brought trial to Nat. It was designed for his
good, but it dashed many of his hopes. An uncle, residing in a distant
city, proposed to receive him into his family, and give him an
opportunity to labor with himself in the factory. He was overseer of one
of the rooms, and there Nat could work under his eye, in a new branch of
the business.

"Would you like to go?" inquired his mother.

"On some accounts I should," answered Nat; "and on others I rather not
go."

"It is a good thing for boys to go away from home to stay, if they can
have a good place," said she; "and you would certainly enjoy being in
your uncle's family."

"I should like that well enough; but it is going among strangers, after
all; and then here I have a good chance to read and study, and Charlie
and I have laid our plans for the future. We have but just commenced to
do much in this respect. I should much rather stay here."

"But you can have books there, and as much time out of the factory as
you have here. Your uncle will favor you all he can, and will be glad to
see you try to improve your mind."

"I shan't have Charlie nor Frank there, nor that new acquaintance,
Marcus, who was here the other evening; he was going to study with us. I
don't believe there will be a library there either."

"I think there will be a library in the place," said his mother, "to
which you can have access. At any rate, I am confident your uncle will
provide a way for you to have all the books you want."

"How soon does he want I should come?"

"As soon as you can get ready. It will take me, some little time to
repair your clothes, and make the new ones you must have. You could not
be ready in less than two or three weeks."

"Perhaps I shall not like the new kind of work there, nor succeed so
well in doing it. It will be more difficult."

"And you are able now to perform more difficult work than you did when
you first went into the factory. You ought to keep advancing from one
step to another. Besides, it may turn out better than you expect if you
go there. You know that when you entered the factory two years ago, you
thought you should never learn any thing more, but you have been pretty
well satisfied with your opportunities to read. Perhaps you will be as
happily disappointed if you go to live with your uncle."

"There is very little prospect of it," replied Nat. "But I shall do as
you think best."

Nat could not help thinking about the new comer, Marcus Trea