as not for his good, and that
Ben soon found out. If he was quiet, and did not break any of her
things, she did not scold him.

Ben was a bad boy, but a worse man. His friends were wild and bad, and
he soon broke all the laws of God and man. He was sure to bring grief
to the heart of his father and his mother; yet what could they hope for
else?

Farmer Grey had no wife nor child, but a brother of his died and left
his only son to the farmer's care. Young James Grey was quite a young
man when he came to Hillside. He was a fine, tall lad, with a kind,
good face, and people who saw him said that they were sure they should
like him. There was no pride in him, it seemed, for he went about the
village and talked to those he met in a pleasant way, which won all
hearts. He was to help his uncle on the farm, it was said, though he
did not look much like a farmer. His hands were fair, and his cheeks
and brow showed that he had not been out much in the sun.

James Grey had not been long at Hillside, when one day, as he passed the
mill, he saw Mary Page at the door of her house, on her way to hang up
some clothes to dry on the green. He passed more than once that day,
and each day that he could, and he felt quite sad if he did not see Mary
Page.

Mary Page soon found out who he was; and one day he stopped and spoke to
her, and soon they were great friends. Mistress Page was glad to see
him come to the house, for she thought that his uncle was rich, and that
he would make a good husband for Mary. The miller, too, thought that he
would make a good son-in-law. So James Grey was asked in, and soon
found himself quite at home. Ben Page was glad to see James, for he
said, "he may some day be a friend in need to me." Ben also found him a
good-natured, good-tempered young man, who would not say No to what he
was asked to do. The very thing for which Ben liked James was one of
James' great faults; he could not say No to what he was asked to do; if
it was wrong or if it was right he did not stop to think, it seemed the
same to him. If he was asked to do wrong, he did wrong; if he was asked
to do right, and it was what he liked, he did right. Still it could not
be said that James Grey was a bad young man--not at all--he was what was
called a good young man. He was well-behaved, and joined in public
worship, and seldom got drunk; he might have been so once or twice, but
then he was quiet, it was not known. He did not swe