All in a garden fair; the simple story of three boys ... - University Library

66 ALL IX A GARDEX FAIR.
CIIAPTEE III.
WHAT THERE IS OUTSIDE.
They ^vill be notliing after all,' said Hector
Philipon, looking at the boys at play, ' but little
clerks ijet'ds commis. Poor little chaps ! that
must be their flite.' He rolled another ciij^arette
and began to reflect upon the various conditions
of mankind, and especially on clcrkery.
He knew {\\q petit commis of Paris, and he
rashly concluded that he of London resembled
him, not knowing tliat in clcrkery, as -in the
Church or the law, or any other calling, there
are degrees, grades, deptlis, and huights. He
thought that all alike Avere hopeless. Their
labour, he argued, from these unsound premises,
is not skilled ; they have no skill or craft ; they
cau write, spell, read, cast accounts ; they are