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Test Bank for Government and Not for
Profit Accounting Concepts and
Practices, 5th Edition: Granof
Chapter 1
The Government and Not-For-Profit Environment
TRUE/FALSE (CHAPTER 1)
6. Lenders use the financial statements of governments and not-for profits just as they would
those of businesses, that is, to help assess the borrower’s credit-worthiness.
7. Financial statements, no matter how prepared, do not directly affect the economic worth of
an entity.
8. The Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Board’s standards do not apply to the federal
Department of Treasury.
9. Governments may be subject to the same pressures that led to accounting scandals like
Enron.
10. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board establishes generally accepted accounting
principles for all state and local government entities, as well as all not-for-profit entities.
6. Which of the following activities is NOT an activity in which a governmental entity might
engage?
a) Selling electric power.
b) Operating a golf course.
c) Operating a bookstore.
d) All of the above are activities that might be carried out by a government.
11. Which of the following is common to both governments and not-for-profit entities but
distinguishes these entities from for-profit entities?
a) The budget is a legal, financial document.
b) Revenues are usually indicative of demand for goods or services.
c) There is direct matching of revenues and expenses.
d) There are no defined ownership interests.
12. Which of the following is NOT a purpose of external financial reporting by governments?
External financial reports should allow users to
a) Assess financial condition.
b) Compare actual results with the budget.
c) Assess the ability of elected officials to effectively manage people.
d) Evaluate efficiency and effectiveness.
13. Which of the following is NOT a reason why users need governmental and not-for-profit
external financial statements?
a) To determine the ability of the entity to meet its obligations.
b) To determine the ability of the entity to continue to provide services.
c) To predict future fiscal solvency.
d) To evaluate the overall profitability of the entity.
16. Which of the following is a probable use a donor would make of the external financial
statements of a not-for-profit entity?
a) To determine the proportion of entity resources directed to programs as opposed to fund-
raising.
b) To determine the creditworthiness of the entity for investment purposes.
c) To determine the salaries paid to all employees of the entity.
d) To determine the budget of the entity.
17. A regulatory agency would use the external financial statements of a local government for
which of the following purposes?
a) To assure that the entity is spending and receiving resources in accordance with laws,
regulations or policies.
b) To determine how resources should be allocated.
c) To exercise general oversight responsibility.
d) To do all of the above.
18. Which of the following constituency groups would be most likely to evaluate government
financial statements to determine likely areas in which to achieve cost-savings?
a) Creditors.
b) Union officials representing the government’s employees.
c) Federal agencies that provide purpose-restricted grants.
d) Students of governmental accounting.
19. Which of the following objectives is considered to be the cornerstone of financial reporting
by a governmental entity?
a) Accountability.
b) Budgetary compliance.
c) Interperiod equity.
d) Service efforts and accomplishments.
22. As used by GASB, interperiod equity refers to which of the following? Financial reporting
should:
a) Demonstrate compliance with finance-related contractual requirements.
b) Provide information to determine whether current-year revenues were sufficient to pay
for current-year services.
c) Demonstrate whether resources were obtained and used in accordance with the entity’s
legally adopted budget.
d) Provide information to assist users in assessing the government’s economy, efficiency,
and effectiveness.
23. Given a specific set of data, the basis of accounting selected by or imposed on a
governmental entity will least affect which of the following?
a) Determining whether or not the governmental entity has a balanced budget.
b) Determining whether or not the governmental entity has the ability to issue debt.
c) Determining whether or not certain economic events occurred.
d) Determining the annual payments to a government-sponsored pension plan.
24. The basis of accounting selected by or imposed on a governmental entity can influence which
of the following?
a) A decision to contract-out a specific service rather than provide that service itself.
b) The amount of salary increases proposed by union negotiators.
c) The amount that is available to spend on a donor-specified project or service.
d) All of the above.
25. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board is the primary standard-setting body for:
a) All governments.
b) All state and local governments.
c) All governments and all not-for-profit entities.
d) All state and local governments and all not-for-profit entities.
26. Under certain circumstances a governmental entity might use standards established by which
of the following standard-setting bodies?
a) GASB.
b) FASB.
c) AICPA.
d) All of the above.
28. In descending order, the hierarchy of GAAP applicable to a church-owned college may be:
a) FASB Statements and Interpretations, FASB Technical Bulletins, AICPA Industry Audit
Guides, FASB Implementation Guides, other accounting literature—including GASB
Standards.
b) FASB Statements and Interpretations, FASB Technical Bulletins, FASB Implementation
Guides, AICPA Practice Bulletins (if cleared by FASB).
c) GASB Statements and Interpretations, AICPA Industry Audit Guides, GASB
Implementation Guides, other accounting literature—including FASB Standards.
d) GASB Statements and Interpretations, GASB Technical Bulletins, AICPA Industry Audit
Guides, AICPA Practice Bulletins (if cleared by GASB), GASB Implementation Guides,
other accounting literature—including FASB standards.
