An English farmer sent his hired boy to prevent a party of
gentlemen from riding over his fields. The leader of the
huntsmen peremptorily ordered him to open the gate. Upon his
refusal, he said shortly, “Boy, do you know who I am? I am the
Duke of Wellington, and I am not accustomed to disobedience. I
command you to open this gate.” The boy lifted his cap and stood
unawed before the “man of iron will,” and said in a firm voice,
“I am sure the Duke of Wellington would not wish me to disobey
the orders of my employer, who tells me not to suffer any one
to pass.” The Duke sat his horse for a moment, and then looking
stedfastly at the boy, lifted his own hat and replied, “I honor
the man or boy who is faithful to his duty, and who can neither
be bribed or frightened into doing wrong.” He handed a bright
new sovereign to the boy, who had done what Napoleon could not
do; he had kept back the Duke of Wellington.--JAMES T.
WHITE, “Character Lessons.”
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