tx-e,

' Hurra ! hurra ! mammoth cabbages for sale ! " — p. 2.

I WILL BE A GENTLEMAN:

A BOOK FOR BOYS.

BY MRS. TUTHILL.

" A ruffle, cravat, or a cane, With him is the pink of perfection ;

A tassel or watch-key he deems The very tip-top of gentility;

And plain common sense he esteems Scarce worthy of decent civility,"

SEVENTH EDITION.

BOSTON: WM. CROSBY AND H. P. NICHOLS,

113 WASHINGTON STREET. 1846.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S44, by

WILLIAM CROSBY,

in the Clerk's office of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

CAMBRIDGE:

STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY

METCALF AND COMPANY,

PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

I. JUVENILE GENTLEMEN, ... 1

II. SENT TO SCHOOL, 8

III. SISTERLY AFFECTION, .... 18

IV. A RETURN, ... . 25 V. JOSEPH AT HOME, .... 29

VI. A SUDDEN RESOLUTION, .... 35

VII. THE GENTLEMAN SAILOR, ... 38

VIII. RECOLLECTIONS OF HOME, ... 46

IX. NEW ACQUAINTANCES, .... 54

X. BEAU BRANDON ASHORE, ... 63

XI. THE PARTING, 68

XII. A STORM AT SEA, 72

XIII. A SAIL, 82

XIV. FAYAL, 87

XV. REMEMBERED KINDNESS, ... 99

XVI. A SURPRISE, 102

XVII. THE AZORES, . .110

XVIII. HOMEWARD BOUND, 117

XIX. HOME, 125

XX. ANOTHER MEETING, .... 131

XXI. BETTER HOPES, 137

XXII. AN UNEXPECTED RESOLVE, . . . 143

CHAPTER I.

JUVENILE GENTLEMEN.

I WILL be a gentleman ! Why ? because you whisk about a little dandy cane, smoke cigars, and toss your hat on one side of your head ? Is that the way to be a gentleman ?

One afternoon, last spring, there had been a sudden gust of wind and a slight shower of rain. It soon passed over, the sun shone out brightly, and the rain-drops sparkled like diamonds upon the trees of Boston Common.

The Boston boys love the Common, and well they may, for where could they find a more glo- rious play-ground ? During the shower the boys had taken shelter under the trees ; as soon as it had passed they resumed their amusements.

On one of the crossings, or walks, appeared a small, plainly-dressed old woman, with a cane in 1

y JUVENILE GENTLEMEN.

one hand and a large green umbrella in the other. She was bent with age and infirmity, and walked slowly. The green umbrella was open, and turned up in the most comical manner. The wind had suddenly reversed it, without the knowl- edge or consent of the old lady, and she now held it in one hand, like a huge flower with a long stalk.

" Hurrah ! hurrah ! " cried one of the boys, pointing to the umbrella, " mammoth cabbages for sale ! mammoth cabbages ! "

The whole rabble of boys joined in the cry, and ran hooting after the poor old woman. She looked around at them with grave wonder, and endeavoured to hasten her tottering footsteps.

They still pursued her, and at length began pelting with pebbles the up-standing umbrella ; some crying u Mammoth cabbages ! " and others, " New-fashioned sun-shades ! "

She turned again, and said, with tears in her eyes, " What have I done, my little lads, that you should thus trouble me ? "

" It is a shame," said a neatly dressed, fine looking boy, who rushed through the crowd to the rescue of the poor old woman.

" Madam," said he, " your umbrella has turn-

JUVENILE GENTLEMEN. 3

ed in the wind ; will you allow me to close it for you ?"

"Thank you," she replied. "Then that is what those boys are hooting at. Well, it does look funny," added she, as she looked at the cause of their merriment. The kind-hearted boy endeavoured to turn it down, but it was no easy task ; the whalebones 'seemed obstinately bent upon standing upright.

The boys now changed the object of their at- tack, and the pebbles rattled like hail upon the manly fellow who was struggling to relieve the poor woman from her awkward predicament.

"You are a mean fellow, to spoil our fun," said they ; " but you can't come it ; you can't come it ; cabbage leaves will grow upward."

