“I think we shall agree pretty well,” said the young man. “After we get settled, we shall be glad to receive a visit from our landlord.”
Julius laughingly agreed to call.
“It seems like a joke,” he said afterward to Mr. Taylor, “my being a landlord. I don’t know how to act.”
“I hope it will prove a profitable joke, Julius,” said Mr. Taylor. “I have reason to think it will.”
“I think I will write to Mr. O’Connor and tell him how I am getting along,” said Julius.
“Do so,” said Mr. Taylor.
Julius wrote that very day, not without pride and satisfaction.{201}
CHAPTER XXVIII.
A BUSINESS JOURNEY.
We must now carry forward the story two years. It has been a profitable time for Julius. His excellent natural abilities, stimulated by ambition, have advanced him very considerably in the education which comes from books, while the hours spent in labor on the farm have strengthened his muscles, and developed his figure, so that he presents a strong contrast to the undersized and slender boy who came from the city streets in Mr. O’Connor’s company. The effort of generous diet also may be seen in his improved looks. He would now be regarded as quite a good-looking boy, though he privately considers himself entitled to the more dignified appellation of a young man.
I am glad to be able to record that in other ways also he has improved. As a street boy, he was not wholly free from the errors common to his class. Now he has a regard for truth, and Mr. Taylor has come to have implicit confidence in his word. He has even come to feel a paternal interest in the once neglected waif, and treats him in all respects like a son. Little Carrie, too, calls him Brother Julius, and probably feels as much affection for him as if he were her own brother.{202}