nd. If any undue
opposition were made to his wishes when expressed, he would leave
the firm, break up the business, and carry his now well-known genius
for commercial enterprise to some other concern in which he might be
treated with a juster appreciation of his merits.

"Not that I will ever leave thee, Maryanne," he said to himself, as
he resolved these things in his mind.

CHAPTER XIV.

MISTRESS MORONY.

It was about ten days after the conversation recorded in the last
chapter between Mr. Robinson and Mr. Poppins that an affair was
brought about through the imprudence and dishonesty of Mr. Jones,
which for some time prevented that settlement of matters on which Mr.
Robinson had resolved. During those ten days he had been occupied in
bringing his resolution to a fixed point; and then, when the day and
hour had come in which he intended to act, that event occurred which,
disgraceful as it is to the annals of the Firm, must now be told.

There are certain small tricks of trade, well known to the lower
class of houses in that business to which Brown, Jones, and Robinson
had devoted themselves, which for a time may no doubt be profitable,
but which are very apt to bring disgrace and ruin upon those who
practise them. To such tricks as these Mr. Jones was wedded, and by
none of the arguments which he used in favour of a high moral tone
of commerce could Robinson prevail upon his partner to abandon them.
Nothing could exceed the obstinacy and blindness of Mr. Jones during
these discussions. When it was explained to him that the conduct he
was pursuing was hardly removed,--nay, it was not removed,--from
common swindling, he would reply that it was quite as honest as
Mr. Robinson's advertisements. He would quote especially those
Katakairion shirts which were obtained from Hodges, and of which the
sale at 39_s._ 6_d._ the half-dozen had by dint of a wide circulation
of notices become considerable. "If that isn't swindling, I don't
know what is," said Jones.

"Do you know what Katakairion means?" said Robinson.

"No; I don't," said Jones. "And I don't want to know."

"Katakairion means 'fitting,'" said Robinson; "and the purchaser has
only to take care that the shirt he buys does fit, and then it is
Katakairion."

"But we didn't invent them."

"We invented the price and the name, and that's as much as anybody
does. But that is not all. It's a well-understood maxim in trade,
that a man may advertise whateve