I was not half so good an ostler as
old Bill, who had never been presented with a silver currycomb, and
I never expected to become so, therefore what chance had I? It was
true, there was a prospect of some pecuniary emolument to be
derived by remaining in either situation. It was very probable
that, provided I continued to keep an account of the hay and corn
coming in and expended, the landlord would consent to allow me a
pound a week, which at the end of a dozen years, provided I kept
myself sober, would amount to a considerable sum. I might, on the
retirement of old Bill, by taking his place, save up a decent sum
of money, provided, unlike him, I kept myself sober, and laid by
all the shillings and sixpences I got; but the prospect of laying
up a decent sum of money was not of sufficient importance to induce
me to continue either at my wooden desk, or in the inn-yard. The
reader will remember what difficulty I had to make up my mind to
become a merchant under the Armenian's auspices, even with the
prospect of making two or three hundred thousand pounds by
following the Armenian way of doing business, so it was not
probable that I should feel disposed to be a book-keeper or ostler
all my life with no other prospect than being able to make a tidy
sum of money.
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