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Show Lad Was Merchant, Not Beggar. An American lady in Rome bought some matches from a little match vender. They were wax matches in little lit-tle decorated boxes. She handed the boy a five-soldi piece and expected to have two soldi In change, but the little fellow shrugged his shoulders and held the change tightly in his hand, with a begging expression on his face, signifying that he wished to have it given to him, whereupon a second American lady who was accompanying accom-panying the first straightened herself, looked intently at the boy, and said: "Merchante, non mendicante!" ("You are a merchant, not a beggar.") That was an appeal to the boy's self-respect, and it so inspired him that he actually laughed and pressed the change upon his customer. The Christian Herald. |