MEAN to be somebody， and do somethinguseful in the world，“ said the eldest of five brothers. ”I don't care how humble my position is， so that Ican only do some good， which will be something. Iintend to be a brickmaker; bricks are alwayswanted， and I shall be really doing something.“
“Your 'something' is not enough for me，” saidthe second brother; “what you talk of doing isnothing at all， it is journeyman's work， or might even be done by a machine. No! I shouldprefer to be a builder at once， there is something real in that. A man gains a position， hebecomes a citizen， has his own sign， his own house of call for his workmen： so I shall be abuilder. If all goes well， in time I shall become a master， and have my own journeymen， andmy wife will be treated as a master's wife. This is what I call something.”
“I call it all nothing，” said the third; “not in reality any position. There are many in a townfar above a master builder in position. You may be an upright man， but even as a master youwill only be ranked among common men. I know better what to do than that. I will be anarchitect， which will place me among those who possess riches and intellect， and whospeculate in art. I shall certainly have to rise by my own endeavors from a bricklayer'slaborer， or as a carpenter's apprentice—a lad wearing a paper cap， although I now wear asilk hat. I shall have to fetch beer and spirits for the journeymen， and they will call me 'thou，'which will be an insult. I shall endure it， however， for I shall look upon it all as a mererepresentation， a masquerade， a mummery， which to-morrow， that is， when I myself as ajourneyman， shall have served my time， will vanish， and I shall go my way， and all that haspassed will be nothing to me. Then I shall enter the academy， and get instructed in drawing，and be called an architect. I may even attain to rank， and have something placed before orafter my name， and I shall build as others have done before me. By this there will be always'something' to make me remembered， and is not that worth living for?”
“Not in my opinion，” said the fourth; “I will never follow the lead of others， and onlyimitate what they have done. I will be a genius， and become GREater than all of you together.I will create a new style of building， and introduce a plan for erecting houses suitable to theclimate， with material easily obtained in the country， and thus suit national feeling and thedevelopments of the age， besides building a storey for my own genius.”
“But supposing the climate and the material are not good for much，” said the fifthbrother， “that would be very unfortunate for you， and have an influence over yourexperiments. Nationality may assert itself until it becomes affectation， and the developmentsof a century may run wild， as youth often does. I see clearly that none of you will ever really beanything worth notice， however you may now fancy it. But do as you like， I shall not imitateyou. I mean to keep clear of all these things， and criticize what you do. In every actionsomething imperfect may be discovered， something not right， which I shall make it mybusiness to find out and expose; that will be something， I fancy.” And he kept his word，and became a critic.
People said of this fifth brother， “There is something very precise about him; he has agood head-piece， but he does nothing.” And on that very account they thought he must besomething.
Now， you see， this is a little history which will never end; as long as the world exists，there will always be men like these five brothers. And what became of them? Were they eachnothing or something? You shall hear; it is quite a history.
the eldest brother， he who fabricated bricks， soon discovered that each brick， whenfinished， brought him in a small coin， if only a copper one; and many copper pieces， ifplaced one upon another， can be changed into a shining shilling; and at whatever door aperson knocks， who has a number of these in his hands， whether it be the baker's， thebutcher's， or the tailor's， the door flies open， and he can get all he wants. So you see thevalue of bricks. Some of the bricks， however， crumbled to pieces， or were broken， but theelder brother found a use for even these.
On the high bank of earth， which formed a dyke on the sea-coast， a poor woman namedMargaret wished to build herself a house， so all the imperfect bricks were given to her， and afew whole ones with them; for the eldest brother was a kind-hearted man， although he neverachieved anything higher than making bricks. The poor woman built herself a little house—it wassmall and narrow， and the window was quite crooked， the door too low， and the straw roofmight have been better thatched. But still it was a shelter， and from within you could look farover the sea， which dashed wildly against the sea-wall on which the little house was built. Thesalt waves sprinkled their white foam over it， but it stood firm， and remained long after hewho had given the bricks to build it was dead and buried.
the second brother of course knew better how to build than poor Margaret， for he servedan apprenticeship to learn it. When his time was up， he packed up his knapsack， and went onhis travels， singing the journeyman's song，—
While young， I can wander without a care，And build new houses everywhere;Fair andbright are my dreams of home，Always thought of wherever I roam.
Hurrah for a workman's life of glee!
there's a loved one at home who thinks of me;Home and friends I can ne'er forget，And Imean to be a master yet.
And that is what he did. On his return home， he became a master builder，—built onehouse after another in the town， till they formed quite a street， which， when finished，became really an ornament to the town. These houses built a house for him in return， whichwas to be his own. But how can houses build a house? If the houses were asked， they couldnot answer; but the people would understand， and say， “Certainly the street built hishouse for him.” It was not very large， and the floor was of lime; but when he danced with hisbride on the lime-covered floor， it was to him white and shining， and from every stone in thewall flowers seemed to spring forth and decorate the room as with the richest tapestry. It wasreally a pretty house， and in it were a happy pair. The flag of the corporation fluttered beforeit， and the journeymen and apprentices shouted “Hurrah.” He had gained his position， he hadmade himself something， and at last he died， which was “something” too.