Harry read as before, the story this time being about the gentleman and
the basket-maker. It described how a rich man, jealous of the happiness
of a poor basket-maker, destroyed the latter's means of livelihood, and
was sent by a magistrate with his humble victim to an island, where the
two were made to serve the natives. On this island the rich man, because
he possessed neither talents to please nor strength to labour, was
condemned to be the basket-maker's servant. When they were recalled, the
rich man, having acquired wisdom by his misfortunes, not only treated
the basket-maker as a friend during the rest of his life, but employed
his riches in relieving the poor.


_II.--Gentleman Tommy Learns to Read_


From this time forward Mr. Barlow and his two pupils used to work in
their garden every morning; and when they were fatigued they retired to
the summer-house, where Harry, who improved every day in reading, used
to entertain them with some pleasant story. Then Harry went home for a
week, and the morning after, when Tommy expected that Mr. Barlow would
read to him as usual, he found to his great disappointment, that
gentleman was busy and could not. The same thing happening the next day
and the day after, Tommy said to himself, "Now, if I could but read like
Harry, I should not need to ask anybody to do it for me." So when Harry
returned, Tommy took an early opportunity of asking him how he came to
be able to read.

"Why," said Harry, "Mr. Barlow taught me my letters; and then, by
putting syllables together, I learnt to read."