family
by working under Jem Stock, the parish apprentice." She forgot
already what pains she had taken about the partnership, but pride
and passion have bad memories.

It is hard to say which was now uppermost in her mind, her desire to
be revenged on Stock, or to see her son make a figure. She raised
every shilling she could get from her husband, and all she could
crib from the dairy to set up Jack in a showy way. So the very next
market day she came herself, and took for him the new white house,
with the two little sash windows painted blue, and blue posts before
the door. It is that house which has the old cross just before it,
as you turn down between the church and the Grayhound. Its being so
near the church to be sure was no recommendation to Jack, but its
being so near the Grayhound was, and so taking one thing with the
other it was to be sure no bad situation; but what weighed most with
the mother was, that it was a much more showy shop than Stock's; and
the house, though not half so convenient, was far more smart.

In order to draw custom, his foolish mother advised him to undersell
his neighbors just at first; to buy ordinary but showy goods, and
to employ cheap workmen. In short she charged him to leave no stone
unturned to ruin his old comrade Stock. Indeed she always thought
with double satisfaction of Jack's prosperity, because she always
joined to it the hope that his success would be the ruin of Stock,
for she owned it would be the joy of her heart to bring that proud
upstart to a morsel of bread. She did not understand, for her part,
why such beggars must become tradesmen; it was making a velvet purse
of a sow's ear.

Stock, however, set out on quite another set of principles. He did
not allow himself to square his own behavior to others by theirs to
him. He seldom asked himself what he should _like_ to do: but he had
a mighty way of saying, "I wonder now what is my _duty_ to do?" And
when he was once clear in that matter he generally did it, always
begging God's blessing and direction. So instead of setting Brown at
defiance; instead of all that vulgar selfishness, of catch he that
catch can--and two of a trade can never agree--he resolved to be
friendly toward him. Instead of joining in the laugh against Brown
for making his house so fine, he was sorry for him, because he
feared he would never be able to pay such a rent. He very kindly
called upon him, told him there was business enough for them b