He however at length succeeded, and, closing the troublesome umbrella, handed it to the old woman with a polite bow.

" Thank you, thank you, a thousand times, Sir," said she, " and I should like to know your name, that I may repay you whenever I can find an opportunity."

" By no means," replied he, " T am happy to have rendered you this trifling service ; " and he walked away.

4 JUVENILE GENTLEMEN.

" Well," said she, " whoever you are, your father and mother have reason to be proud of you, for you are a gentleman, — a perfect gen- tleman."

And so he will be ; and I wish I could tell you his name, that you may see if my prophecy does not prove true.

" Manners make the irian," you may often have written in very legible characters in your copy- book ; they certainly do go very far towards making the gentleman.

I knew a boy once who thought a " long coat," as he called it, would make him a gentleman. Christopher, (for so I shall take the liberty to call him, though that was not his real name,) Christopher lived in the country, and was going to New York, on his first visit. His father was very indulgent, and, yielding to his entreaty, al- lowed the country tailor to make Christopher a blue broadcloth dress-coat, with bright gilt but- tons. Silly boy! he was mightily pleased with his beautiful coat, and tried it on again and again, and almost wrung his neck to see how it fitted him in the back and about the shoulders. He did not wear it, for fear of taking off the gloss, till he got to New York. No sooner had he step-

JUVENILE GENTLEMEN. 5

ped upon the dock there, than one of the boys belonging to the gang that always assemble about the steamboat landings espied the glossy new coat. " Mister ! Mister ! " said he, " how much will you take for your long-tailed coat ? "

A country lad, somewhat older than Christo- pher, who had before visited the city, was to be his guide through the great metropolis. They hurried along without taking much notice of the insult, Christopher merely saying, " I suppose these are what they call dock-rats."

But it is no easy matter to get rid of the mis- chievous rogues. A whole troop of young tatter- demalions followed, crying " Mister ! Mister ! what will you take for the long-tailed blue ? "

Christopher turned an imploring look towards them, which struck them as peculiarly ludicrous, for they began imitating it, with their thumbs on their noses and their fingers in rapid motion,

The country boys, quite dismayed, started upon a full run, the skirts of Christopher's coat flying out behind him, like the tail of a kite. Their persecutors took mud from the gutters and threw after them, crying^ " Look out for the brassy buttons ! there goes Tom Thumb, junior."

Christopher and his companion were at last 1*

6 JUVENILE GENTLEMEN.

obliged to take refuge in a shop, and when the " dock-rats " had dispersed, they sneaked back to the steamboat. Christopher took off his mud-bespattered coat, his once beautiful, glossy coat, and, putting on his old round-about jacket, ragely concluded that the coat does not make the gentleman.

" Bill what are you, a Loco-Foco or a Whig ? " said one of these would-be-gentleman to a boy about his own age ; they might have been each twelve years old, or thereabouts.

" I am a Loco-Foco, 'cause mother is a Whig. She is for ever talking about it ; and it is my opin- ion that women have nothing to do with politics^ and I should be ashamed to be what my mar wants to have me. That 's the reason I am such a raving, tearing Loco-Foco."

" That 's right, Bill," was the reply, "you had just as lief your anxious mar would know you are out as not."

" Sure I had ! None of your mammy-calves for me. I am thankful that I shall be a man before my mother." So saying, the youngster spit out the tobacco-juice from his mouth in the most approved manner. The accomplishment must have required a great deal of practice.

JUVENILE GENTLEMEN. 7

" Their feet perhaps may want a shoe,

Yet they are patriots through and through, Their tongues can for their country roar, As loud as twenty men or more. "

Disrespect for a mother's opinion, certainly, never will make a boy a gentleman. The wisest and best men that ever lived have acknowledged, with gratitude, that they owed their wisdom and goodness more to their mother's influence than any other earthly cause. It is a very bad sign when a boy or a man speaks disrespectfully of his mother.

Women, it is true, have not much to do with politics, but they have a right to an opinion, and they often form correct ones.

CHAPTER II.

SENT TO SCHOOL.

