He had now taken a third step on the ladder of life. His business should be built upon honor.
The next time that he met Mr. Calamity, the old gentleman gave him a view of the prospects of a printer.
"If you think that you are going to get your foot on the ladder of life by becoming a printer, you will find that you have mistaken your calling. None of the great men of old were printers, were they? Homer was no printer, was he?"
"I have never heard that he was."
"Nor did you hear of any one who ever printed the Iliad or the Odyssey. No printer was ever heard of among the immortals. A printer just prints—that is all. Solomon never printed anything, did he?"
"I never read that he did, sir."
"Nor Shakespeare?"
"I never heard that he did, sir."
"A printer has no chance to rise; he just builds the ark for Noah to sail in, and is left behind himself."
"I hope to print some of my own thoughts, sir."