the
tailor's saying, so loud that he could be heard by all who were
standing near,

"It's no use to waste your time with him any longer. Just hand over
the account to Simpson, and let him take care of it."

The collector turned away, and the tailor came back to his customers.

"It is too bad," he said, "the way some of these young fellows do
serve us. I have now several thousand dollars on my books against
clerks who receive salaries large enough to support them handsomely,
and I can't collect a dollar of it. There is Jacob Jones, whose
account I have just ordered to be placed in the hands of a lawyer, he
owes me nearly two hundred dollars, and I can't get a cent out of
him. I call him little better than a scamp."

The father and son exchanged glances of significance, but said
nothing. The fate of Jacob Jones was sealed.

"If that is the case," said the father, as they stepped into the
street, "the less we have to do with him the better."

To this the son assented. Another more prudent young man was selected,
whose fortune was made.

"When Jacob received lawyer Simpson's note, threatening a suit if the
tailor's bill were not paid, he was greatly disturbed.

"Am I not the most unfortunate man in the world?" he said to himself,
by way of consolation. "After having paid him so much money, to be
served like this. It is too bad. But this is the way of the world. Let
a poor devil once get a little under the weather, and every one must
have a kick at him."

In this dilemma poor Jacob had to call upon the tailor and beg him for
further time. This was humiliating, especially as the tailor was
considerably out of humor, and disposed to be hard with him. A threat
to apply for the benefit of the insolvent law again, if a suit was
pressed to an issue, finally induced the tailor to waive legal
proceedings for the present, and Jacob had the immediate terrors of
the law taken from before his eyes.

This event set Jacob to thinking and calculating, what he had never
before deemed necessary in his private affairs. The result did not
make him feel any happier. To his astonishment he ascertained that he
owed more than the whole of his next year's salary would pay, while
that was not in itself sufficient to meet his current expenses.

For some weeks after this discovery of the real state of his affairs,
Jacob was very unhappy. He applied for an increase of salary, and
obtained the addition of one hundred dollars per annum. Thi