Try and Trust | Page 4

is good, and the farmers are thrifty and well-to-
do; but probably the whole town contains less than a thousand
inhabitants.
In one of the houses, near the church, lived Dr. Kent, whose letter has
already been referred to. He was a skillful physician, and a very worthy
man, who would have been very glad to be benevolent if his limited
practice had supplied him with the requisite means. But chance had
directed him to a healthy and sparsely-settled neighborhood, where he
was able only to earn a respectable livelihood, and indeed found
himself compelled to economize at times where he would have liked to
indulge himself in expense.
When Mrs. Mason died it was found that the sale of her furniture barely
realized enough to defray the expenses of her funeral. Herbert, her only
son, was left wholly unprovided for. Dr. Kent, knowing that he had a
rich uncle in New York, undertook to communicate to him the position
in which his nephew had been left, never doubting that he would
cheerfully extend a helping hand to him. Meanwhile he invited Herbert
to come to his house and make it his home till his uncle should send for
him.
Herbert was a handsome, well-grown boy of fourteen, and a general
favorite in the village. While his mother lived he had done all he could
to lighten her tasks, and he grieved deeply for her loss now that she was
gone. His father had ten years before failed in business in the city of
New York, and, in a fit of depression, had emigrated to this obscure
country village, where he had invested the few hundred dollars
remaining to him in a farm, from which he was able to draw a scanty
income. Being a man of liberal education, he had personally
superintended the education of his son till his death, two years before,
so that Herbert's attainments were considerably in advance of those of
other boys of his age in the neighborhood. He knew something of Latin
and French, which made him looked upon as quite a model of learning
by his playmates. After his father's death he had continued the daily

study of the languages, so that he was able to read ordinary French with
nearly as much ease as if it were English. Though studious, he was not
a bookworm, but was distinguished in athletic sports popular with boys
of his age.
Enough has been said of our hero by way of introduction. Herbert's
faults and virtues will appear as the record of his adventures is
continued. It may be hinted only that, while he was frank, manly, and
generous in his disposition, he was proud and high-spirited also, and
perhaps these qualities were sometimes carried to excess. He would not
allow himself to be imposed upon if he could help it. Being strong for
his age, he was always able to maintain his rights, but never abused his
strength by making it the instrument of tyrannizing over weaker boys.
Of course Herbert felt somewhat anxious as to his future prospects. He
knew that the doctor had written to his Uncle Benjamin about him, and
he hoped that he might be sent for to New York, having a great
curiosity to see the city, of which he had heard so much.
"Have you heard from my uncle, Dr. Kent?" he inquired, a few days
after the scene recorded in our first chapter.
His question was prompted by seeing the doctor coming into the yard
with an open letter in his hand.
"Yes," said Dr. Kent, with troubled expression and perplexed took.
"What does Uncle Benjamin say?" asked our young hero, eagerly.
"Nothing very encouraging, Herbert, I am sorry to say," returned the
doctor. "However, here is the letter; you may read it for yourself."
Herbert received the letter from the doctor's hands and read it through
with feelings of mortification and anger.
Here it is:
"DEAR SIR: I have to acknowledge yours of the 10th inst. I regret to

hear of my sister's decease. I regret, also, to hear that her son, Herbert,
is left without a provision for his support. My brother-in-law I cannot
but consider culpable in neglecting to lay up something during his life
upon which his widow and son might depend. I suspect that he must
have lived with inconsiderate extravagance.
"As for myself, I have a family of my own to provide for, and the
expense of living in a city like this is very great. In justice to them, I do
not feel that it would be right for me to incur extra expense. You tell
me that he is now fourteen and a stout boy. He is able, I should think,
to earn his own living. I should recommend that he be