29. Which of the following entities was a principal in creating the FASAB?
a) U.S. Congress.
b) Office of Management and Budget.
c) Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
d) Securities and Exchange Commission.
1. Thorn County adopted a cash budget for FY2007 as follows. The City budget laws prohibit
budgeting or operating at a deficit. During the year the County collected or spent the
following amounts. Was the County in compliance with budget laws? Did the County
accomplish the goal of interperiod equity? Explain your answers in detail.
Budgeted Collected/Spent
Receipts from Property tax collections
From the 2006 levy $ 100,000 $ -0-
From the 2007 levy $1,000,000 $ 900,000
In advance for 2008 $ 50,000 $ -0-
Receipts from Bonds Issued $ 500,000 $ 500,000
Borrowed from Bank (due in 5 years) $ -0- $ 75,000
Disbursements
Salaries and Wages $ 500,000 $ 500,000
Operating Expenses $ 200,000 $ 275,000
City Hall Annex purchased $ 500,000 $ 500,000
Payments on Debt-Principal $ 150,000 $ 150,000
Payments on Interest $ 50,000 $ 50,000
Pension Contribution $ 80,000 $ -0-
Explanations provided by the City for the differences between budget and actual are as
follows. Property tax collections are down because the major industry in the community
closed and many citizens are currently unemployed. Operating expenses are up because the
only bridge over a river bisecting the City sustained damages by an uninsured motorist and
had to be repaired immediately. The repair was not budgeted.
Liabilities $ 1,000
Net Assets—Unrestricted $ 14,000
Net Assets—Restricted $1,000,000
Total Liabilities and Net Assets $1,015,000
What difficulties, if any, will Save-the-Birds encounter in its new fund-raising drive?
Knowing that the donation of the land accounted for $1,000,000 of the revenue reported by
Save-the-Birds, do you think the financial statements present fairly the financial position and
results of operations of this not-for-profit entity?
3. Johnson City prepares its budget on the cash basis and prepares its external financial
statements on the accrual basis. From the following data prepare statements of activity
(income statements) on both the cash basis and the accrual basis. Which statement best
represents the results of operations of the City? Which statement best demonstrates
compliance with laws and regulations? Which statement would you rather see? Which
conveys the best information to the citizens of Johnson City?
The City levies taxes in the current year of $1 million. Of this amount $.9 million is collected
during the current year, $.05 will be collected next year, and $.04 will be collected in the
future. $.01 will never be collected. During the current year the City pays bills from prior
periods $.06 million, bills of the current period $.8 million, and defers payment until future
periods on bills that were received for services consumed during the current period $.1
million.
1. In the United States, educational services can be provided by federal governmental entities,
by non-federal governmental entities, by not-for-profit entities, and by for-profit entities. Are
the accounting and financial reporting standards the same for each of these entities? Should
they be the same?
2. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) stated that an objective of financial
reporting is to measure interperiod equity, that is—“Financial reporting should provide
information to determine whether current-year revenues were sufficient to pay for current-
year services.” What is your understanding of interperiod equity? What costs incurred in the
current year should be paid for by the taxpayers of the current period? What costs incurred in
the current year should be paid for by future taxpayers?
3. A not-for-profit entity raises funds to support specific programs, services, and activities. The
recipients of the programs, services, and activities are frequently not the providers of the
resources to deliver the programs, services, and activities. What information would donors to
these not-for-profit entities be interested in seeing? What information would program
beneficiaries be interested in seeing? Identify other users of the financial statements of a not-
for-profit and the types of information in which they would be interested.
4. What is the significance—for financial reporting purposes—of the fact that neither not-for-
profits nor governments have owners (stockholders)?
5. What are some of the definitional criteria that distinguish a governmental entity from a not-
for-profit entity?
6. How does the FASB influence generally accepted accounting principles for state and local
governments?
1. F
2. T
3. F
4. T
5. F
6. T
7. T
8. F
9. T
10. F
1. b
2. b
3. d
4. c
5. a
6. d
7. c
8. c
9. c
10. d
11. d
12. c
13. d
14. d
15. d
16. a
17. d
18. b
19. a
20. b
21. c
22. b
23. c
24. d
25. b
26. d
27. a
28. a
29. b
30. b
1. The City adopted a cash budget that projected an operating surplus of $170,000;
therefore, it was in compliance with the “budgeting” portion of budget laws. In addition, the
City “balanced” its current period operations. Total inflows are $1,475,000 and total
outflows are $1,475,000. The City was seriously affected by the closure of the major
employer in town. The City compensated for the shortfall in property tax revenues by failing
to make the pension contribution in the current period and by borrowing on a long-term note
at the bank. Although one expenditure category exceeded the budgeted amount (operating
expenses was $75,000 more than budgeted), another was short by $80,000 (pension
contributions). The City has probably complied with the budget laws that prohibit operating
at a deficit (if deficit is defined as a cash deficit). It has probably not complied with the
budget laws if the laws state that current revenues (not including borrowing) must be equal to
or exceed current period costs.
