weretheyeachnothingorsomething?youshallhear;itisquiteahistory.

theeldestbrother,hewhofabricatedbricks,soondiscoveredthateachbrick,whenfinished,broughthiminasmallcoin,ifonlyacopperone;andmanycopperpieces,ifplacedoneuponanother,canbechangedintoashiningshilling;andatwhateverdoorapersonknocks,whohasanumberoftheseinhishands,whetheritbethebaker's,thebutcher's,orthetailor's,thedoorfliesopen,andhecangetallhewants.soyouseethevalueofbricks.someofthebricks,however,crumbledtopieces,orwerebroken,buttheelderbrotherfoundauseforeventhese.

onthehighbankofearth,whichformedadykeonthesea-coast,apoorwomannamedmargaretwishedtobuildherselfahouse,soalltheimperfectbricksweregiventoher,andafewwholeoneswiththem;fortheeldestbrotherwasakind-heartedman,althoughheneverachievedanythinghigherthanmakingbricks.thepoorwomanbuiltherselfalittlehouse-itwassmallandnarrow,andthewindowwasquitecrooked,thedoortoolow,andthestrawroofmighthavebeenbetterthatched.butstillitwasashelter,andfromwithinyoucouldlookfaroverthesea,whichdashedwildlyagainstthesea-wallonwhichthelittlehousewasbuilt.thesaltwavessprinkledtheirwhitefoamoverit,butitstoodfirm,andremainedlongafterhewhohadgiventhebrickstobuilditwasdeadandburied.

thesecondbrotherofcourseknewbetterhowtobuildthanpoormargaret,forheservedanapprenticeshiptolearnit.whenhistimewasup,hepackeduphisknapsack,andwentonhistravels,singingthejourneyman'ssong,-

"whileyoung,icanwanderwithoutacare,

andbuildnewhouseseverywhere;

fairandbrightaremydreamsofhome,

alwaysthoughtofwhereveriroam.

hurrahforaworkman'slifeofglee!

there'salovedoneathomewhothinksofme;

homeandfriendsicanne'erforget,

andimeantobeamasteryet."andthatiswhathedid.onhisreturnhome,hebecameamasterbuilder,-builtonehouseafteranotherinthetown,tilltheyformedquiteastreet,which,whenfinished,becamereallyanornamenttothetown.thesehousesbuiltahouseforhiminreturn,whichwastobehisown.buthowcanhousesbuildahouse?ifthehouseswereasked,theycouldnotanswer;butthepeoplewouldunderstand,andsay,"certainlythestreetbuilthishouseforhim."itwasnotverylarge,andthefloorwasoflime;butwhenhedancedwithhisbrideonthelime-coveredfloor,itwastohimwhiteandshining,andfromeverystoneinthewallflowersseemedtospringforthanddecoratetheroomaswiththerichesttapestry.itwasreallyaprettyhouse,andinitwereahappypair.theflagofthecorporationflutteredbeforeit,andthejourneymenandapprenticesshouted"hurrah."hehadgainedhisposition,hehadmadehimselfsomething,andatlasthedied,whichwas"something"too.

nowwecometothearchitect,thethirdbrother,whohadbeenfirstacarpenter'sapprentice,hadwornacap,andservedasanerrandboy,butafterwardswenttotheacademy,andrisentobeanarchitect,ahighandnoblegentleman.ahyes,thehousesofthenewstreet,whichthebrotherwhowasamasterbuildererected,mayhavebuilthishouseforhim,butthestreetreceiveditsnamefromthearchitect,andthehandsomesthouseinthestreetbecamehiswassomething,andhewas"something,"forhehadalistoftitlesbeforeandafterhisname.hischildrenwerecalled"wellborn,"andwhenhedied,hiswidowwastreatedasaladyofposition,andthatwas"something."hisnameremainedalwayswrittenatthecornerofthestreet,andlivedineveryone'smouthasitsname.yes,thisalsowassomething."

andwhataboutthegeniusofthefamily-thefourthbrother-whowantedtoinventsomethingnewandoriginal?