"I wish to gracious goodness that Thornton J. Seabury would make better use of his time!"
That was the earnest exclamation of Mrs. Seabury, mother of Thornton; and it was her earnest conviction that her son was going to turn out to be an idle, unpractical, shiftless young man.
"It's not that he's lazy," said Mrs. Seabury, when, in the distress of her heart, she went to consult the minister about her boy. "No, he's not exactly what you might call lazy; but he works on useless things. He spends hours and hours in studying things that may be very interesting and very fine to know; but what good will they ever do him? He's got to make his way in the world, and I'd like to know who's going to pay him for learning the names of the stars, and orbits, and diurnal motions, and such things as he talks about! He ought to be giving his attention to something that will help him to earn an honest living."
"But, my dear Mrs. Seabury," said the Rev. Thomas Tatter, who was a man of education, "there is hardly any study that cannot be turned to account in earning a living; though I must admit that I can't help admiring your son for loving a study for its own sake."
"Well, I'd admire him too," said Mrs. Seabury, "if he loved some such study as civil engineering or architecture."
"Yes, I dare say that these would promise a more brilliant future for him: but we must admit the fact that his gifts are for astronomy, and you know it is almost impossible to overcome the impulses of a boy's natural gifts. Even as an astronomer a man may earn a living."
"Well, I suppose there's no help for it," sighed Mrs. Seabury.
All this time, Thornton, grieved at his mother's opposition to his favorite pursuit, was nevertheless more passionately attached to it than ever. From early childhood he had always regarded the heavens with delight and devouring wonder. What were those beautiful golden stars that filled the splendid dome of night with their gentle radiance! Why had God put them there, and what were they doing? Little by little he began to absorb the elementary facts of astronomy, and after a time he found that he could make no further progress without becoming a thorough mathematician. So he set himself resolutely to work, and soon knew all that his school-teacher, a college graduate, could teach him. Thornton really was a complete master of geometry, trigonometry, higher algebra, and even the more advanced branches of mathematics. His advance in astronomy was now rapid. He even put in a summer at uncongenial labor in order to earn money enough to buy three or four second-hand instruments. He never dreamed that he might turn his knowledge to practical use; but he studied simply because he loved the subject. And in the course of time astronomy repaid him for his devotion in ways that had never entered his mind.
At the time when this story begins Mr. Seabury had left home, on the Maine coast, and had gone to New York to see about a good situation which had been offered him in that city. Times had been hard up in Maine, and Mr. Seabury had been out of work and could not get in again. One day he returned home and told his wife that he had secured an excellent situation in New York, but hardly knew how to stand the great expense of moving his family and his household goods such a distance. Fortunately, however, an old friend, Captain Josiah Whitby, of the schooner Three Elms, came to visit them that evening. As soon as he heard of the difficulty he slapped his stout knee and said:
"Why, lookee, my lad, it's lucky I came. I'm goin' to sail for New York on Saturday with the Three Elms in ballast to get a cargo there for Bermuda. Now it ain't agoin' to hurt me to carry all your fixin's for nothin', an' you an' your fam'ly for the price o' what you'll eat."