Interperiod equity is another issue. By failing to make the required contribution the City
has passed on to future taxpayers costs that were associated with operations of the current
period. Also, by borrowing at the bank the City has incurred obligations that must be borne
by future taxpayers.
The cash basis financial statement would best demonstrate compliance with the budget but
the non-cash basis financial statement would best convey results of operations. As a citizen, I
would like to see both because legal compliance is important to me but so are results of
operations. It may take both statements to fully inform the public about operations. [Note:
At this point students have not been exposed to 'modified accrual' accounting so they will not
struggle with revenue recognition issues imbedded in this problem.]
4.
a. Promotes interperiod equity. Because the bonds are required to be repaid over the
life of the capital assets, the cost of those assets is allocated to the periods over which
taxpayers benefit from the use of the assets.
b. Undermines interperiod equity. The employee benefits costs—pension benefits—are
paid by an entirely different generation of taxpayers—long after the employees
earned the benefits by providing services.
c. Promotes interperiod equity. Although not particularly material, supplies do not
benefit taxpayers until they are used to provide services. Reporting these as
expenditures when purchased reports the cost in a different period from when the
benefit is provided.
d. Undermines interperiod equity. Using debt to finance operating costs spreads the
cost of providing services provided in a single period over the entire term of the
long-term debt. Interest costs on the debt amplify the problem.
e. Promotes interperiod equity. Again, while possibly immaterial, reporting the cost of
providing services—in the form of wages and salaries—in the period in which
services were provided promotes interperiod equity.
1. Accounting standards for educational institutions differ by the nature of the ownership.
Public schools (K-12) are accounted for in the same way as state and local governments, as
are public colleges and universities, theoretically. Private schools, colleges, and universities
are accounted for using not-for-profit standards established by FASB. For-profit educational
institutions would use the FASB rules for other for-profit entities.
Because these entities are all involved in delivering the same basic service—education—it
would appear that they should have the same standards. However, public schools are subject
to the same openness as other government activities. The citizens should have a voice in
determining what services are offered through the schools and how those services are
delivered. The budget process is the opportunity for the public to be heard and the adopted
budget is a plan of action to which citizens can, and should, hold officials accountable. For-
profit schools are organized to generate profits and should measure net income using full
accrual accounting. Not-for-profit entities generate revenues from tuition and solicit
contributions from the public, or a select group of the public. Donors to not-for-profit entities
may be interested in different information than taxpayers are interested in.
[Note: Students will have differing opinions about the appropriateness of different accounting
standards for educational institutions determined by ownership rather than by activity. The
question is designed to solicit their thoughts.]
2. Interperiod equity means that the citizens of one time period should pay the costs of the
goods and services consumed during that time period. Interperiod equity as an accounting
concept means that the financial statements should measure the success of a governmental
entity in accomplishing the goal of raising sufficient revenues to pay for the cost of services
consumed during a period. However, interperiod equity is a policy decision, not an
accounting decision.
To achieve interperiod equity, current-year taxpayers should cover the cost of current-year
services. Everyone would agree that current period operating costs should be covered,
including supplies and payroll costs. In addition, a portion of the cost of capital assets or
other improvements, which benefit more than one period, should be considered in the
equation. Finally, certain costs may not be paid until well into the future but arise from
current operations. The government’s employees earn many of these in the current period,
including accumulating vacation benefits, pension benefits, and other postemployment
benefits.
Costs that should not be included in the current year measure of interperiod equity are costs
that will benefit future periods—for example, the portion of the historical cost of capital
assets that will be allocated over future periods.
Regulatory agencies, such as the IRS, would be very interested in the financial information of
NFP entities to assess whether they should continue to be considered a NFP entity.
Governments would be interested in the financial information of NFP entities. Many
governments are considering outsourcing or privatizing the delivery of goods and services. If
other entities can, indeed, perform those services more efficiently than government, perhaps
the services should be privatized or outsourced.
4. The obvious significance of the fact that neither not-for-profits nor governments have owners
is that neither governments nor not-for-profits report owner’s equity. More important
however, is the fact that financial reports of governments cannot focus on owners. They must
be prepared from the perspective of parties other than stockholders. Generally this focus is
on resource providers and the restrictions they place on the assets they contribute.
