ul, and shed
tears of joy; and when Mr Masterman went away, she embraced me, and
said that now she was happy, as I should have a profession on shore and
not go to sea. I must do justice to Mr Masterman; he kept his word and
sent money to my mother, so that she became quite cheerful and
comfortable, and everyone congratulated her, and she used to fondle me,
and say, it was all through me that she was relieved from her distress."

"How happy that must have made you, Ready!" said William.

"Yes, it did, but it made me also very proud. Strange to say, I could
not conquer my dislike to Mr Masterman; I had nourished the feeling too
long. I could not bear that my mother should be under obligations to
him, or that he should pay for my schooling; it hurt my foolish pride,
young as I then was; and although my mother was happy, I was not.
Besides, as I was put to a better school, and was obliged to remain with
the other boys, I could no longer run about the wharfs, or go on board
the vessels, as before. I did not see then, as I do now, that it was
all for my good but I became discontented and unhappy, merely because I
was obliged to pay attention to my learning, and could no longer have my
own way. The master complained of me; and Mr Masterman called and
scolded me well. I became more disobedient, and then I was punished.
This irritated me, and I made up my mind that I would run away to sea.
You see, William, I was all in the wrong; and so will all boys be who
think they know better than those who have charge of them; and now only
see what I probably lost by my foolish conduct. I say _probably_, for
no one can calculate or foresee what is to take place; but, as far as
appearances went, I had every prospect of receiving a good education--of
succeeding Mr Masterman in his business, and, very probably, of
inheriting his large fortune; so that I might have been at this time a
rich and well-educated man, surrounded with all the comforts and
luxuries of life; perhaps with an amiable wife and large family round
me, to make me still happier, instead of being what I now am, a poor,
worn-out old seaman upon a desert isle. I point this out to you,
William, to show how one false and foolish step in the young may affect
their whole prospects in life; and, instead of enabling them to sail
down with the stream of prosperity, may leave them to struggle against
the current of adversity, as has been the case with me."

"It is, indeed, a g