JOSEPH BKANDON was a boy who did not respect his mother's opinion ; yet she was a good woman, an excellent woman. Joe wanted to be a gentle- man, and did not like to be tied to his mother's apron-string. She was a widow, and Joe was her only son. She had a house of her own, and a snug, pretty house it was ; and she had a small but comfortable income from well-invested funds. She had made up her mind to send Joe to col- lege, and for this purpose she instructed her two daughters at home, — that she might save by that means enough to educate her son in the best pos- sible manner. The two girls, Susan and Fanny, were affectionate and kind to their mother, and as nice, pretty girls as one would wish to see.

Joe was the most tormenting tease to his

SENT TO SCHOOL. 9

sisters. He pulled the ears of Susan's favorite kitten every time he could get a chance. He trampled upon the flower-beds in Fanny's little garden. Because Susan had a small nose, he gave her the sobriquet of Pug ; and Fanny, who had light brown hair, he called Tow. In short, he in- vented every possible way to make them uncom- fortable, until Mrs. Brandon concluded that she must send Joe away to school. He had got en- tirely beyond her management, and had not the least respect for her opinions.

The morning came for Joe's departure for school. His kind mother had prepared every thing for his comfort in the neatest order. His sisters had each secretly put a little packet of " goodies " into Joe's carpet bag, that he was to have the pleasure of coming upon unexpectedly, when far from home.

The stagecoach was at the door. Joe drew on his new kid gloves with a very important air, and called out to the driver, " Here, fellow, come and take my luggage." It was carried out.

" Good by, mother," said he, in a swaggering kind of indifferent manner.

" Stop, Joseph, my son," said Mrs. Brandon, " are you not going to give us one kiss before

10 SENT TO SCHOOL.

you leave ? We shall not see you again in a very long time."

" Do n't make such a baby of me, mother," he replied, pushing her aside, and rushing out.

" God bless you my son ; be a good boy," said she. *

" Pug and Tow, good by," said Joe, springing upon the top of the stagecoach. The driver snapped his whip and the horses went off at full speed.

Mrs. Brandon and the girls went ifeck into their little parlour and sat down and wept together right heartily. Ah, how little do men know of the tenderness of woman's affection ! Although Jo- seph Brandon had tyrannized over his mother and sisters, and been a continual trouble to them, no sooner had he left them than they forgot all his faults, and loved him dearly, as a son and brother.

Joe's first letter home will give an account of his journey. It was as follows :

DEAR MOTHER : —

You told me to write to you as soon I could. I only arrived yesterday.

I met with a little bit of an accident on the

SENT TO SCHOOL. 11

road. There was a big fellow on the top of the coach who took it into his head to be very saucy to me. He was a travelling pedler, or some such sort of thing, with his box of jewelry, spectacles, <Scc., who had got tired of trudging, and had coaxed the driver to give him a lift for a mile or two.

I would not bear the vulgar fellow's imperti- nence, so I threw his box of gimcracks into the road. He made a mighty fuss about it, and the driver stopped for him to pick it up. When he opened it, the glasses of some of the spectacles were broken, and several of the crystals to his pewter watches. Would you believe it, he threat- ened to sue my parents ? But I took out five dol- lars and gave him, telling him another time to mind who he was saucy to. You know, mother, after what had happened, I wanted him to know that he had insulted a gentleman. I do n't be- lieve his whole pedler-concern was worth five dol- lars, for he looked at the money with surprise, and all the people in the coach seemed to feel that I was somebody.

You know, mother, that was all the money I had with me, and therefore I expect by return of mail that you will send me some more.

12 SENT TO SCHOOL.

I do n't know yet how I shall like the school. Tell Pug that there is a boy in our school whose nose has just such a turn up as hers, and there are Tow-heads in abundance.

From your affectionate son,

JOSEPH BRANDON.

The widow had given her son the five dollars for spending money, for the whole term. She had not a dollar left in her own purse. What could be done ? The girls read the letter.

" I would not send him a fourpence," said Su- san. " Extravagant fellow ! and so foolish, too, to give five dollars to a pedler to show him he was a gentleman! Mother, let him go without money a while, till he knows better how to use it."

" But," said Fanny, whose affectionate disposi- tion ever led her to self-sacrificing kindness, — "but, mother, he may want something that we have not thought of; I will send him the gold piece that Aunt Mary gave me last Christmas."

