The morning after these two boys arrived at their uncle's they were eager to see all the rooms in the house. Mr. Gresham accompanied them, and attended to their remarks and exclamations.
'Oh, what an excellent motto!' exclaimed Ben, when he read the following words, which were written in large characters over the chimneypiece in his uncle's spacious kitchen—
'WASTE NOT, WANT NOT.'
'"Waste not, want not!"' repeated his cousin Hal, in rather a contemptuous tone; 'I think it looks stingy to servants; and no gentleman's servants, cooks especially, would like to have such a mean motto always staring them in the face.'
Ben, who was not so conversant as his cousin in the ways of cooks and gentleman's servants, made no reply to these observations.
Mr. Gresham was called away whilst his nephews were looking at the other rooms in the house. Some time afterwards he heard their voices in the hall.
'Boys,' said he, 'what are you doing there?'
'Nothing, sir,' said Hal. 'You were called away from us, and we did not know which way to go.'
'And have you nothing to do?' said Mr. Gresham.
'No, sir—nothing,' answered Hal in a careless tone, like one who was well content with the state of habitual idleness.