Jr. Horatio Alger

“ I shall never forget how you attended my mother in her sickness, when there was small prospect of your being paid.”
“My dear boy,” said the doctor, resting his hand affectionately on Herbert's shoulder, “I have been able to do but very little. I wish I could do more. If you wish to repay me, you can do it a hundred times over by growing up a good and honorable man; one upon whom your mother in heaven can look down with grateful joy, if it is permitted her to watch your progress here.”
“I will do my best, doctor,” said Herbert.
“The world is all before you,” proceeded Dr. Kent. ”

“ Herbert woke up early the next morning, and a feeling of sadness came over him as he reflected that it was his last morning in Waverley. He was going out into the world, and, as he could not help thinking, under very unfavorable auspices. New scenes and new experiences usually have a charm for a boy, but Mr. Holden's disagreeable face and unpleasant smile rose before him, and the prospect seemed far from tempting.
When he came downstairs, he found Mrs. Kent in the kitchen.
“You are up early, Mrs. Kent,” said Herbert.
“Yes, Herbert; I want you to have a good breakfast before you go.” ”

“ Godfrey, “you can come back at once, and I will raise your pay to eight dollars a week. I owe you some reparation for the injury you came so near suffering. I will never again doubt your integrity.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Herbert; “I shall be glad to come back.”
“Before this matter is decided,” said Ralph, “I have a proposition to make to Herbert. I am rich, and have no one to share or inherit my wealth. ”

“ Then he bethought himself of his late persecutor.
“Is that your dog?” he asked, surveying his four-legged enemy with no friendly expression.
“Yes, that's Carlo. Come here, Carlo.”
“He's been in here barking at me, and threatening to bite me, and now I'll have my revenge.”
“What do you mean?” inquired the boy, in alarm, as Abner seized the axe and swung it over his head.
“Stand aside, boy!”
“What are you going to do?”
“I'm going to kill that brute.”
“No, no, he's a good dog. He won't do any harm,” said the boy, in alarm.
“I'll kill him,” said Abner, fiercely. ”

“ Tom's face darkened, as he heard this. He would have given considerable to receive such an invitation himself, but the prospect did not seem very promising.
“Mr. Godfrey must be infatuated,” he said to himself, impatiently, “to invite such a beggar to his house. Mason ought to have good sense enough to feel that he is out of place in such a house. I wouldn't accept any invitation given out of pity.”
“I wonder why Tom dislikes me so much?” thought Herbert. “He certainly takes pains enough to show his feeling. Would it be different, I wonder, if he knew that I was his cousin?” ”

“ There are not many that can be said of. As for Abner Holden, I know him. He's a mean skinflint. Pah!” and he spit, contemptuously. “You'd better not go back to him.”
“I don't mean to,” said Herbert, promptly.
“What are your plans? Have you formed any?”
“I want to go to New York.”
“To New York,” repeated Ralph, thoughtfully. “You wish to get into the crowd, while I seek to avoid it. But it is natural to youth. At your age, it was so with me. I hope, my boy, the time will not come when you, like me, will wish to shun the sight of men.” ”

“ Tom Stanton had listened with considerable surprise, mingled with mortification, to what had passed. It appeared then, that his country cousin, whom he had looked upon as a country boor, was his superior in education, and, as Tom secretly knew, in courage. And now he was going to be his fellow-clerk. He felt jealous and angry, fearing that Herbert, who appeared to be high in favor already, would eclipse him in the office.
“How much can you live upon economically?” asked the merchant. ”

“ Nor was Herbert forgetful of his good friends, the Kents. He paid off the mortgage on the doctor's place, and insisted on putting the house in thorough repair, and newly furnishing it, so that now the town of Waverley does not contain a handsomer house, inside and out, than that of Dr. Kent.
So we bid farewell to our young hero, fairly launched on a prosperous career, trusting that his life-path may be bright to the end, and that he may leave behind him, at the end of his career, the reputation of a noble and honorable merchant, and a life filled with good deeds. ”

“ But, I say, I thought you were a gentleman's son when I first saw you.”
“So I am,” said Herbert, emphatically.
“Was your father rich?”
“No.”
“Did he have to work for a living?”
“Yes.”
“Then he wasn't a gentleman,” said Oscar, decidedly.
“Isn't anybody a gentleman that has to work for a living?” asked Herbert, his indignation excited by his companion's assumption of superiority.
“Of course not,” said Oscar, coolly. “It isn't respectable to work. Niggers and servants work.” ”

“ Herbert's clasped the Ranger's hand in impulsive gratitude, while his face beamed with pleasure.
“I congratulate you, Herbert,” said Mr. Godfrey, kindly, “though I am sorry to lose you. Whenever your guardian is ready to have you enter on a business career, a place in my counting-room shall be open to you.”
“Ralph,” said Herbert, seriously, as they went from the counting-room in company, “all that has happened seems so wonderful that I am a little afraid I shall wake up to find it all a dream.”
“It is a change to me also,” said Ralph, “to have a new interest in life. ”

