But the same competition which crowds the professions and the
higher employments followed by men, prevails among the street trades
which are pursued by boys. If Paul had only had himself to support,
he could have made a fair living at match selling, or any other of the
employments he took up; but his mother could not earn much at making
vests, and Jimmy was lame, and could do nothing to fill the common
purse, so that Paul felt that his earnings must be the main support of
the family, and naturally sought out what would bring him in most money.
At length he had hit upon selling prize packages, and his first
experience in that line are recorded in the previous chapter. Adding
only that it was now a year since his father's death, we resume our
narrative.
"Do you want to know how much I've made, mother?" asked Paul, looking up
at length from his calculation.
"Yes, Paul."
"A dollar and thirty cents."
"I did not think it would amount to so much. The prizes came to
considerable, didn't they?"
"Listen, and I will tell you how I stand:
One pound of candy . . . . . . . . .20
Two packs of envelopes . . . . . . . .10
Prize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
----
That makes . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.20
I sold the fifty packages at five cents each, and that brought me in two
dollars and a half.
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