atson more than any previous remark or, action of his
father-in-law. Thrown, for a moment, off his guard, he replied with
some warmth--

"You may be sure of one thing, at least."

"What?"

"That I shall never embarrass you with any of my fine operations."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Mr. Johnson.

"Time will explain the remark," replied Watson, turning away, and
retiring from the auction room.

A coolness of some months was the consequence of this little
interview.

Time proves all things. At the end of fifteen years, Mortimer, who
had gone on in the way he had begun, was reputed to be worth two
hundred thousand dollars. Every thing he touched turned to money; at
least, so it appeared. His whole conversation was touching handsome
operations in trade; and not a day passed in which he had not some
story of gains to tell. Yet, with all his heavy accumulations, he
was always engaged in money raising, and his line of discounts was
enormous. Such a thing as proper attention to business was almost
out of the question, for nearly his whole time was taken up in
financiering--and some of his financial schemes were on a pretty
grand scale. Watson, on the other hand, had kept plodding along in
the old way, making his regular business purchases, and gradually
extending his operations, as his profits, changing into capital,
enabled him to do so. He was not anxious to get rich fast; at least,
not so anxious as to suffer himself to be tempted from a safe and
prudent course; and was, therefore, content to do well. By this
time, his father-in-law began to understand him a little better than
at first, and to appreciate him more highly. On more than one
occasion, he had been in want of a few thousand dollars in an
emergency, when the check of Watson promptly supplied the pressing
need.

As to the real ability of Watson, few were apprised, for he never
made a display for the sake of establishing a credit. But it was
known to some, that he generally had a comfortable balance in the
bank, and to others that he never exchanged notes, nor asked an
endorser on his business paper. He always purchased for cash, and
thus obtained his goods from five to seven per cent cheaper than his
neighbors; and rarely put his business paper in bank for discount at
a longer date than sixty days. Under this system, his profits were,
usually, ten per cent. more than the profits of many who were
engaged in the same branch of trade. His credit was