ime drew near for
his departure, he found he loved home more than he thought he did, and
he almost wished that he had not decided to go. But being a boy of much
decision, as we have seen, he was rather ashamed to relinquish what he
had undertaken to do. He said little or nothing therefore about his
feelings, but went at the appointed time. Soon after he became a member
of his uncle's family, where he was a very welcome visitor, a "picker
boy" was wanted in the factory, and arrangements were made for Nat to
fill the place. He entered upon the work, well pleased to be able to
earn something for his parents, and he fully satisfied his employers, by
his close attention to his work, his respectful manners, and his
amiable, intelligent, and gentlemanly bearing. But Nat loved home too
well to be contented to remain long away. He had seasons of being
homesick, when he thought he would give more to see his father and
mother again than for any thing beside. His uncle saw that the boy was
really growing thin under the intense longing of his heart for home, so
he wrote to his parents, and arrangements were made immediately for his
return. It was a happy day for Nat when he reached home, and took his
parents once more by the hand. Home never seemed more precious than it
did then. If he had been a singer, I have no doubt that he would have
made the old homestead resound with the familiar song of Payne,

"'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."

It is a good sign for boys to love home. Good boys always do love home.
It is the place where their parents dwell, whom they love and respect.
No ties are so dear as those which bind them to this sacred spot. No
love is purer than that which unites them to parents, brothers, and
sisters. It may be a home of poverty, where few of the comforts, and
none of the luxuries of life are found, but this does not destroy its
charm. Sickness and misfortune may be there, and still it is home, loved
and sought. Others may have more splendid homes, where affluence gathers
much to please the eye and fascinate the heart, but they would not be
received in exchange for this.

Such boys as Sam and Ben Drake seldom love home. Disobedient and
headstrong children do not love their parents much, and, for this
reason, home has few charms except as a place to eat and sleep. The
history of nearly all base men will show that in early life they broke
away f