in the most theoretical
way. For this reason he could not interest others in it. He had an unusual
knack for selling things to people which would appeal to their love of the
beautiful and their desire for adornment; in short, to their vanity; but
he had no qualifications for selling to people on a purely commercial
basis, and especially selling something which was so matter-of-fact and
commonplace in its character as the saving of coal and the freedom from
necessity of frequent attention.

A WEAK MAN AND HIS TEMPTATION

In the winter of 1914-1915, the people of New York were shocked at the
downfall of a man who had held a very high social, church, and business
position. He had a wife and two or three beautiful children; he occupied a
very prominent place in church and Sunday-school; he was well connected
socially; he was a prominent member of one of the more popular secret
fraternal organizations; he had a good position at a large salary, and
enjoyed the complete confidence and respect of his employers and business
associates. Like a bolt out of a clear sky, therefore, came the revelation
that he had robbed his employers of more than a hundred thousand dollars.
This money he had lost in speculation.

It was the old, old story. He had begun speculating with his own reserve;
this was quickly wiped out. Then, in order to win back what he had lost,
he had begun to borrow, little by little from his employer. He would win
for a little while; then he would lose, and, as a result, would have to
borrow more in an attempt to make good his losses and repay what he had
borrowed.

This man's employers had to make good a loss of about one hundred and
twenty-two thousand dollars. In addition to this, they lost time, money,
service, energy, and physical well-being because of the upset in their
business and the bitter disappointment to them in the defalcation of their
trusted employee. They also spent money tracing him in his flight and
bringing him back to face trial and receive his penalty. More money was
spent trying to discover whether he had concealed any of the funds he had
stolen, so that they might be recovered. All of this might have been saved
and the man himself, perhaps, might have been protected from the fate
which overtook him, if, instead of judging him by his church record and
his pleasing personal appearance and manner, they had taken the trouble to
learn something about the external evidences of weaknesses which t