, but his usual earnings
were no more than sufficient to enable him to support his family; for,
prudent as he was, it was impossible for him to be as mean as his
father, who always insisted that Joel was extravagant.

Seven years before we introduce his son to the reader, the father made a
trip to George's Bank. The vessel was lucky, and the "high liner's"
share--eight hundred and fifty odd dollars--came to Joel. But he had
been out of work for some time, and was in debt; yet he honestly paid
off every dollar he owed, and had over six hundred dollars left. With
this he felt rich, and his wife thought their home ought to be more
comfortably furnished. It was a hired house; and when two hundred
dollars had been expended in furniture, Squire Moses declared that Joel
had "lost his senses." But the tenement was made very comfortable and
pleasant; and still Joel had four hundred dollars in cash. While he was
thinking what he should do with this money, his father reproached him
for his extravagance, and told him he ought to have built a house,
instead of fooling away his money on "fancy tables and chairs," as he
insisted upon calling the plain articles which his son had purchased.

The idea made a strong impression upon Joel, and he immediately paid a
hundred dollars for half an acre of land in what was then an outskirt of
the village. He wanted to build at once, and his father was finally
induced to lend him seven hundred dollars, taking a mortgage on the land
and buildings for security. The house was built, and the new furniture
appeared to advantage in it. Joel was happy now, and did his best to
earn money to pay off the mortgage. He made two more trips to the
Georges, with only moderate success. All he could do for the next two
years was to pay his interest and support his family.

Unfortunately, about this time, Joel "took to drinking;" not in a
beastly way, though he was often "excited by liquor." He was not
regarded as a drunkard, for he attended to his work and took good care
of his family. There were, unhappily, several rum-shops in Rockhaven;
and in one of these, one night, after Joel had been imbibing rather more
freely than usual, he got into a dispute with Mike Manahan, an Irish
quarryman, who was also warmed up with whiskey. Mike was full of
Donnybrook pluck, and insisted upon settling the dispute with a fight,
and struck his opponent a heavy blow in the face. Joel was a peaceable
man, and perhaps, if he had be