dy nose. This does not proceed from courage;
no, no: courage never seeks quarrels, and is only active to repel
insult, protect the injured, and conquer danger; but Harry would be one
of the first to fly from real danger, or to leave the helpless to shift
for themselves. He knows that he is very strong, and that few boys of
his age can match him, so he picks quarrels on purpose to fight, because
his great strength and his constant practice make him almost sure to
conquer. All his schoolfellows hate him, for such a boy can neither
have a good temper, a good heart, nor good manners. It is a pity he
should be sent to school, for learning is thrown away upon him; he will
be fit only to live with men that sweep the streets or drive carts and
waggons, for with such coarse and vulgar habits, gentlemen will not
endure him in their company.

GEORGE, the second boy, is always thinking of eating and drinking. He
follows the cook from place to place to know what nice things she has
got in her pantry. When there is any dainty on the dinner-table, his
greedy eyes are fixed on it from the moment he sits down till he is
helped, and then he grudges every morsel that any one else puts in his
mouth. In his eagerness to get more than his proper share, he crams
great pieces into his mouth until he is almost choked and the tears are
forced from his eyes. He will get slily into the store-room and steal
honey, sugar, or raisins; and in the pantry he picks the edges of the
tarts and pies, and does a number of other mean tricks. When there is
company at dinner, he watches the parlour-door till they leave it, and
before the servants have time to clear the table, he sips up all the
drops of wine that are left in the glasses, and will even eat the
parings of apples and pears that lie on the dessert plates. If he has
an orange or a cake, he runs into some dirty hole to eat it, for fear
his brothers and sisters should ask for a piece. If he has any money
given him, he spends it all at once, and crams and eats till he can
scarcely move.

This greedy boy is always watched and suspected. No one will trust him
in a garden, for he would eat till he made himself sick, or tear down
the branches of the trees to get at the fruit. Nor can he be allowed to
pay any visits, for the manners of a glutton give great offence to all
well-bred people. He has a sallow, ugly look, and is always peeping and
prying about, like a beast watching for its prey.

IDLE RICHARD