dom saw his seat vacant. Idleness, that rust which eats into
character, had no opportunity to fasten upon him.

By and by he got through school and succeeded in securing a situation
in a store in the city.

William soon found himself in quite altered circumstances; the stir and
bustle of the streets was very unlike the quiet of his village home;
then the tall stores, loft upon loft, piled with goods--boxes and bales
now, instead of books and bat; the strange faces of the clerks, and the
easy manners and handsome appearance of the rich boy, Ashton, just above
him in the store,--all these contributed not a little to his sense of
the newness and strangeness of his position.

William looked at Ashton almost with admiration, and thought how new and
awkward everything was to himself, and how tired he got standing so many
hours on duty, and crowding his way through the busy thoroughfares. But
his good habits soon made him many friends. The older clerks liked his
obliging and active spirit, and all had a good word for his punctuality.

But William had his trials. One morning he was sent to the bank for
money; and returning, laid the pile on the counting room desk. His
master was gone, and there was no one in the room but Ashton. Mr. Thomas
soon came back.

"Two dollars are missing," said he, counting the money.

The blood mounted to poor William's face, but he answered firmly:--

"I laid it all on your desk, sir."

Mr. Thomas looked steadily into the boy's face, and seeing nothing but
an honest purpose there, said, "Another time put the money into my
hands, my boy."

When the busy season came on, one of the head clerks was taken sick, and
William rendered himself useful to the bookkeeper by helping him add
some of his tall columns. Oh, how glad he was now for his drilling in
arithmetic, as the bookkeeper thanked him for his valuable help.

[Illustration: _William Helped the Bookkeeper_]

Ashton often asked William to go and ride, or to visit the oyster
saloons, or the bowling alley, or the theatre. To all invitations of
this kind, William had but one answer. He always said he had no time, or
money to spare for such things. After the day's work was done, he loved
to get back to his chamber to read. He did not crave perpetual
excitement, or any more eating and drinking than was supplied at his
usual meals.

Not so with Ashton. This young man had indulgent parents, and a plenty
of money, or it seemed so to William; a