I let it carry on like a tinker in a public house, and never said a word." He showed the boy an interesting table containing the days of the week, at the head of seven columns, and opposite cross-columns below were the virtues he aimed to acquire--patience, temperance, frugality and the like.

The book contained a table for every week in the year.

It had been his practise, at the end of each day, to enter a black mark opposite the virtues in which he had failed.
It was a curious and impressive document--a frank, candid record in black and white of the history of a human soul.

To Jack it had a sacred aspect like the story of the trials of Job.
"I begin to understand how you have built up this wonderful structure we call Franklin," he said.
"Oh, it is but a poor and shaky thing at best, likely to tumble in a high wind--but some work has gone into it," said the old gentleman.
"You see these white pages are rather spotted, but when I look over the history of my spirit, as I do now and then, I observe that the pages are slowly getting cleaner.

There is not so much ink on them as there used to be.