valuable time in setting forth the merits of "The
Wayfarer," he was compelled to retire without having effected a
sale. Sometimes, too, he was rudely repulsed; hard epithets were
applied to him; old men and old women, worried out by the continued
calls of pedlers, sneered at him, or shut the door in his face; but
Bobby was not disheartened. He persevered, and did not allow these
little trials to discompose or discourage him.

By one o'clock on the first day of his service he had sold eighteen
books, which far exceeded even his most sanguine expectations. By this
time he began to feel the want of his dinner; but there was no tavern
or eating house at hand, and he could not think of leaving the harvest
to return to the railroad station; so he bought a sheet of gingerbread
and a piece of cheese at a store, and seating himself near a brook by
the side of the road, he bolted his simple meal, as boys are very apt
to do when they are excited.

When he had finished, he took out his account book, and entered,
"Dinner, 10 cents." Resuming his business, he disposed of the
remaining six books in his valise by the middle of the afternoon, and
was obliged to return for another supply.

About six o'clock he entered the house of a mechanic, just as the
family were sitting down to tea. He recommended his book with so much
energy, that the wife of the mechanic took a fancy to him, and not
only purchased one, but invited him to tea. Bobby accepted the
invitation, and in the course of the meal the good lady drew from him
the details of his history, which he very modestly related, for though
he sometimes fancied himself a man, he was not the boy to boast of his
exploits. His host was so much pleased with him, that he begged him to
spend the night with them. Bobby had been thinking how and where he
should spend the night, and the matter had given him no little
concern. He did not wish to go to the hotel, for it looked like a very
smart house, and he reasoned that he should have to pay pretty roundly
for accommodations there. These high prices would eat up his profits,
and he seriously deliberated whether it would not be better for him to
sleep under a tree than pay fifty cents for a lodging.

If I had been there I should have told him that a man loses nothing in
the long run by taking good care of himself. He must eat well and
sleep well, in order to do well and be well. But I suppose Bobby
would have told me that it was of no use to pay