somewhere hereabouts,
and live beside you."

"You could not do better," said the old gentleman, who became suddenly
and wonderfully amiable!

"And I don't intend to bother myself with business, uncle."

"Quite right, my boy; you have no occasion to do so."

"But I intend to devote much of my time to painting."

"A most interesting occupation," said the tractable old gentleman.

"And a good deal of it, also," continued Frank, "to the consideration of
the cases of persons in sickness and poverty."

"H'm! a most laudable purpose, though it has always appeared to me that
this is a duty which devolves upon the guardians of the poor.
Nevertheless the intention is creditable to you; but I am surprised to
hear you, who are so young, and can have seen so little of poverty or
sickness, talk of giving much of your time to such work."

"You are wrong, uncle, in supposing that I have seen little. During my
wanderings in foreign lands I have seen much, very much, of poverty and
sickness, and have felt something of both, as my friend Joe Graddy can
testify."

Joe, who was sitting by, and had been listening to the conversation with
much interest, bore testimony forthwith, by stoutly asserting that "that
was a fact," and slapping his thigh with great vehemence, by way of
giving emphasis to the assertion.

"The fact is, sir," continued Joe, kindling with enthusiasm, "that your
nephy has gone through a deal o' rough work since he left home, an' I'm
free for to say has learned, with myself, a lot o' walooable lessons.
He has made his fortin at the gold-mines, kooriously enough, without
diggin' for it, an' has come for to know that it's sometimes possible to
pay too high a price for that same metal, as is proved by many an' many
a lonely grave in the wilds of Californy. Your nephy an' me, sir, has
comed to the conclusion that distributin' gold is better than diggin'
for it, so we intends to set up in that line, an' hopes that your honour
will go into pardnership along with us."

Mr Allfrey, senior, received Joe's invitation with a benignant and
patronising smile, but he did not accept it, neither did he give him any
encouragement to suppose that he sympathised with his views on that
subject. There is reason to believe, however, that his opinions on this
head were somewhat modified in after years. If report speaks truly, he
came to admit the force of that text in Scripture which says, that as it
is certain man brings nothin