with a worldly sagacity far beyond what he actually possessed.

At any rate, he may be considered the magnate of Norton.
Occasionally he visited New York, and had been very much annoyed to
find that his rural importance did not avail him there, and that he
was treated with no sort of deference by those whom he had occasion
to meet. Somehow, the citizens of the commercial metropolis never
suspected for a single moment that he was a great man.

When Squire Pope had finished his letter, he took his hat, and with
measured dignity, walked to the village post-office.

He met several of his neighbors there, and greeted them with affable
condescension. He was polite to those of all rank, as that was
essential to his retaining the town offices, which he would have
been unwilling to resign.

From the post-office the squire, as he remembered the conversation
which had taken place at the breakfast-table, went to make an
official call on the boy whose fate he had so summarily decided.

Before the call, it may be well to say a word about Philip Gray, our
hero, and the circumstances which had led to his present
destitution.

His father had once been engaged in mercantile business, but his
health failed, his business suffered, and he found it best-indeed,
necessary--to settle up his affairs altogether and live in quiet
retirement in Norton.