In addition, this distinction often means that there is less interest in the fair market values of
assets and liabilities and other accounting measures that rely on fair values, such as pension
expense. No stockholders exist to consider the price/earnings ratios of these entities or a
potential buyout/takeover.
Finally, both the FASB and GASB have called for information on service efforts and
accomplishments. These measures would be used to assess, among other things, how
effectively and efficiently the entities provide services. This information, however, is not
easily expressed in monetary measures and has not yet been included in financial statements.
5. First, and foremost, a governmental entity usually has the power to assess taxes. Not-for-
profit entities do not. In addition, governments may issue tax-exempt debt and their
governing bodies are either elected by taxpayers or appointed by another government. Less
common is the fact that a governmental entity can usually be unilaterally dissolved by
another governmental entity (usually the one that created it) and its assets assumed without
compensation. None of these things are true about not-for-profit entities.
6. The FASB influences generally accepted accounting principles of governments in two key
ways. First, FASB pronouncements are included in the GASB “hierarchy” of GAAP. FASB
pronouncements that the GASB has specifically made applicable to governments are included
in the highest category; those that the GASB has not specifically adopted are included in the
lowest category. Second, the business-type activities of governments are required (with a few
exceptions) to follow the business accounting principles as set forth by the FASB.
'What! mother,' says I, 'don't you know me? Why, I'm your true
and lawful son Jack Joyce; though, arter I run away, the purser
made twice-laid of it, and chrissened me Sheavehole, in regard of
his Majesty liking to name his own children. Never say die, ould
woman! there's plenty o' shot in the locker. And come, lasses,' says I
to the young uns, 'one on you stand cook o' the mess;' and I
empties my bag on the floor, and away rolled the combustibles,
matches, and mutton, and mousetraps, and all, scampering about
like liberty boys arter a six months' cruise; and I picks up the
bladder o' rum, and squeezes a good drain into a tea-cup, and hands
it to the ould woman, topping up her lame leg while she drinks. And,
my eyes! there was a precious shindy that night: the ould uns were
almost dying with joy, and the young uns had a fit o' the doldrums
with pleasure. So I gets the big pot under weigh, and shoves in both
legs o' mutton and a full allowance o' turnips, and I sarves out the
grog between the squalls; and ould dad blowed a whiff o' 'bacca,
and mother payed away at the snuff; and nobody warn't never
happy if we warn't happy that night. Well, we'd a glorious tuck-out o'
mutton, wi' plenty o' capers; and arter that I stows the ould woman
in alongside o' dad, kisses the girls in course, and then takes
possession o' the arm-chair, where I slept as sound as a jolly on
sentry."
"That's libellous!" exclaimed the serjeant somewhat roughly, as if
offended; "it is an unjust reflection, and is clearly libellous."
"It's all the same to ould Jack whose bellows it is," returned the
boatswain's mate carelessly; "it's no lie, howsomever, for none
sleeps so soundly as a marine on duty. But I arn't got time to
overhaul that consarn now; I know I laid in a stock of 'hard-and-fast'
enough to last for a three weeks' cruise. Well, shipmates, we keeps
the game alive all hot and warm, and we sported our best duds, and
I makes love to Susan, and we'd a regular new fit-out at the cottage,
and I leaves fifty pounds in the hands of the parson o' the parish for
the ould folks, and everything went on, in prime style, when one day
the landlord of the public comes in, and says he, 'Jack, the lobsters
are arter you.'—'Gammon!' says I; 'what can them fellows want with
me?'—'Arn't your liberty out?' says he.—'I never give it a thought,'
says I.—'Where's your ticket?' says he. So I showed him the chit;
and I'm blessed, shipmates, but it had been out two days! Well,
there I was in a pretty perdiklement; and the landlord, says he,
'Jack,' says he, 'I respect you for your goodness to the ould uns;
though I suspects they arn't altogether the cause of your losing your
memory:' and he looks and smiles at Suke. 'Howsomever, the
lobsters are at my house axing about you; and I thought I'd slip out
and let you know, so that you might have time to stow
away.'—'Thanky, my hearty,' says I; 'but I'm blessed, shipmates, if I
warn't dead flabbergasted where to find a stow-hole, till at last I hits
upon a scheme to which Susan consented! And what do you think it
was, shipmates?—but you'd never guess! Why, Suke slips on a pair
o' my canvass trousers and comes to an anchor in the arm-chair
with a blanket round her, below, and I stows myself under her duds,
coiling away my lower stanchions tailor-fashion; and the doctor
coming in to see the ould folks, they puts him up to the trick, and so
he brings up alongside of her, and they whitens her face, to make
her look pale, as if she was nigh-hand kicking the bucket: and there
I lay, as snug as a cockroach in a chafing-mat, and in all due
decency, seeing as Suke had bent my lower casings hind part afore,
and there warn't a crack nor a brack in 'em. Presently in marches the
swaddies, and 'Pray whose cottage is this?' axed the serjeant as stiff
as a crutch.—'It is Martin Joyce's,' said Maria.—'Ay, I thought as
much,' says he: 'pray where is his son, Jack Joyce, or Jack
Sheavehole?' says he.—'He left us three days ago,' answered Maria,
'to join his ship: I hope nothing has happened to him?'—'Indeed!'
