The builder, as his edifice rises higher and higher, stands in front of it every now and then to feast his imagination on what it will be when it is finished and ready for occupation. The printer is well pleased when he sees his proof-sheets so free from errors and looking so neat and clear. The bookbinder comes next with a feeling of satisfaction that he has put the printer's sheets together in such a strong, compact and elegant binding. The publisher, third of these three book-makers, rubs his hands with content as he assures him- self that no other firm in the business could have tur-ned out a more beautiful volume at a more reasonable price. Lastly, comes the solitary brain that set the whole of these men working — the poor author who sat up late at night, and toiled long hours by day to CHOICE OF OCCUPATION. I45 write these original thoughts, or facts, or discoveries which the printer has printed, and the binder has bound, and the pubhshei' has pubHshed. How miserable would work be if there were no pleasure to be found in it ! Who would do with his might what his hand found to do, if it brought him nothing but headaches and heart- aches, weariness and disappointment ? Even in infancy man begins to rejoice in the work of his own hands. The childish hands that build an Aladdin's Palace or a Noah's Ark with little blocks of wood, are clapped together in ecstasy when the work is done, and papa or mamma look at it with feigned wonder and admiration. How eager is the child, when it be- gins with pencil or chalk to make figures on the paper or the board, to turn out a first-rate article in men's or donkeys' heads ! The artistic genius of the child concentrates all its efforts on the pig's curly tail or the old lady's bonnet. If the child be of a serious turn, the face it draws will have a pensive and sedate appearance, like a lion in love, or " puss in boots," But if the child be a humorist it will draw its subject weeping or laughing, and the more comic the child's fancies the funnier will be the picture. What pride and delight there is in this, but not greater than that of the boy who has learned to cut out with his knife the model of a ship, and who hastens to try its sailing capacities on the nearest pond. No captain or shipbuilder in the United States feels prouder than he. How gleefully do he and his playmates find a name for the tiny craft, and call her the " Pride of the Ocean," or the " Gem of the Sea," and fling an old shoe after her as she leaves the port in the meadow to scud around, and after a stormy voyage of a few minutes arrives safely at the same dock of pebbles from whence she sailed. The same love of the chosen work and pride in doing it well attends the boy or girl who wins the prize in a favorite study. They have denied themselves many pleasure trips and social amusements that they might devote every moment of leisure to the coming examination and competition. At last the dreaded yet longed for time has come. Preparation is over; trial begins. " Well done," is the verdict, whether JO 146 THE HEARTHSTONE ; OR, LIFE AT HOME. the prize be first or second. The labor has not been in vain ; the conscience whispers, " I did my best, and I feel all the better for it."

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The builder, as his edifice rises higher and higher, stands in front of it every now and then to feast his imagination on what it will be when it is finished and ready for occupation. The printer is well pleased when he sees his proof-sheets so free from errors and looking so neat and clear. The bookbinder comes next with a feeling of satisfaction that he has put the printer's sheets together in such a strong, compact and elegant binding. The publisher, third of these three book-makers, rubs his hands with content as he assures himself that no other firm in the business could have turned out a more beautiful volume at a more reasonable price. Lastly, comes the solitary brain that set the whole of these men working — the poor author who sat up late at night, and toiled long hours by day to write these original thoughts, or facts, or discoveries which the printer has printed, and the binder has bound, and the publisher has published. How miserable would work be if there were no pleasure to be found in it ! Who would do with his might what his hand found to do, if it brought him nothing but headaches and heartaches, weariness and disappointment ? Even in infancy man begins to rejoice in the work of his own hands. The childish hands that build an Aladdin's Palace or a Noah's Ark with little blocks of wood, are clapped together in ecstasy when the work is done, and papa or mamma look at it with feigned wonder and admiration. How eager is the child, when it begins with pencil or chalk to make figures on the paper or the board, to turn out a first-rate article in men's or donkeys' heads ! The artistic genius of the child concentrates all its efforts on the pig's curly tail or the old lady's bonnet. If the child be of a serious turn, the face it draws will have a pensive and sedate appearance, like a lion in love, or " puss in boots," But if the child be a humorist it will draw its subject weeping or laughing, and the more comic the child's fancies the funnier will be the picture. What pride and delight there is in this, but not greater than that of the boy who has learned to cut out with his knife the model of a ship, and who hastens to try its sailing capacities on the nearest pond. No captain or shipbuilder in the United States feels prouder than he. How gleefully do he and his playmates find a name for the tiny craft, and call her the " Pride of the Ocean," or the " Gem of the Sea," and fling an old shoe after her as she leaves the port in the meadow to scud around, and after a stormy voyage of a few minutes arrives safely at the same dock of pebbles from whence she sailed. The same love of the chosen work and pride in doing it well attends the boy or girl who wins the prize in a favorite study. They have denied themselves many pleasure trips and social amusements that they might devote every moment of leisure to the coming examination and competition. At last the dreaded yet longed for time has come. Preparation is over; trial begins. " Well done," is the verdict, whether JO the prize be first or second. The labor has not been in vain ; the conscience whispers, " I did my best, and I feel all the better for it."

The hearthstone; or, Life at home