" No, my dear child," quickly replied Mrs. Brandon, " you ought not do to that. Poor fel- low, I do not know what will happen if he should need any thing among strangers."

" He shall have it. he shall have it," exclaimed Fanny.

-

SENT TO SCHOOL. 13

" A part of it, my child," said Mrs. Brandon. " I am sorry, indeed, to have your dear aunt's gift changed ; but if you will lend it to Joseph, Mr. Fuller, the grocer, will change it for you."

Fanny's sun-bonnet was on in a moment, and she flitted, like a bird, across the street with the gold piece, and soon returned with a two-dollar bill and a three.

" Send him the three," said Fanny.

" The two, mother, the two, " said Susan ; " Joe is a mean fellow, and I do not doubt that he in- sulted the man first."

" I will send him the two," said the widow, and she inclosed it in the following

MY DEAR JOSEPH : —

It is with deep regret that I am compelled to blame you, yet much to blame you certainly are.

Let me tell you, hi the first place, that I had no money to send you; the inclosed is the gift of dear little Fanny, who changed her aunt's pres- ent, the favorite gold-piece, that she might be able to aid you.

And you wish to be a gentleman, Joseph. 2

14 SENT TO SCHOOL.

Was it like one to get into a quarrel with the pedler ? No ; it was much more like a swagger- ing bully. A true gentleman is quiet, unobtrusive, and, as the very name implies, gentle. I know that boys of your age very generally suppose that noisy, dashing manners mark the gentleman ; and consider a mild, peaceable deportment as girl- ish in the extreme.

I have no doubt that the famous Bayard, the chevalier sans peur et sans reproche, had very amiable and delicately gentle manners, although he was the bravest of the brave.

Sir Philip Sidney, who lived in the reign of Elizabeth of England, was a man of remarkable bravery, as well as a perfect gentleman ; it was said that his life was poetry in action. Do you suppose that he had the bold, swaggering manners that you admire? I imagine them resembling sweet music, — perfect harmony, — soothing and exalting to the feelings.

Our own Washington, too, with his noble hero- ism, his indomitable spirit, — how calm and quiet were his manners! What simple, natural digni- ty, with the refinement and chivalrous politeness of a gentleman! A model for every American boy.

SENT TO SCHOOL. 15

Lavish expenditure of money is no mark of a gentleman. Give to every one what is justly due, and be capable of true generosity. You must, in fact, be just, before you can be generous. How seldom is generosity perfect and pure ! How often do men give, because it throws a certain inferiority on those who receive, and a superi- ority on themselves.

Your fellow-travellers, Joseph, were not im- posed upon by your false generosity to the ped- ler. They probably thought you a very foolish boy, throwing away your parents' money. You were far from coming off triumphantly, as you imagined, by dashing off your five dollars. You cannot "buy golden opinions of all sorts of men," with money. The worldly may seek the rich and the prodigal for their own interest, and to answer their own selfish ends ; respect for the man himself is a very different thing from the tribute paid to his wealth. Besides, you are not wealthy, and pretending to be so was not only folly, but sin.

Do you not suppose, my dear Joseph, that the son who stayed at home and labored faithfully with his father was more of a gentleman than the Prodigal Son? Was the Prodigal a gentle-

16 SENT TO SCHOOL.

man, when spending his substance in " riotous liv- ing," any more than when he sat down among the swine, and would have eaten with them of the husks ? A miserable way, indeed, did he take to be a gentleman, and yet it is not a very uncom- mon one. Many hard-working fathers and moth- ers have gentleman sons, idle and extravagant, very like the Prodigal. No doubt he thought he was much more generous and noble-spirited than his brother. I can even conceive of his thinking himself, in rags and dirt, a reduced gentleman.

Remember, then, my son, prodigality is no mark of a gentleman.

I have already written so long a letter that I can only add my fervent wishes for your success at school. Be obedient and studious.

How much of my comfort during the remain- der of my pilgrimage depends upon you, Joseph.

" When I am feeble, old and gray, Your healthy arm must be my stay, And you must wipe my tears away."

How sweetly you once lisped out those simple lines, so familiar to every child, — and I fondly believed that your heart would ever be true to your MOTHER.

