"How so?"
"It is a healthier life, in the first place," said I.
"That, I can believe," nodded the Tinker.
"It is a happier life, in the second place."
"That, I doubt," returned the Tinker.
"And, in the third place, it pays much better."
"That, I don't believe," said the Tinker.
"Nevertheless," said I, "speaking for myself, I have, in the course of my twenty-five years, earned but ten shillings, and that—but by the sale of my waistcoat."
"Lord love me!" exclaimed the Tinker, staring.
"A man," I pursued, "may be a far better scholar than I—may be full of the wisdom of the Ancients, and the teachings of all the great thinkers and philosophers, and yet starve to death—indeed frequently does; but who ever heard of a starving Tinker?"