THE UNGRATEFUL SON.

N a small

town in the

south of En

gland, there

lived, at the

end of the

last century,

a respectable

mason and his wife.

The father worked hard at his

trade, but his wages were so small as to be little more than sufficient to supply the daily wants of his family, which consisted of two sons. The worthy parents were, however, sensible of the advantages of a good education, and they determined that, whatever it might cost them

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their eldest son, George, should be well educated. To keep him at school, they deprived themselves of many comforts which they could ill want, and his younger brother, James, was obliged to be satisfied with a very poor education. George was clever,

and, what was better, industrious and attentive, and made such progress in his lessons that, after a few years, a merchant in the town took him into his office, and paid him a salary almost half as large as his father's wages. Now was the time for George to shew his parents some gratitude in return for their kindness to him. But George felt no gratitude. He knew that but for his parents he would never have received so good an education; he had often seen his mother deny herself some article of warm clothing that would have added much to her comfort in the cold winter days; and his father had often gone to work with less food than his hard toil required, and all to

keep him at school. But he was so selfish that he could not bear to part with his money; he laid up most of his salary in the Savings Bank, and only gave his mother half-a-crown now and then, with the air of one who was making a mighty sacrifice. But though ungrateful, he was industrious, anxious to please his master, and careful in doing his duty; and therefore he prospered. His master thought very highly of him, and gave him a higher salary; and as George was economical and saved his money, he soon had a good sum of his own, and was in a few years taken as a partner in the business, and on his master's death, succeeded him in his trade, and by his great diligence and good management he became the richest man in the town.

In the meantime, the younger brother James had been taken from school when he was scarcely able to read his Bible, and had been set to work. He got but little at first for his labour; but he loved his parents, and

was only too proud to give them his earnings. As he grew stronger he was apprenticed to his father's trade; and while his brother was growing rich in his shop, he was toiling in all weathers hewing and squaring stones. By and bye his father became too feeble to work as usual, and James had to work to support his parents. This was a considerable burden on his small income, but he remembered that his father had long toiled for him, and his mother had watched over him ever since he was a child, and he cheerfully did his duty. And what did the wealthy George do for those whose self-denial had laid the foundation of his prosperity? He did just as he had done before; he gave his mother occasionally a trifling sum, though it would have been no sacrifice for him to have supported his parents in comfort all their lives. He had built for himself a beautiful villa near his native town, and all his fellowcitizens seemed to feel a sort of respect for a