Susan and Fanny send 1

i love.

.

SENT TO SCHOOL. 17

And how did Joe feel on the reception of his mother's letter ? He glanced his eye hastily over it, took out the money, and exclaimed, " Only two dollars — how mean!" then threw the letter into his trunk, and tried to stifle the reproaches of conscience. Alas ! too well did he succeed.

2*

CHAPTER III.

SISTERLY AFFECTION.

SEVERAL weeks passed, and no answer was re- turned to his mother. Fanny went every day to the post-office, and returned home disappointed. Susan said it was just like him not to write, but she would bring a letter ; so she immediately wrote the following epistle : —

A pretty fellow are you, Joe, not to answer dear mother's kind letter ! Here we haunt the post-office, week after week, till I am absolutely ashamed. Poor Fanny says nothing, but tries to comfort us. You know it was her money that you received, and you have not even thanked her.

My pet, Snowball, is growing so cat-like that I have discarded her, and taken to petting your poor old Hero, who really grieves at your ab-

SISTERLY AFFECTION. 19

sence. His faithfulness to his master is really touching.

I do not think that ycu behave well, but yet you are my brother, and in spite of all your naughtiness I love you. I have not much news to tell you. We have almost finished Old Rol- lin, only twenty pages more to read. Mother has already begun to knit your winter stockings, and seems to think of you every minute.

It is a great effort for me to write, for you know I am not very literary, and you will, I am sure, acknowledge this from your sister,

SUE.

Like many other mothers, Mrs. Brandon was willing to make every personal sacrifice for her son, hoping that he might become a good and useful man. Fearing that her means would not be sufficient to carry him through college, she dismissed her only domestic, and with the aid of her daughters performed all the household labor. She did not, in consequence, neglect their in- tellectual culture. Neither did she lose her lady-like appearance, or allow her daughters to be neglectful of theirs. Every person, capable of judging, would have said that Mrs. Brandon

20 SISTERLY AFFECTION.

was a lady, and that her daughters were becom- ing more and more like their mother.

Joseph, soon after the reception of Susan's let- ter, wrote a short but dutiful one to his mother, and at the same time the following to his sister Fanny,

DEAR LITTLE Tow : —

It was very kind in you to change your beloved gold for me. If you will send me the remaining three dollars I will send you the first gold-piece that I get, and you shall again admire the effect through the meshes of your little purse.

Do n't say a word to mother about this letter. It is a matter between ourselves. I want a new cap desperately. Mine is a shabby countrified thing, of a different fashion from what the boys wear here, and you know I must appear like a gentleman^ for one of these days I shall be one, and then I will see that mother, and Susan, and you, live in elegant style, and have every thing you wish. Susan is not as generous as you, Fanny, and therefore you must not tell her about the money. Just inclose the bank-note carefully in a letter, and put it into the post-office directed to me. I know you will oblige your brother,

JOSEPH.

SISTERLY AFFECTION. 21

Fanny was an amiable, affectionate little girl, only eleven years old. She had never written a letter to send through the post-office. She had never done any thing without her mother's con- sent, and it was a fearful task that her brother had imposed upon her. She feared it was wrong to do as he requested, but her brother's letter seemed to her youthful fancy so kind, so affec- tionate, and so great was her desire to oblige him, that after a violent struggle in her own mind she determined to send him the money.

She took her little writing-desk into her own room, and sat down, trembling, to write.

She made several attempts before she suc- ceeded to her own satisfaction, and, indeed, she was not very well satisfied at last.

DEAR JOSEPH : —

I am very sorry that you do not wish me to tell mother about this money that I now send to you. She would not tell me not to send it, I am sure, because you really want it. I hope it is not wrong to write without her knowing it. O, do try to make a good man. Our dear mother prays for you every morning and night, and talks about you a great deal.

22 SISTERLY AFFECTION.

I am so afraid Susan will come up stairs, and find me writing, that I must stop. O, dear! I have got to put this in the post-office, and I shall tremble so. I shall feel like a little thief.

From your loving sister,

FANNY.

P. S. You won't call us Pug and Tow any more, will you ? Susan's nose is really quite pretty, and my hair grows darker every day.