says the serjeant. 'Now, pretty as you are, I know that you are
telling me what I should call a very considerable ——' Suke shrieked
out, and stopped what he was going to say: for, shipmates, she sat
so quiet, that, thinks I to myself, they'll find out that she's
shamming; so I gives her a smart pinch in an inexpressible part, that
made her sing out. Well, the long and the short on it, is, that the
party, who were looking out sharp for 'straggling money,' had a
grand overhaul; but the doctor would not let them interfere with
Susan, who, he declared, was near her cushionmong; and at last,
being unable to find me, they hauls their wind for another port.—
Well, shipmates, as soon as possible arter they were gone, why,
Suke got rid of her trouble, and forth I came, as full-grown and
handsome a babby as ever cut a tooth. But I warnt safe yet; and so
I claps a suit of Suke's duds over my own gear, and, being but a
little chap, with some slutching, and letting out a reef or two here
and there, I got my sails all snugly bent, and clapped a cap with a
thousand little frills round my face, and a straw hurricane-house of a
bonnet as big as a Guineaman's caboose over all, with a black wail
hanging in the brails down afore, and my shoes scandaled up my
legs, that I made a good-looking wench. Well, I bid all hands good-
bye. Suke piped her eye a bit; but, Lord love you! we'd made our
calculations o' matrimony, and got the right bearings and distance,
(else, mayhap, I should never have got stowed away under her
hatches,) and she was to join me at Portsmouth, and we were to
make a long splice of it off-hand; but then, poor thing! she thought,
mayhap, I might get grabbed and punished. Up comes the coach;
but the fellow wouldn't heave to directly, and 'Yo-hoy!' says I, giving
him a hail.—'Going to Portsmouth, ma'am?' says he, throwing all
aback, and coming ashore from his craft.—'To be sure I am,' says I.
'What made you carry on in that fashion, and be d—to you!—is that
all the regard you have for the sex?' says I.—'Would you like to go
inside, ma'am?' says he, opening the gangway port.—'Not a bit of it,'
says I: 'stow your damaged slops below, but give me a berth 'pon
deck.'—'Werry good, ma'am,' says he, shutting the gangway port
again; 'will you allow me to assist you up?'—'Not by no manner o'
means,' says I. 'Why, what the devil do you take me for! to think the
captain of a frigate's maintop can't find his way aloft!'—'You mean
the captain of the maintop's wife,' says Susan, paying me back the
pinch I gave her.—'Ay, ay, my precious,' says I; 'so I do, to be sure.
God bless you! good-b'ye! Here I go like seven bells half struck!—
carry on, my boy, and I'm blessed if it shan't be a shiner in your
way!' And so we takes our berths, and away we made sail, happy-
go-lucky, heaving-to now and then just to take in a sea-stock; and
the governor had two eyes in his head, and so he finds out the
latitude of the thing, but he says nothing; and we got safe through
the barrier and into Portsmouth, and I lands in the street afore they
reached the inn,—for, thinks I to myself, I'd better get berthed for
the night and go aboard in the morning. Well, shipmates, I parts
company with the craft, and shapes my course for Pint,—'cause I
knew a snug corner in Capstan-square, and I was determined to cut
with all skylarks, in regard o' Suke. Well, just as I was getting to
steer with a small helm, up ranges a tall man who had seen me
come ashore from the coach, and 'My dear,' says he, 'what! just
fresh from the country?' But I houlds my tongue, shipmates, and he
pulls up alongside and grabs my arm. 'Come, don't be cross,' says
he; 'let me take you in tow; I want to talk with you, my love.' I knew
the voice well; and though he had a pea jacket over his uniform-
coat, and, take him 'half way up a hatchway,' he was a d— good-
looking fellow, yet nobody as ever had seen him could forget them
'trap-stick legs;' and so, thinks I to myself, Jack, you'd better shove
your boat off without delay: for, d'ye see, shipmates, I'd sailed with
