It took him all
the evenings for a week to tell the story of his voyage, to which
Mrs. Redburn and her daughter listened with much satisfaction. He
remained at home two months, and then departed on a voyage to the
East Indies.
Master Simon Sneed, after Katy's attempt to serve him, did not
tell her many more large stories about himself, for she
understood him now, and knew that he was not half so great a man
as he pretended to be. In the spring he obtained a situation in a
small retail store where there was not a very wide field for the
exercise of his splendid abilities. He had been idle all winter,
and when he lamented his misfortunes to Katy, she always asked
why he did not sell candy. Once she suggested that he should
learn a trade, to which Master Simon always replied, that he was
born to be a gentleman, and would never voluntarily demean
himself by pursuing a degrading occupation. He was above being a
mechanic, and he would never soil his hands with dirty work. Katy
began to think he was really a fool. She could scarcely think him
"poor and proud"; he was only poor and foolish.
At the close of Katy's first year in trade, a great misfortune
befell her in the loss of Mrs. Colvin, her able assistant in the
manufacturing department of the business. A worthy man, who owned
a little farm in the country, tempted her with an offer of
marriage, and her conscience (I suppose) would not let her refuse
it.
Pages:
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171