to the divine principles of the
Christian religion.

PART II.

THE APPRENTICE TURNED MASTER.

The first part of this history left off with the dreadful sudden
death of Williams, the idle shoemaker, who died in a drunken fit at
the Grayhound. It also showed how James Stock, his faithful
apprentice, by his honest and upright behavior, so gained the love
and respect of his late master's creditors, that they set him up in
business, though he was not worth a shilling of his own--such is the
power of a good character! And when we last parted from him he had
just got possession of his master's shop.

This sudden prosperity was a time of trial for James, who, as he was
now become a creditable tradesman, I shall hereafter think proper to
call Mr. James Stock. I say, this sudden rise in life was a time of
trial; for we hardly know what we are ourselves till we become our
own masters. There is indeed always a reasonable hope that a good
servant will not make a bad master, and that a faithful apprentice
will prove an honest tradesman. But the heart of man is deceitful,
and some folks who seem to behave very well while they are under
subjection, no sooner get a little power than their heads are
turned, and they grow prouder than those who are gentlemen born.
They forget at once that they were lately poor and dependent
themselves, so that one would think that with their poverty they had
lost their memory too. I have known some who had suffered most
hardships in their early days, become the most hard and oppressive
in their turn: so that they seem to forget that fine considerate
reason, which God gives to the children of Israel why they should be
merciful to their servants, _remembering_, said he, _that thou
thyself wast a bond-man_.

Young Mr. Stock did not so forget himself. He had indeed the only
sure guard from falling into this error. It was not from any
easiness in his natural disposition, for that only just serves to
make folks good-natured when they are pleased, and patient when they
have nothing to vex them. James went upon higher ground. He brought
his religion into all his actions; he did not give way to abusive
language, because he knew it was a sin. He did not use his
apprentices ill, because he knew he had himself a Master in heaven.

He knew he owed his present happy situation to the kindness of the
creditors. But did he grow easy and careless because he knew he had
such friends? No indeed. He worked with do