lls--a fellow
must be on the mark."

Nat struck upon a very important thought here. Punctuality is a cardinal
virtue, and the earlier a person learns to be punctual the better it is
for him. Being obliged to obey the summons of a bell at just such a
minute aids in establishing the habit of punctuality. Hence, the modern
rules of the school-room, requiring pupils to be there at a precise
hour, and to recite their lessons at such a minute, are very valuable to
the young. Pupils who form the habit of getting to school any time in
the morning, though usually late, are generally behind time all the way
through life. They make the men and women who are late at meeting, late
to meet their business engagements, late everywhere--a tardy,
dilatory, inefficient class of persons, wherever they are found. It is
good to be obliged to plan and do by car-time. The man who is obliged
to keep his watch by railroad time, and then make all things bend to the
same, is more likely to form the habit of being punctual, than he who
has not a fixed moment for going and coming. And so it is with the
factory. The boy who must be up at the first bell-call, and get to his
place of toil at five o'clock in the morning, is more likely to be
prompt in every place and work. Nat was right. It is another instance of
his ability to perceive the real tendencies of things.

David smiled at Nat's view of the matter, and asked, "What book have you
there?"

"The life of Dr. Franklin. You know they have a library for the
operatives in the factory, and I mean to make the most of it."

"But you won't get much time to read, if you work in the factory all
day, from Monday morning till Saturday night."

"I can get two or three hours in a day, if I sit up till ten o'clock,
and that is early enough for anybody to go to bed. I shall read this
volume through by Saturday night."

"Well, _you'll_ make the most of it if anybody can," said David,
laughing, and hurrying on homewards.

Nat commenced reading Dr. Franklin's life that evening. It was his first
step in a somewhat systematic course of reading, for which he was
indebted to the manufacturing company. But for his factory life he
might not have been introduced to those authors that gratified his
desire for knowledge, and nurtured in his soul that energy and
perseverance which he was already known to possess.

His parents did not converse much with him about his new business, as
they thought it might not be wis