“Ah, my little poet!” he exclaimed; “you here already!”
“Yes, sir,” I answered, jumping up; “and I have found your ring, and brought it to you too.”
“Have you indeed? That is more than I expected,” he replied. “But come in, and you can then give me the ring, and tell me something about yourself.”
So I went into his house, and he was evidently pleased when he saw the ring, which I had washed and wrapped up carefully in a bit of rag, and it looked clean and bright. He then took me into the parlour, where two ladies were sitting at breakfast, where he made me join them, all untidy as I was, at their meal; after which he desired me to give a full account of myself, and to recite some more poetry, all of which I did, apparently much to the satisfaction of the party present.
“’Twere a pity for the child to grow up neglected and uncared for, as will probably be his fate, till he becomes in no way superior to the uncultivated, ignorant men among whom he will be doomed to live,” observed one of the ladies to Mr Wells, who was, I found, his wife. “Can you do anything for him?”
“I was thinking on the subject, my love,” answered Mr Wells. “The question in my mind is, ‘In what position shall he be placed?’”
“Oh, my dear, that is very easy,” replied the lady, in an eager tone; “send him to a good school, and then make him one of your clerks.”
“That might not prove a real kindness after all,” said her husband; “he has already, by his own exertions and good conduct, made one step up the ladder, and I think it will be wiser to leave him to work his own way upward. He will then be less liable to slip down again. I will keep an eye on him, and give him advice when he requires it.”
This I believe he said for my benefit, that I might not fancy that I had nothing further to do than to wait for the coming of good luck, as is the case too often with certain people, who then grumble and find fault with the world because their luck never comes. I do not mean to say that opportunities do not occur to some men more frequently than to others, but I believe that they visit most of us at some time or other of our lives, and that it is our own fault if we do not take advantage of them.
“But I will learn what the boy himself has to say on the subject,” said Mr Wells.—“What would you like to do, my lad?”