e events which occurred upon his arrival, it will be advisable to
offer some remarks relative to McElvina, which, when they have been
suggested to the reader, will serve to remove much of the apparent
inconsistency of his character. That a person who, from his earliest
childhood, had been brought up to fraud and deceit, should, of his own
accord, and so suddenly, return to honesty, may at first appear
problematical. But let it be remembered, that McElvina was not in the
situation of those who, having their choice of good and evil, had
preferred the latter. From infancy he had been brought up to, and had
heard every encomium upon dishonesty, without having one friend to point
out to him the advantages of pursuing another course. The same Spirit
of emulation which would have made him strenuous in the right path,
urged him forward in his career of error. If, after his discharge from
the Philanthropic School, he had had time to observe the advantages, in
practice, of those maxims which had only been inculcated in theory, it
is not improbable that he might have reformed: this, however, was
prevented by the injudicious conduct of his master.

But although the principles which had been instilled were not
sufficiently powerful, unassisted by reflection, to resist the force of
habit, the germ, smothered as it was for the time, was not destroyed;
and after McElvina's seven years' servitude in a profession remarkable
for candour and sincerity, and in which he had neither temptation nor
opportunity to return to his evil courses, habit had been counteracted
by habit. The tares and wheat were of equal growth. This is
substantiated by the single fact of his inclination to be honest when he
found the pocket-book. A confirmed rogue would never have thought of
returning it, even if it had not been worth five shillings. It is true,
if it had contained hundreds, that, in his distressed circumstances, the
temptation might have been too strong; but this remark by no means
disproves the assertion, that he had the inclination to be honest.
"There is a tide in the affairs of men," and it was on this decision
between retaining or returning the pocket-book that depended the future
misery or welfare of McElvina. Fortunately, the sum was not sufficient
to turn the nicely balanced scale, and the generosity of old Hornblow
confirmed the victory on the side of virtue. I do not mean to assert
that, for some time subsequent to this transaction