nion
was first taken up by him from vanity and ignorance, so it was more
and more confirmed by his own prosperity. He saw that he himself had
succeeded greatly without either money or education to begin with,
and he therefore now despised every man, however excellent his
character or talents might be, who had not the same success in life.
His natural disposition was not particularly bad, but prosperity had
hardened his heart. He made his own progress in life the rule by
which the conduct of all other men was to be judged, without any
allowance for their peculiar disadvantages, or the visitations of
Providence. He thought, for his part, that every man of sense could
command success on his undertakings, and control and dispose the
events of his own life.

But though he considered those who had had less success than himself
as no better than fools, yet he did not extend this opinion to Mr.
Worthy, whom he looked upon not only as a good but a wise man. They
had been bred up when children in the same house; but with this
difference, that Worthy was the nephew of the master, and Bragwell
the son of the servant.

Bragwell's father had been plowman in the family of Mr. Worthy's
uncle, a sensible man who farmed a small estate of his own, and who,
having no children, bred up young Worthy as his son, instructed him
in the business of husbandry, and at his death left him his estate.
The father of Worthy was a pious clergyman, who lived with his
brother the farmer, in order to help out a narrow income. He had
bestowed much pains on the instruction of his son, and used
frequently to repeat to him a saying, which he had picked up in a
book written by one of the greatest men this country ever
produced--That there were two things with which every man ought to
be acquainted, RELIGION, AND HIS OWN BUSINESS. While he therefore
took care that his son should be made an excellent farmer, he filled
up his leisure hours in improving his mind: so that young Worthy had
read more good books, and understood them better, than most men in
his station. His reading, however, had been chiefly confined to
husbandry and divinity, the two subjects which were of the most
immediate importance to him.

The reader will see by this time that Mr. Bragwell and Mr. Worthy
were as likely to be as opposite to each other as two men could well
be, who were nearly of the same age and condition, and who were
neither of them without credit in the world. Bragwell ind