Fanny did feel as she said she should, " like a little thief," when she stealthily stole to the office and deposited her letter.

Joe must have felt as meanly as if he had been robbing a hen-roost when he took out the three dollars. He did. But then he thought immedi- ately how necessary it was that he should look like a gentleman, — and he went and bought a new black cloth cap with a very large tassel, and strutted about in a very consequential manner.

The next Saturday evening, Mrs. Brandon and her daughters sat in their neat little piazza, ad- miring the rich glow of a golden sunset-sky.

" It is a beautiful prelude to the Lord's day," said Mrs. Brandon. " Sunday was originally named after that glorious luminary, but it should

SISTERLY AFFECTION. 23

remind us now of the Sun of Righteousness, who has risen with healing in his beams."

The labors of the week were past. In the soothing calmness of the quiet evening, the wid- ow's heart expanded with gratitude to her Heav- enly Father. She remembered that there was to be a contribution at church the next day, for a benevolent object in which she was deeply inter- ested.

" Fanny, dear," she said, "I must borrow your three-dollar note for the contribution-box to-mor- row. I have no smaller sum by me than ten, and I cannot afford to give so much. In the course of the week I will .pay you my debt, for I have not forgotten that I am to restore your pretty pocket-piece."

Fanny blushed, hesitated, and trembled.

" What ails you, sister ?" said Susan ; " you were willing enough to give Joseph the money ; why are you unwilling to lend it to mother."

" Well, my dear child," said her kind mother, "I will not take your last dollar; perhaps it is not right to borrow it even for a benevolent pur- pose."

" O mother ! dear mother," cried Fanny, throwing her arms around her mother's neck,

24 SISTERLY AFFECTION.

" I have not the money to lend you, but do n't ask me what I have done with it, for I must not tell you."

"Perhaps Joseph could tell me," said Mrs. Brandon, sorrowfully, for the truth flashed across her mind.

" He could, mother, he could," sobbed Fanny.

" Just like him, just like him," exclaimed Su- san.

That night, when Mrs. Brandon, as usual, prayed for the absent one, it was with a mourn- ful, trembling voice, and many, many tears.

CHAPTER IV.

JOSEPH continued at school from month to month, and when his vacations came he made engagements to go home with some of his school- fellows, till nearly two years had glided away, and in all that time he had not once seen his mother or his sisters.

During this time he had made large demands upon his mother for money. He had got into many disgraceful scrapes, which he was careful should not reach his mother's ears, who continued her kindness and her good advice. The former he received when it came in a substantial form, the latter he neither valued nor heeded.

Yet the kind family at home had practised constant self-denial ; — they seemed to have con- centrated every effort into that one, — to educate Joseph.

3

26 A RETURN.

It was a cool evening in autumn. The hearth in Mrs. Brandon's little parlour was swept with the most scrupulous neatness. A bright fire glowed in the chimney. By it sat Fanny, at a little table covered with worsteds and patterns, and a piece of embroidery in her hand. She was now thirteen, and tall of her age, — a lovely blue-eyed girl, with a modest, sweet expression, and gentle, graceful manners. The door suddenly opened and a young man entered. He was whistling a lively opera air, but stopped at the sight of the lovely Fanny. She had never before seen so fashionably-dressed or so gay a gentleman ; startled and blushing, she arose, and without waiting for him to inquire, said, " My mother and sister have gone out for a short walk ; they will soon return."

Joe, for it was he, burst into a loud laugh, and exclaimed, " Who would thought you would not have known me, and that I should not have known little Tow-head ?"

" Brother, dear brother," said Fanny springing into his arms.

Joe kissed his sweet young sister, and then, re- leasing himself from her arms, said, " Where 's mother and Pug ? "

" Joseph, do not call us by those old, ugly

A RETURN. 27

names; mother and Susan will soon be home. We did not expect you."

" No ; of course you did not. I did not expect to come so soon myself. The old rum 'un must explain."

" And who is he ? " said Fanny, surprised.

" Old Plym, alias Dr. Plympton, the master of the school."

Mrs. Brandon and Susan now returned, and cordially greeted the unexpected visiter. The mother carefully scrutinized the countenance of her only boy. Alas ! the expression was not im- proved. It ^s more proud, bold, and bad, than ever. Her heart sank within her, but she made no inquiries that night. She hastened to get tea, and called Susan to her assistance.

