"And here, I must confess, he was rather imprudent in the warmth of his
commendations; my head could not stand them; as much as I was humbled
and mortified by the waggoner's calling me _an idiot_, so much was I
elated by my writing-master's calling me _a genius_. I wrote some very
bad lines in praise of a thistle, which I thought prodigiously fine,
because my writing-master looked surprised, when I showed them to
him; and because he told me that, having given a copy of them to some
gentlemen in Exeter, they agreed that the rhymes were _wonderful for
me_.

"I was at this period very nearly spoiled for life: but fortunately my
friend Mr. Y---- saw my danger, and cured me of my conceit, without
damping my ardour to acquire knowledge. He took me to the books in his
study, and showed me many volumes of fine poems; pointing out some
passages to me that greatly diminished my admiration of my own lines on
the thistle The vast distance which I perceived between myself and these
writers threw me into despair. Mr. Y---- seeing me thoroughly abashed,
observed that he was glad to find I saw the difference between bad and
good poetry; and pointed out to me, it was not likely, if I turned my
industry to writing verses, that I should ever either earn my bread, or
equal those who had enjoyed greater advantages of leisure and education.
'But, Jervas,' continued he, 'I commend you for your application and
quickness in learning to write and read, in so short a time: you will
find both these qualifications of great advantage to you. Now, I advise
you, turn your thoughts to something that may make you useful to other
people. You have your bread to earn, and this you can only do by making
yourself useful in some way or other. Look about you, and you will see
that I tell you truth. You may perceive that the servants in my house
are all useful to me, and that I pay them for their services. The cook