k of
knowledge, but only serve to decrease his patrimony; that all the
learning that books could convey, could be better acquired in the quiet
and solitude of home; that he knew already as much of the dead
languages as he ever would have occasion for, as he did not mean to
enter the church or to plead at the bar; and there was no character he
held in greater abhorrence than a fashionable beau or a learned pedant.
His uncle had earned a right to both these characters; and, though a
clever man, he was dependent in his old age on the charity of his rich
relations. For his part, he was contented with his country and his home,
and had already seen as much of the world as he wished to see, without
travelling beyond the precincts of his native village.

Mr. Hurdlestone greatly applauded his son's resolution, which, he
declared, displayed a degree of prudence and sagacity remarkable at his
age. But his mother, who still retained a vivid recollection of the
pleasures and gaiety of a town life, from which she had long been
banished by her avaricious lord, listened to the sordid sentiments
expressed by her first-born with contempt, and transferred all her
maternal regard to his brother, whom she secretly determined should be
the gentleman of the family.

In her schemes for the aggrandizement of Algernon, she was greatly
assisted by Uncle Alfred, who loved the handsome, free-spirited boy for
his own sake, as well as for a certain degree of resemblance, which he
fancied existed between them in mental as well as personal endowments.
In this he was not mistaken; for Algernon was but an improvement on his
uncle, with less selfishness and more activity of mind. He early imbibed
all his notions, and entered with avidity into all his pursuits and
pleasures. In spite of the hard usage that Uncle Alfred had received
from the world, he panted to mingle once more in its busy scenes, which
he described to his attentive pupil, in the most glowing terms.

Eager to secure for her darling Algernon those advantages which his
brother Mark had so uncourteously declined, Mrs. Hurdlestone laid close
siege to the heart of the old Squire, over whom she possessed an
influence only second to that of her eldest son. In this daring assault
upon the old man's purse and prejudices, she was vigorously assisted by
Uncle Alfred, who had a double object to attain in carrying his point.
Many were the desperate battles they had to fight with the old Squire's
love