him when I was a mizen-top-mun in the ould Stag, and I well
remembered Sir Joseph Y—ke. But I'm blessed if he didn't stretch
out arter me, and sailed two foot to my one; and 'Come, come, my
darling,' says he, 'take an honest tar for your sweetheart. Let's look
at that beautiful face;' and he catches hould o' the wail and hauls it
up chock ablock; but I pulls down my bonnet so as he couldn't see
my figure-head, and I carries on a taut press to part company. But,
Lord love yer hearts! it warn't no manner o' use whatsomever—he
more than held his own; and 'A pretty innocent country wench
indeed!' says he. 'What! have you lost your tongue?'—'No, I'm d— if
I have!' says I: for I forgot myself, shipmates, through vexation at
not being able to get away. 'Hallo!' says he, gripping me tight by the
shoulder; 'who have we here?' I'm blessed, shipmates, if, what with
his pulling at my shawl, and my struggling to sheer off, my spanker
boom didn't at that very moment get adrift, and he caught sight of it
in a jiffy. 'Hallo!' says he, catching tight hold of the pig-tail, and
slueing me right round by it. 'Hallo!' says he, 'I never see an
innocent country wench dress her hair in this way afore;—rather a
masc'line sort o' female,' he says. 'Who the devil are you?' 'It's Jack
Sheavehole, your honour,' says I, bringing up all standing; and,
knowing his generous heart, thinks I, Now's your time, Jack;
overhaul the whole consarn to him, and ten to one but he pulls you
through the scrape somehow or other. So I ups and tells him the
long and the short on it, and he laughs one minute, and d—ns me
for a desarting willun the next; and 'Come along!' says he 'I must
see what Captain B—n will think of all this.' So he takes me in tow,
and we went into one of the grand houses in High-street; and
'Follow me,' says he, as he walked up stairs into a large room all
lighted up for a sheave-o; and there wur ladies all togged out in
white, and silver and gold, and feathers, and navy officers and
sodger officers,—a grand dinner-party. 'B—n,' hails Sir Joseph,
'here's a lady wants you;' and he takes me by the hand, all
complimentary like, and the captain of the frigate comes towards us,
and I'm blessed if every soul fore and aft didn't fix their eyes on me
like a marine looking out for a squall. 'I've not the pleasure of
knowing the lady,' says the skipper; 'I fear, Sir Joseph, you're coming
York over me. Pray, ma'am, may I be allowed the happiness of
seeing your countenance and hearing your name?'—'I'm Jack
Sheavehole, yer honour,' says I, 'captain o' the Tapsickorees
maintop, as yer honour well knows.'—'I do, my man,' says he with a
gravedigger's grin on his countenance: 'and so you want to
desert?'—'Never, yer honour,' says I, 'in the regard o' my liking my
ship and my captain too well.'—'No, no, B—n,' says Sir Joseph, 'I
must do him justice. It appears that he had long leave, and
onknowingly overstayed his time; so he rigged himself out in angel's
gear to cheat them devils of sodgers. I'll vouch for the fact, B—n,'
says he, 'for I saw him myself get down from the coach—.'—'All
fresh from the country, yer honour,' says I.—'Ay, all fresh from the
country,' chimes in Sir Joseph. 'He's an ould shipmate o' mine, B—n,
and I want you, as a personal favour to myself to back his liberty-
ticket for to-morrow. Such a lad as this, would never desart the
sarvice.'—'If I would, then I'm d—! saving yer honour's presence,'
says I. Well, shipmates, there I stood in the broad light, and all the
ladies and gemmen staring at me like fun; and 'Come, B—n,' says Sir
Joseph, 'extend his liberty till to-morrow'—'Where's your ticket?' axes
the skipper: and so, in regard of its being in my trousers pocket, I
hauls up my petticoats to get at it; and, my eyes! but the women set
up a screeching, and the officers burst out in a broadside o'
laughing, and you never heard such a bobbery as they kicked up,—it
was a downright reg'lar squall."
"Ay, squall indeed," said the captain of the forecastle: "here it
comes with a vengeance!" he bellowed out with stentorian lungs.
