I am an Englishman, and my name is John Smith. I was born in London, in the year 1816, and am now consequently in my thirty-fifth year. My father was a merchant, but he died when I was only ten years old, and I was left to the sole care of my mother. She sent me to a private school, where I learned to read and write, and became acquainted with the first rules of arithmetic. At the age of fourteen, I was placed in a counting-house, and at twenty I succeeded to a share in the business. I have been uniformly successful, and have now for some years past been a partner in an eminent mercantile firm in the city. I live in a great degree of comfort, and have no desire to change my condition. I
