"I am sorry for your misfortune, though glad to hear you are getting better. Have you heard of the Dutch sailor who having broken one of his legs by a fall from the mast, thanked God that he had not broken his neck? I expect you are feeling thankful that you did not break both legs.
"I cried for joy at the last part of your letter. The two things I most wished for of almost anything in the world were to see my mother and Westminster again. But I have been so often disappointed when I have set my heart on some great pleasure, that I will never again be sure of anything before it comes.
"Your affectionate brother,
"Jack."
Poor Jack! it was well he did not anticipate this treat too much, for when the time came he hadn't enough money to take him to London, and as he was already in debt he could not borrow any more. It was a bitter disappointment; but when his mother got back home again after her visit to London, she wrote one of her bright, loving, encouraging letters, which did something towards comforting the heart of this "mother's boy." This was the letter:
"Dear Jack,
"I am uneasy because I have not heard from you. Don't just write letter for letter, but let me hear from you often, and tell me if you are well, and how much you are still in debt.
"Dear Jack, don't be discouraged; do your duty; keep close to your studies, and hope for better days. Perhaps we may be able to send you a few pounds before the end of the year.
"Dear Jacky, I pray Almighty God to bless thee!
"Your mother,
"Susanna Wesley."
When boys get to be fourteen or sixteen, they begin to think and wonder what they will be when they are men. Very little boys generally mean to be either cab-drivers or engine-drivers; and I did hear of one who meant to have a wild beast show when he grew up. Jack reached the age of twenty-one, and had not decided what he would be.