This lad had the makings of a good partner in him by and by . No hurry ; he must serves long apprenticeship first and prove his mettle ; no use spoiling him by hinting at future partnerships before need was . That would all come in due time . David White was a shrewd man . Ernest was unconscious of his employer 's plans regarding him ; but he knew that he stood well with him and , much to his surprise , he found that he liked the work , and was beginning to take a personal interest and pleasure in the store . Hence , he went home to tea on this particular afternoon with buoyant step and smiling eyes . It was a good world , and he was glad to be alive in it , glad to have work to do and a dear little mother to work for . Most of the folks who met him smiled in friendly fashion at the bright-eyed , frank-faced lad . Only old Jacob Patterson scowled grimly as he passed him , emitting merely a surly grunt in response to Ernest 's greeting . But then , old Jacob Patterson was noted as much for his surliness as for his miserliness . Nobody had ever heard him speak pleasantly to anyone ; therefore his unfriendliness did not at all dash Ernest 's high spirits . `` I 'm sorry for him , '' the lad thought . `` He has no interest in life save accumulating money . He has no other pleasure or affection or ambition . When he dies I do n't suppose a single regret will follow him . Father died a poor man , but what love and respect went with him to his grave -- aye , and beyond it . Jacob Patterson , I 'm sorry for you . You have chosen the poorer part , and you are a poor man in spite of your thousands . '' Ernest and his mother lived up on the hill , at the end of the straggling village street . The house was a small , old-fashioned one , painted white , set in the middle of a small but beautiful lawn .
George Duncan , during the last rather helpless years of his life , had devoted himself to the cultivation of flowers , shrubs , and trees and , XXXXX a result , his lawn was the prettiest in Conway .
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