"Hard up with the helm—hard a-weather." In an instant the sea was
one sheet of foam; the wind came whistling like the rustling of ten
thousand arrows in their swiftest flight; a report like the discharge of
a heavy piece of artillery was heard forward, and away flew the jib
like a fleecy cloud to leeward. The frigate heeled over, carrying
everybody and everything into the lee scuppers; the lightning hissed
and cracked as it exploded between the masts, making everything
tremble from the keel to the truck; broad sheets of water were lifted
up and dashed over the decks fore and aft: indeed, it seemed as if
the gale were striving to raise the ponderous vessel from the ocean
for the purpose of plunging it into the dark abyss; a thick mist-like
shroud hung round her, alow and aloft, as she struggled to lift
herself against the tempest. The topsail halliards were let go; but
the nearly horizontal position of the masts prevented the sails from
running down. Inevitable destruction for the moment threatened to
engulph them all, when "crack, crack, crack!" away went the
topmasts over the side; the spanker sheet had been cut away, and
off bounced the spanker after the jib. The frigate partially righted,
and Lord Eustace and his officers rushed to the deck. But the squall
had passed: the moon again shone beautifully clear; the deceitful
sky and still more deceitful ocean were all smiles, as if nothing had
happened,—though the evidences of their wrath were but too
apparent in the dismantled state of his Majesty's ship. But we must
again leave them, as we did before, to
"Call all hands to clear the wreck."
THE USEFUL YOUNG MAN.
A SECOND SERIES. BY WILLIAM COLLIER.
"There's one of us in every family."
To make ourselves useful's a duty we owe
To mankind and ourselves in our sojourn below;
To return good for evil, and always "to do
Unto others as you'd have them do unto you:"
So I bear all with patience, resolved, if I can,
To act well my part as a Useful Young Man!
CHAPTER VI.
I crossed over from France to England, mounted upon a species
of dragon spouting smoke and exhaling fire, to which the famous
monster of Mazanderan, slain by Rustam the Valiant, was a mere
plaything. But—shall I say it?—the awful sickness which seized me
whilst performing this feat, so overpowered me, that it was
impossible for me, the slave of the asylum of the universe, to put my
instructions into execution, and to write down in a book all the
wonders which in part came to my understanding on that auspicious
day. I may confidently assert that no follower of the blessed Ali ever
suffered so much in so short a time as I then did. I was first taken
from my French bed before the day began to dawn, and put upon
this English monster. As soon as its wings began to expand, and to
move through the waters, an universal tremor assailed it, which
communicated itself to me and all with me; and I continued to be
well shaken until I reached the shores of England. Then I felt so
giddy that I thought my head had got into the infernal regions, until
I soon became certain that my stomach had followed it there also.
There I lay groaning, making noises,—oh, such noises!—that if they
could have been wafted to the ear of the king of kings, his heart
would have smote him for having placed his slave in this
predicament! When I was told that we were arrived, I soon was
restored to myself, and hastened from the bowels of the monster to
the light of heaven; and there, indeed, I saw a town, and a castle,
and living men and women, and, truly, nothing indicating a ruined
country and a desponding people. We landed at this place. It was
called Dover; and as I was told, is famous for a recent controversy
whether it should be spelt with an o or an e in the last syllable. From
time immemorial it had possessed the e; but such was the spirit of
change that they had now transformed it into the o, although the
lovers of old customs and good order kept to the old sacred e.
"When that spirit seizes a nation, who knows," thought I, "when
changes begin, where they may end?" If we were to hearken to all
our enlightened sofis in Persia, they would expunge many sayings in
our blessed Koran; and, as we have not a second prophet to direct
us, one man's change would be as good as another's. Bit by bit all
would be upset; we should not have a law left for our direction, and
we should finish by cutting each other's throats in order to settle
which was the best way to live.
I thought, however, that I could discover some symptoms of
beggary in the state of the country, by what happened when I was
first setting foot on the infidel shore. Two scrutinising-looking Francs
stood on each side of a board over which I was to walk on stepping
from the boat to land; and when I ventured to do so, they stopped
me, passed their hands over the protuberances of my person, and
were about to seize a cashmere shawl which I wore round my waist,
when I exclaimed, "The dogs are eating dirt!" which brought some
of my friends on board the packet to my help. Explanations were
made, and I was let pass. These were officers of customs. "But,"
thought I, "is it possible that this great nation can be brought to
such a state of want that it permits its officers to rob a poor
stranger!" I was told of odd things. It was hinted to me, that the
burnt father's whelps looked mightily hard at my beard, and that
they had hinted that, by rights, I ought to pay duty for it, as foreign
hair.
Having landed, with Mahboob close at my heels, we were almost
crushed to death by a mob of ruffians, who took violent possession
of our persons, one pulling us one way, the other the other, roaring
the oddest words by way of congratulations on first landing, which
to this day I have not made out. "The Ship!" bawled one; "York!"
cried another; "Red Lion!" said the next; "Blue Posts!" said the next.
