I heard of a boy who stole a cannon-ball from a navy-yard. He watched
his opportunity, sneaked into the yard, and secured it. But when he
had it, he hardly knew what to do with it. It was heavy, and too
large to conceal in his pocket, so he had to put it under his hat.
When he got home with it, he dared not show it to his parents, because
it would have led at once to his detection.
He said in after years it was the last thing he ever stole.
The story is told that a royal diamond valued at $600,000 was stolen
from a window of a jeweler, to whom it had been given to set. A few
months afterward a miserable man died a miserable death in a poor
lodging-house. In his pocket was found the diamond, and a letter
telling how he had not dared to sell it, lest it should lead to his
discovery and imprisonment. It never brought him anything but anxiety
and pain.