The Belgian said to him, Give me your wine, and I in exchange, will give you fifteen bundles of thread.

The Englishman said, Give it to me, and I will give you twenty bundles, for we English can spin cheaper than the Belgians.

But a custom-house officer standing by, said to the laborer, My good fellow, make your exchange, if you choose, with the Belgian, but it is my duty to prevent your doing so with the Englishman.

What! exclaimed the countryman, you wish me to take fifteen bundles of Brussels thread, when I can have twenty from Manchester?
Certainly; do you not see that France would be a loser, if you were to receive twenty bundles instead of fifteen?
I can scarcely understand this, said the laborer.

Nor can I explain it, said the custom-house officer, but there is no doubt of the fact; for deputies, ministers, and editors, all agree that a people is impoverished in proportion as it receives a large compensation for any given quantity of its produce.