"Be Jehanum!" roared I; and, at length, by dint of main force, I was
rescued by my friend in the packet, and taken safe into a
caravanserai that stood by the sea-shore. Here, indeed, the kindness
shown me by many men and women,—the bows, the dips, the
smiles, the sugared words which were lavished upon me, made up in
part for the rude sort of reception which I had hitherto experienced,
and the sunshine of satisfaction dawned over my heart. But still a
doubt hung about my mind; and I asked myself how it was possible
that I should all at once have become such an object of tender
interest and affection to a set of infidels who had never seen me
before,—who probably did not know whether Iran was situated
above the surface of the heavens, or within the bowels of the earth,
—who perhaps had never heard of the name of our asylum of the
universe, nor even of our blessed prophet? I then reflected upon
what had happened to us when we had landed before, in England,
and recollected that, at the end of all things, there came a certain
little odd-looking bit of paper which the infidels called "bill," by virtue
of which all their civilities, all their kindness, all their apparent
hospitality were condensed into two or three crooked cyphers, and
then converted into sums of gold, whether the stranger was
agreeable, or not agreeable, to the transformation. I quite streamed
from every pore as I thought upon that moment of my retribution,
for my wits were my principal stock in hand; money being little, and,
I feared, credit less. However, as long as the civility lasted, I was
delighted, and I made as free a use of the caravanserai as if it had
been the Shah's Gate.
I never lost sight of the object of my mission. I was delighted to
have landed without having excited a suspicion of the nature of my
character; and, as England is the head-quarters for curious men,—
for, owing to her vast foreign possessions, she imports them from all
parts,—no one thought it strange that two men with beards, with
sheep-skin caps on, and mounted on high-heeled green slippers,
should arrive amongst them to take a walk through their country. I
was charmed, too, to have created an interest in the breast of an
infidel Englishman who had been my fellow-passenger on board the
packet. He was a low, rotund man, of evident discretion in speech,
the master of moderation, and the lord of few words. There was no
display in his dress, for he buttoned himself up tight in his
broadcloth coat, exhibited no chains, and contented himself with a
rough stick with a hook to it. I found that he had been in India,—
where many English have been; and, when I could not understand
all he said to me in his own language, I was glad to find he could
explain himself fully by the help of some score of indifferent Persian
words. He had helped me out of the dilemma with the custom-house
officers, had rescued me out of the fangs of the complimentary
harpies, had installed me in the caravanserai; and had thus gained a
claim upon my gratitude.
I had occasionally asked him about the state of his country, but I
had never been able to get more out of him than a shake of his
head. From what I could discover from the exterior of things,
certainly there was no indication of decay; and indeed, compared
with what I had observed in the other countries of Europe, there
seemed here to be an increased state of prosperity. It was evident
that I had been everywhere hoaxed upon the declining state of
England, and that envy alone had excited the report spread to her
disadvantage. When we talk of ruin in Persia, we see it at once:
villages without inhabitants, dry water-courses, abandoned
caravanserais, ragged and wan-looking peasants, and tyrannical
governors. But here I saw a flourishing town, happy people, new
buildings, busy faces, and no appearance at all of governors. I
remarked this to my infidel friend: still he wagged his head, and
talked of things unknown to my understanding. The utmost I could
draw from him was, that he did not like chopping and changing.
When I had discovered the true meaning of these words I could not
help saying to myself, "Our Shah has long enough tried 'chopping,'
without gaining prosperity, I wish he too would try changing; he
might perhaps succeed better." I, however, for the present
determined to keep my own counsel, and apply the opening draught
of inquiry to the malady of ignorance as often as such relief came
within my power.
Σχολαζοντος ασχολια
A LONDON FOG.
Who has not seen a London fog? I ween
All those who live there, often must have seen
This "darkness visible:"
For much I write not; but, for those who dwell
Where 'tis not known, an anecdote I'll tell
Both droll and risible.
Tribute, this, from the future Henry V.! Deeper tribute, however,
is paid in the scene in which state necessity induces the renunciation
of the fellow with the great belly who had misled him. Poins had
prepared us for the issue. The prince had been grossly abused in the
reputable hostelrie of the Boar's Head while he was thought to be
out of hearing. When he comes forward with the intention of
rebuking the impertinence, Poins, well knowing the command to
which he was destined to submit, exclaims, "My lord, he will drive
you out of your revenge, and turn all to merriment, if you take not
the heat." Vain caution! The scene, again, ends by the total
forgetfulness of Falstaff's offence, and his being sent for to court.
When, therefore, the time had come that considerations of the
highest importance required that Henry should assume a more
dignified character, and shake off his dissolute companions, his own
experience and the caution of Poins instruct him that if the thing be
not done on the heat,—if the old master-spirit be allowed one
moment's ground of vantage,—the game is up, the good resolutions
dissipated into thin air, the grave rebuke turned all into laughter, and
thoughts of anger or prudence put to flight by the restored
supremacy of Falstaff. Unabashed and unterrified he has heard the
severe rebuke of the king—"I know thee not, old man," &c. until an
opportunity offers for a repartee:
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