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John; God bless you! Go now; come again to-morrow, and tell me what Mr. Blacher says. Good-night." And he passed out and left John standing in the middle of the room alone.

CHAPTER XIV.

A MORNING RIDE.

WHEN Robert retired to his room the night his uncle proposed that test of devotion to Christ, which our young friends termed the "Aim question," he set himself very vigorously to thinking. What had his plans for life been? That was the question which he first asked himself.

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Why, of course I shall go into the shoe business with father," he answered; "and then, why, I expect to get rich like father," and then he fell to wondering if his father was rich, and how rich, till he forgot the first question, and finally became so sleepy that he decided to go to bed, and postpone all such matters till the morning.

When he awoke the next morning, how

ever, these questions were not very long in finding their way back into his mind again. Seeing the carriage brought round to the door, and his uncle going out to it, dressed as if for a drive, he sprang for his own equipments, and was just in season to beg a ride. The two were soon trotting along on the road to Beltonville.

66 Uncle, is father rich?" asked Robert, as soon as Prince, getting a little over the enthusiam of his morning drive, slackened his pace so as to allow of talking.

Mr. Warren saw the drift of Robert's thoughts, but he only answered, "That depends upon what you mean by rich."

Rich was such an indefinite word that Robert scarcely knew himself how he would define it; so he avoided the difficulty, by asking, "What do you mean by rich, uncle?"

"So you shift the question back upon

me, do you?" said his uncle, smiling; "it is not an easy one to answer, I think you found. But first, in order to be rich, a man must be out of debt, and able to provide suitably for those dependent upon him; your father is all that. Beyond this, I think it depends upon two circumstances, rather than upon any given amount of property."

"I do not understand you, sir!”

"I have only myself to provide for, but your father has four; so it ought to take four times as much to make him rich as to make me rich, do you see?"

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"Yes, sir; so he would be justified in saving for himself four times as much as you would?"

"More than four times as much, I think," replied his uncle. "Unless I am sick, I can always pay my way; so sickness is all for which I need provide. But your father has more than that of which to

think. He has two children to educate as well as to support, he has a wife, who should not take time from her family to earn her own support. He has to think how all these bills are to be met, not only now, but in case of his sickness or death." "But you spoke of two things, uncle; what is the other?"

"I have alluded to that already. Your father has not only four times as many to care for, but some of these cost him or will cost him more than I spend. It will take money to educate you and Nellie. Then, we might suppose a case. Some people understand better than others how to regulate their expenses. I have seen ladies who really tried to be prudent, but who lacked your mother's skill, and their husbands, therefore, were obliged to pay much more than your father does for an equally comfortable home."

"So, it would not be right to say that a

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