chance
customer for his ready money. In this manner of trade, I say, credit is
maintained upon the easiest terms of any other, and yet here the
tradesman must have a great care to keep it up too; for though it be the
easiest article to keep up credit in, yet even in this article the
tradesman may lose his credit, and then he is undone at once; and this
is by growing (what in the language of trade is called) long-winded,
putting off and putting off continually, till he will bear dunning; then
his credit falls, his dealer that trusted him perhaps a thousand pounds
previously, that esteemed him as good as ready money, now grows sick of
him, declines him, cares not whether he deals with him or no, and at
last refuses to trust him any longer. Then his credit is quite sunk and
gone, and in a little after that his trade is ruined and the tradesman
too; for he must be a very extraordinary tradesman that can open his
shop after he has outlived his credit: let him look which way he will,
all is lost, nobody cares to deal with him, and, which is still worse,
nobody will trust him.

2. Bills drawn upon him from the country, that is to say, from some
places remote from where he now dwells: it is but a little while ago
since those bills were the loosest things in trade, for as they could
not be protested, so they would not (in all their heats) always sue for
them, but rather return them to the person from whom they received them.

In the meantime, let the occasion be what it will, the tradesman ought
on all occasions to pay these notes without a public recalling and
returning them, and without hesitation of any kind whatsoever. He that
lets his bills lie long unpaid, must not expect to keep his credit much
after them.

Besides, the late law for noting and protesting inland bills, alters the
case very much. Bills now accepted, are protested in form, and, if not
punctually paid, are either returned immediately, or the person on whom
they are drawn is liable to be sued at law; either of which is at best a
blow to the credit of the acceptor.

A tradesman may, without hurt to his reputation, refuse to accept a
bill, for then, when the notary comes he gives his reasons, namely, that
he refuses to accept the bill for want of advice, or for want of effects
in his hands for account of the drawer, or that he has not given orders
to draw upon him; in all which cases the non-acceptance touches the
credit of the drawer; for in trade it is al