human
What a curiosity, Joshua is! Who would have thought of finding such a thing there?
gpt
It is a rare thing, I own, said Howe,
human
Will you leave it here, or bury it again?
gpt
The prize is mine; I shall carry it along with me,
human
That would not be right, rejoined Martin.
gpt
It is another man's property.
human
Which he forfeited by false pretences. No, children, whatever found without an owner in these wilds, falls to the finder by right,
gpt
I think the children are right,
human
Suppose the owner is dead and never comes for it,
gpt
It in no wise alters the case. It is better that it never finds an owner than possess ourselves of what has purposely been hid from us.
human
Such notions are right and proper for a settlement, but for a place like this, it is carrying it to too nice a point.
gpt
The rights of others should be as sacred to us in one place as another,
human
Suppose somebody had trapped beaver and foxes in some particular locality, would that make the animals that were uncaught in that locality his own?
gpt
Certainly not. The case is different; as the beaver uncaught never were his, he had no claim on them. But if he caught a hundred beaver and cured the skins, and secreted them in some place until he chose to sell them, it would be decidedly dishonest for any one to take them away as their own, because they had found the place in which they were hidden.
human
I believe you are right, Mary. Joshua shall be reinterred,
gpt
Mother is always right,