"No; but he said learning was always a good thing, and he would give me as much as he could."
"Humph, your father was always an unpractical man. You might have been earning a nice little sum now."
"Perhaps I shall be able to work better for what father taught me," said the boy, timidly.
Mr. Hadleigh looked at his orphan nephew, and said more kindly, "Perhaps you will; your father was a good man, though he did not know how to make money. Do you know much of arithmetic?"
"Yes, I am very fond of it."
"That's a good thing; a quick reckoner is valuable in business. Of course you know you will have to work. Your aunt and Clarice both help, and I can keep no idler on the premises."
"Is Clarice my cousin?"
"Yes; she is some years older than you, though. She helps me with the books, and makes a good business woman. I think that everybody, young people specially, should stick to their work. If people did that, there would not be so many poor about."
"But people cannot help being poor, can they? Some are always richer than others."
"That may be, but all can earn their own living, if they will. If not, they have no business to live."