“ Tom Stanton listened in indignant surprise. He only got four dollars a week, and here was a country boy placed over his head. He was imprudent enough to give expression to his feelings.
“Won't you give me six dollars a week, also?” he said.
“Why should I?”
“Don't I deserve as much as he?”
“Perhaps you do. But I don't give it to Herbert because he earns it, for it is not likely that he will do so at present. But he has no other resources. You have a comfortable home, and are not obliged to pay for your board out of your wages.” ”

“ Abner Holden's house stood in considerable need of paint. It had no great pretensions to architectural beauty, being about as handsome for a house as Abner Holden was for a man. There was a dilapidated barn, a little to one side, and the yard was littered up with a broken wagon, a woodpile and various odds and ends, giving the whole a very untidy look.
“Is this where you live, Mr. Holden?” asked Herbert, looking about him.
“Yes, and I'm glad to get home. Do you know how to unharness a horse?” ”

“ Now, for more than one reason, he objected to our hero's leaving. First, because he was a strong, capable boy, and his services were worth considerable, and, secondly, because he disliked Herbert, and it was a satisfaction to tyrannize over him, as his position enabled him to do. There are some men in whom the instinct of petty tyranny exists to such an extent that they cannot feel happy without someone to exercise their authority over. Such a man was Abner Holden. He was a bully and a tyrant by nature, and decidedly objected to losing one so completely in his power as Herbert was. ”

“ Mr. Godfrey looked perplexed, and was hesitating what to say when Mr. Walton, the owner of the lost pocketbook, hurriedly entered.
“Mr. Godfrey,” he said, “I have to beg your pardon, and, most of all, the pardon of this boy,” indicating Herbert. “I have found my pocketbook. I didn't lose it here, but my pocket was picked in the street. The pickpocket was arrested, and the wallet has been returned to me. This boy is innocent.”
“I am very glad to hear it,” said Mr. Godfrey, with emphasis. “Herbert, I will try to make amends to you for my transient suspicions of your honesty. ”

“ He decided, as it was only five o'clock, to take a leisurely walk up Broadway, noticing his uncle's place of business on the way.
A few minutes brought him in front of the latter—an imposing-looking building, with all the appearance of belonging to a prosperous merchant. Appearances are deceitful, to be sure, and no doubt there are some merchants, as outwardly prosperous, who might profitably change places with their head clerks. But Herbert naturally judged from appearances, and he could not help contrasting in his mind his own condition with that of his uncle's. ”

“ Bickford,” said Herbert.
“What, Herbert? Shall I let you in?”
“No; I don't want to come in. All I want is my clothes. They are up in my trunk.”
“I'll go up and get them for you.”
She went upstairs and quickly returned with the clothes, which she let down from the window.
“Are you hungry, Herbert?” she asked. “Let me bring you something to eat.”
“No, thank you, Mrs. Bickford; I am stopping with Ralph the Ranger. He has kindly given me all the food I want.”
“What are you going to do? Are you going to stop with him?”
“No, I am going East in a day or two. I am going to New York. ”

“ It must be admitted that it was rather calculated to affect the nerves to find one's self suddenly in the dark, and at the same time to hear such a fearful noise proceeding from an unknown quarter.
Abner Holden jumped to his feet in dire dismay, and, without stopping to reflect on the probable cause of this startling interruption, “struck a bee line” for the staircase, and descended quicker, probably, than he had ever done before, narrowly escaping tumbling the entire distance, in his headlong haste. ”

“ If I turn out any more, I shall go into the gully.”
“That makes no difference. A wetting won't do you any harm. Your impudence needs cooling.”
“That may be,” said Herbert, who did not choose to get angry, but was resolved to maintain his rights; “but I object to the wetting, for all that, and as this wagon is not mine, I do not choose to upset it.”
“You are the most insolent young scamp I ever came across!” exclaimed the other, furiously. “I've a good mind to give you something much worse than a wetting.”
“Such as what?” asked our hero, coolly. ”

“ When breakfast was over, therefore, he merely said: “Mrs. Bickford, I am going out for a short time. If Herbert should return while I am absent, you may tell him to finish hoeing those potatoes in the garden.”
“Do you think he will come back, Mr. Holden?” asked the housekeeper.
“Yes; he will soon be tired of wandering about. He will learn to prize a good home after he has slept out of doors one night.”
Mrs. Bickford did not reply; but she did not feel quite so much confidence as her employer appeared to do in the excellence of the home which Herbert had enjoyed under Abner Holden's roof. ”

“ He proceeded to pay his own bill and in a few minutes got into the wagon and drove off rather sulkily. Herbert saw that Mr. Holden was disturbed by the failure of his little plan, and felt amused rather than otherwise. But when he reflected that he was going to live with this man, and be, to a considerable extent under his control, he felt inclined to be sad. One thing he resolved that he would not submit to tyranny. The world was wide, and he felt able to earn his own living. He would give Mr. Holden a trial, and if he treated him with reasonable fairness he would remain with him. ”