FRUIT AND SOIL
A choice variety of plum was purchased
and set out in a certain garden. When the
tree came to maturity, to the keen disappointment
of the owner, there was no fruit
on its branches. Investigation showed that
the fault was not in the tree. The land
