Jerome Edwards, young as he was, had within him the noblest instinct of a reformer--that of deducting from all evils a first lesson for himself.

He said to himself: "It is true, what Uncle Ozias says.

It is wrong, the way things are.

The rich have everything--all the land, all the good food, all the money; the poor have nothing.

It is wrong." Then he said, "If ever I am rich I will give to the poor." This pride of good intentions, in comparison with others' deeds, gave the boy a certain sense of superiority.