TOM NEWCOMBE;
OR,
THE BOY OF BAD HABITS.
CHAPTER I.
TOM’S HABITS.
“O NOW, I can’t learn this lesson, I know I can’t, and there’s no use in trying! I am the most unlucky boy in the whole world!”
Thus spoke Tom Newcombe, as he lay under one of the trees in his father’s yard, rolling about on the grass, and tossing his heels in the air, as if he scarcely knew what to do with himself.
Tom was not a happy boy, although all his playmates thought he ought to be. His father was the wealthiest man in the village—owned more than half the vessels that sailed from that port, and Tom lived in a large house, where he had every thing a boy of his age could ask for to make his life pass pleasantly. He owned the swiftest sail-boat about the village; had more fish-poles, foot-balls, and playthings of every description than he could possibly find use for; and, in the stable, was a fine little Shetland pony, which had been bought for Tom’s express benefit. But, in spite of his pleasant surroundings, the hero of our story was very discontented; his face always wore a gloomy expression, and he invariably acted as if he were angry about something.