" I must put the tea-kettle on hi the parlour to- night," said Mrs. Brandon, as cheerfully as pos- sible.

" But why do you put it on yourself mother," said Joseph ; " where are your servants ? "

" We are our own servants, Joseph ; it is long since we have had any other," calmly replied his mother.

" Is it possible ? I cannot bear to see you em- ployed in such menial offices. I shall insist that you have at least one servant."

28 A RETURN.

Mrs. Brandon sighed, but did not say how, for her son's sake, she had thus taken up employ- ments to which she had never before been accus- tomed.

Susan, who had not as much delicacy as her mother and sister, said, " It is of no consequence whether we are ladies or not, so long as you are such an exquisite gentleman."

" Well, Pug, you are just the same as you used to was ; your nose has even a more celestial ten- dency than ever," said Joe, with a mocking laugh,

" Stay, my children, do not reproach each other. It is time for our evening prayers."*

And she brought out the great family Bible. Fanny read the evening lesson, and then they all knelt, while the widow prayed fervently to the widow's God and Judge.

CHAPTER V.

JOSEPH AT HOME.

THE next morning Mrs. Brandon received a

letter from Dr. Plympton, the Principal of

Seminary. Its contents were far from pleasing.

To MRS. BRANDON.

My dear Madam: — I regret exceedingly the circumstances that render it necessary for me to say, that I can no longer consider your son Joseph a member of my institution. On your account I have borne with much provocation from him, but it would be injustice to other parents to retain among their sons one whose example is so cor- rupting.

Joseph, I am sorry to say, is idle, extravagant, and viciously inclined. He has borrowed money from every boy in the school. He has even art- 3»

30 JOSEPH AT HOME.

fully wheedled out of the smaller boys the six- pences given them for spending money. I can not say that he is absolutely dishonest, — that is, I do not know that he would actually steal, — but his meanness amounts to the same thing, — he bor- rows without expecting to pay. Debts, to a con- siderable amount, he has contracted in the village, which I have no doubt you will settle as soon as possible. For my own payment I can wait your convenience.

Joseph will doubtless tell you that he has done nothing unworthy of a gentleman, for I under- stand that is his chief aim ; — he prides himself upon being a gentleman.

I must advise you, madam, not to send your son to college. I understand he expected to enter the Sophomore Class. It would be useless for him to make the attempt

With great respect, dear Madam, yours, &c.

It would be impossible to describe the sorrow that settled deep into the heart of that widowed mother, — the grief and mortification of those lov- ing sisters.

Mrs. Brandon was unable to leave her room during the day. Susan and Fanny were obliged to attend to all the household affairs.

JOSEPH AT HOME.

31

" Pug, it is a shame for you to work so hard," said Joe, picking his teeth after a late breakfast, and throwing himself back in his chair with the air of a prince ; " you will make your hands as tough as leather."

" I do not work half as hard as our dear mother does," was the reply.

" Her hands are old and tough already, it wont vulgarize her as it will you and Fanny. Why does she not have help ? "

" Because Mr. Joseph Brandon must be liber- ally educated," replied Susan with some bitter- ness. " She has toiled day and night for you, and what is her reward ? She will be obliged to sell this, our dear home, to pay your debts, — cruel boy that you are."

" Go it, Xantippe," said Joe, " your tongue is a glib one ; mother need not pay the few hundreds that I owe, I will pay them myself one of these days. By the way Pug, how do you like this cashmere vest ? It is the very pattern that Dick- ens wore in this country, and he wore it because it was a favorite with D'Orsay."

" And who is he ? "

" You never heard of the famous Count D'Or- say, the immortal D'Orsay."

32 JOSEPH AT HOME.

" Never. Was he one of Napoleon's gener- als ? " asked Susan.

* "That is a good one! No, indeed! he is commander-in-chief of the world of fashion ; have you never heard of the D'Orsay hat, the D'Orsay tie, and a million of other things invent- ed by him? you really are vulgariously igno- rant."

" Is it possible that any man can have so poor, so mean an ambition, as to wish to be distinguish- ed hi this way ? " asked Susan.

