Rollo's Museum Part 6

"Yes," said the apothecary; "but you can take a little strip of lead like a ribbon, and then roll it up, when you have made it just heavy enough, and then it will not take up much room. So you can make another roll for two pennyweights, and another for five pennyweights, and another for ten pennyweights."

"And another for twenty pennyweights," said James.

"Yes; only twenty pennyweights make an ounce. So you will call that an _ounce_ weight. But you cannot weigh more than an ounce, I should think, in your knitting-needle scales."

By this time the apothecary had put up the medicines, and he gave them to Rollo. There was a middle-sized parcel, and a very small parcel, and small, round box. Rollo put them all into the pocket of his pantaloons.

Then he opened his wallet, and took out the bill, and gave it to the apothecary. The apothecary handed him the change. It was half a dollar, and one small piece of silver besides. Rollo put the change back into the wallet, and tied it up just as it had been before, and then crowded the wallet back into his pocket, by the side of the parcels which the apothecary had given him.

A LITTLE LAW.

That evening, when Rollo's father came home, he went out at the door leading to the garden yard, and looked into the yard to see if Rollo was there. He was not to be seen.

His father then took the bell which always hung in the entry, and began to ring it at the door. This bell was the one that was rung for breakfast, dinner, and supper; and when Rollo was out, they generally called him in, by ringing it at the door.

While Rollo's father was ringing the bell, Dorothy opened the door which led from the kitchen into the entry, and said to Rollo's father,

"Are you ringing for Rollo, sir?"

"Yes," he replied.

"He has gone to the village," said Dorothy. "He has gone back to look for a pocket-book, which he dropped, coming home, or else left at the apothecary's."

"A pocket-book?" said his father, with surprise.

"Yes, sir," said Dorothy. "He went to get some medicine for Sarah, and, when he came home, the pocket-book was missing."

"Was there any money in it?" said he.

"Yes, sir," replied Dorothy.

"How much?"

"I don't know, sir, how much."

Rollo's father then put the bell back into its place, and walked again into the parlor. He was afraid that there was a good deal of money in the pocket-book, and that it was all lost.

He, however, went on attending to his own business, until by and by he heard Rollo's voice in the kitchen. He called him in. Rollo and James came in together.

"Have you found the pocket-book?" asked Mr. Holiday.

"No, sir," said Rollo; "I have looked all along the road, and inquired at the apothecary's; but I can't find any thing of it."

"Well, now, I want you to tell me the whole story; and especially, if you have done wrong about it, in any way, don't attempt to smooth and gloss it over, but tell me that part more plainly and distinctly and fully than any other."

"Well, sir," said Rollo, with a very serious air, "I will.

"We went to the apothecary's to get some medicines for Sarah. When I was there, I put the change in the wallet, and put the wallet in this pocket."

"It was a wallet, then," said his father.

"Yes," replied Rollo, "a wallet, or a small pocket-book. I suppose now, that it would have been better to have put it in some other pocket; because that was pretty full. So in that, I suppose, I did wrong. Then James and I came home, only we did not walk along directly; we played about a little from one side of the road to the other, and then we went under the great hemlock-tree, to see if we could not find another hemlock-seed."

"Another hemlock-seed?" said his father.

"Yes, sir," said Rollo; "I suppose it is a hemlock-seed."

"What was it? a sort of a cone?"

"Yes, sir," said Rollo; "with ridges upon it."

Now it is true that pines, firs, and other evergreens bear a sort of cone, which contains their seed; and Rollo's father thought, from Rollo's description, that it was one of these cones which Rollo had found. In fact, the cone was somewhat similar in shape, though, if he had shown it to his father, he would have known immediately that it was a very different thing. Rollo put his hand into his pocket to show the supposed hemlock-seed to his father, but it was not there. He had left it out in the play room.

"Very well," said his father, "I don't know that I ever saw the cone of the hemlock; but, very probably, this is one of them. But go on, about the pocket-book."

"Well, sir,--when we got home, I took out the medicines, but the pocket-book was nowhere to be found; and I have been back with James, and we have looked all along the road, and under the hemlock-tree, and we have inquired at the apothecary's; but we cannot find it any where."

"How much money was there in the wallet?" said his father.

"Half a dollar, and a little more," said Rollo.

Rollo's father felt somewhat relieved at finding that the loss was, after all, not very large. He placed confidence in Rollo's account of the facts, and having thus ascertained how the case stood, he began to consider what was to be done.

"It is a case of bailment," said he to Rollo, "and the question is, whether you are liable."

"A case of _what_?" said Rollo.

"Bailment," said his father. "When one person intrusts another with his property for any purpose, it is called _bailing_ it to him. The wallet and the money were bailed to you. The law relating to such transactions is called _the law of bailment_. And the question is, whether, according to the law of bailment, you ought to pay for this loss."

Rollo seemed surprised at such a serious and legal view of the subject being taken; he waited, however, to hear what more his father had to say.

"I don't suppose," continued his father, "that Sarah will commence an action against you; but law is generally justice, and to know what we ought to do in cases like this, it is generally best to inquire what the law requires us to do."

"Well, sir," said Rollo, "and how is it?"

"Why, you see," said his father, "there are various kinds of bailments.

A thing may be bailed to you for _your_ benefit; as, for instance, if James were to lend you his knife, the knife would be a bailment to you for your benefit. But if he were to ask you to carry his knife somewhere to be mended, and you should take it, then it would be a bailment to you for _his_ benefit."

"Well, sir, I took the wallet for Sarah's benefit, not mine," said Rollo.

"The law requires," continued his father, "that you should take greater care of any thing, if it is bailed to you for _your_ benefit, than it does if it is for the benefit of the bailor. For instance, if you were to borrow James's knife for your own benefit, and were to lose it, even without any special carelessness, you ought to get him another; for it was solely for your advantage, that you took it, and so it ought to be at your risk. But if he asked you to take the knife to get it mended for _his_ benefit; then, if you accidentally lose it, without any particular carelessness, you ought not to pay for it; for it was placed in your hands for his _advantage_, and so it ought to be at his _risk_."

"Well," said Rollo, "the wallet was given to me for Sarah's advantage, not mine; and so I ought not to pay for it."

"That depends upon whether it was lost through gross carelessness, or not. For when any thing is bailed to you for the benefit of the owner, if it is lost or injured through _gross carelessness_, then the law makes you liable. As, for instance, suppose you take James's knife to get it mended, and on your way you throw it over the fence among the gra.s.s, and then cannot find it, you ought to pay for it; for you were bound to take good ordinary care of it."