“What was the reason you were not happy at home?” he asked. “Ned seems to enjoy himself very well.”
“I suppose he does,” returned Guy bitterly. “He has a father and mother who try to make home pleasant for him. Any boy can enjoy himself under such circumstances.”
“Didn’t you have all you wanted to eat, and drink, and wear?”
“Yes, sir; but is that all a boy wants to make him happy? No, indeed. He wants a kind word now and then. He likes to be told once in a while that there is some good in him, and that he is not altogether wicked and depraved. He wants privileges occasionally, not those granted with hesitation and grumbling and cautions innumerable, for he cannot enjoy them, but those which are extended willingly and smilingly, as if the parent found as much pleasure in giving as the boy does in receiving them. He wants somebody who will love him, and who is not ashamed to show it. Where is Henry Stewart?” asked Guy suddenly.
“He is still at home,” replied Mr. Harris, “studying hard to fit himself for college. Mr. Stewart seems to be particularly blessed in his children. Henry is a model boy. He never does anything behind his father’s back that he would be ashamed to do before his face.”
“And what is the reason?” asked Guy.
“I don’t know, I am sure. I suppose it is nature.”
“Yes, the nature of the boy has a good deal to do with his behavior, of course, but believe me, father, when I say that the parents have a great deal to do with it, too,” said Guy earnestly. “If you will go into Mr. Stewart’s yard some night and watch his family through the window, as I did on one occasion, the mystery will be solved in two minutes’ time. Henry can’t help being a good boy, because he has a good home. It isn’t what he has to eat and drink and wear that makes him so, either.”
“Well, have you been so much happier since you have been out in the world than you were at home?”
“I have been so much better satisfied that I don’t want to go back,” replied Guy.