" It is a glorious distinction ! I had rather be a leader hi the empire of fashion than to be auto- crat of the Russias."

" Or to be a Howard, or a Franklin, a Wilber- force, or a Washington. O Joseph, I had hoped that if you were not a distinguished man you would at least have become a respectable one," said Susan with a sigh.

" Nonsense : there is nothing I hate like a re- spectable man ; it is nothing but sleek, clear vul- garity."

" I am sorry to see my only brother such a simpleton. Do you expect to gain your living by letting yourself out in place of a wax-figure at a barber's or a tailor's. As far as I can see, it

JOSEPH AT HOME. 63

is all you are fit for. How much more respect- able you would be as a barber or a tailor."

" Me ! What, cut me down to a ninth of a man ! You are actually murderous."

" It would be an immense elevation for you, Joe, for now you are absolutely good for nothing, not the ninety-ninth part of a man, for,

" Worth makes the man, the want of it the fellow."

" Pug, I am shocked at your want of refine- ment. That line and its fellow have been the rounds of the copy-books .these forty years. It has long been excluded from genteel society."

" In fact, I fear it has. It is not the less true for all that."

" I do n't know what mother thinks of herself to let two great girls grow up in entire ignorance of every thing that is genteel and fashionable. I must go out among these barbarians in your petty village, and afrtonish the natives."

So saying, Joe went to the glass, admired his gay vest, put his hat carefully upon his head, that he might not disarrange his beautiful hair. His cane, too, he took that ; and then he looked at him- self again, smoothed down the brilliant cashmere, drew on his delicate gloves, admired the set of

34 JOSEPH AT HOME.

his coat, — it was a perfect fit, — and he did look like a gentleman in his own estimation, but in his heart of hearts he knew that he was a mean fel- low."

" Astonish the natives ! " said Sue, as her hope- ful brother closed the front door. " Astonish the natives ! yes, indeed, they will be astonished that Joe Brandon, after all the money his poor mother has spent upon him, has come back just such a proud simpleton as he went away."

CHAPTER VI.

A SUDDEN RESOLUTION.

" WHAT are you going to do, Joseph, now you have been compelled to give up the idea of a college education," inquired Mrs. Brandon, after Joseph had been home some weeks. These weeks he had employed in driving about the country, lounging at the tavern, smoking, wine-drinking, and other like gentlemanly amusements, — keep- ing his mother and sisters in a state of constant anxiety and alarm.

" I do n't know yet what profession I shall follow," said Joe ; " give me time to think, will you. I am sure you and the girls need not grudge me the little I eat and drink under your roof."

This to a mother who had been so self-sacrific- ing ! She replied with a mournful voice, —

36 A SUDDEN RESOLUTION.

" I have done injustice to the girls already. We are so much reduced by your extravagance that we shall soon be compelled to labor for our own support."

" Well, it is no more than I shall have to do myself," was the unfeeling reply.

Week after week passed away, and still Joe was lounging about home, teasing his sisters and adding to the expenses of his mother.

Susan possessed much energy of character, and a freedom in speaking the plain truth, which Joe did not relish at all. If there was any thing on earth that he loved, besides his own dear self, it was his sister Fanny. She was so gentle and kind that she never spoke harshly or severely to any one. Yet she did not escape from the per- secutions of her mischievous brother. She often wept under the inflictions that he imposed upon her, and pleaded so earnestly to escape from him that any one with the least generosity would have desisted. Her health actually suffered in conse- quence of his perpetual annoyances.

Mrs. Brandon at length insisted that Joe should endeavour to find some employment in Boston. With much difficulty she provided him with money to bear his expenses to the city, and to

JOSEPH AT HOME. 37

support him for a week or two till he could look for some employment.

He left home with but little feeling, although many and bitter tears were shed by his affection- ate family. After strutting about the streets of Boston for a couple of weeks, until his money was spent, he wrote the following brief epistle :

DEAR MOTHER : — I am going to sea. Give my love to the girls. It will be long before you are troubled again by your son, JOSEPH.

Not a word of the ship in which he was to em- bark ! No mention of the place to which he was going ! Poor Mrs. Brandon ! Susan and Fanny did all