at the mouth of the harbor, expecting to sail early in the morning, and being Sunday, he hoped to steal away unobserved, and get off to sea without paying for his cargo. Amongst the tradespeople to whom he had given a written promise of payment, was a butcher, who had some doubt of the young man's integrity, and therefore took the precaution of going to the father to ask him to put his name to his son's promissory note. The father refused to do so, saying he had nothing whatever to do with the business. He imagined his son had by that time placed himself beyond pursuit; but it was not so, for the butcher hired a boat immediately, took bailiffs with him, and followed the vessel to Cove, and before sunset he put a stop to her sailing, unless the bills were paid first. The dishonest intentions of both father and son became apparent, and were frustrated.
I solemnly declare that I had not heard a whisper of the transaction when I mounted the pulpit next day. It so happened, strangely enough, that I had been for some weeks engaged in delivering a series of sermons upon the Ten Commandments; and on that day I had arrived at the Eighth Commandment, in regular course. In explaining to the best of my ability, the various ways in which the command of God, "Thou shalt not steal," may be broken by violating the spirit of it, I very naturally mentioned the tricks and evasions sometimes practised in commercial dealings. I pointed to acts so similar to the recent fraudulent attempt, that Isaac de la Croix was sure I meant it for him; others of the congregation thought so likewise. It was concluded I could not have sketched his character so true to the life, without knowing his history. He was extremely displeased, and uttered
