sinuate," said Lawrence, rather sternly, "that
I would be guilty of forgery in any extremity?"

"Sidney Lawrence!" replied the merchant, speaking in a firm, serious
voice, "I am a plain-spoken man, and always tell my real mind when I
feel it my duty to do so, whether I give offence or not. That Solomon
spoke truly, when he said, '_He that maketh haste to be rich shall not
be innocent,_' I fully believe, because I am satisfied, from what I
have seen and know of business, that whoever follows it with an eager
desire to make money rapidly, will be subjected to daily temptations,
and it will be almost impossible for him not to seek advantages over
his neighbour in trade, and trample under foot the interests of others
to gain his own. If this is done in little matters unscrupulously, it
will in the end be done in great matters. What is the real difference,
I should like to know, between taking advantage of a man in bargaining,
and getting his money by passing upon him a forged note? The principle
is undoubtedly the same, only one is a legal offence and the other is
not. And therefore, I hold that he who takes an undue advantage of his
fellow man in trade, will not in the end hesitate about committing a
greater wrong, if he have a fair chance of escape from penalty. In my
young days, the motto of most business men, who were not very nice
about the interests of others, was, '_Every man for himself and the
Lord for us all._' But the motto has become slightly changed in these
times. It now reads, '_Every man for himself, and the d----l take the
hindmost!_' I hear this too often unblushingly avowed, but see it much
oftener acted out, all around me. My young friend, if you wish to keep
a clear conscience, adopt neither of these mottoes, but regard, in
every transaction, the good of others as well as your own good. And let
me most seriously and earnestly warn you against making haste to be
rich. The least evil that can overtake you, in such an effort, will be
the almost certain wreck of all your worldly hopes, some five or ten
years hence, and your fall, so low, that to rise again will be almost
impossible."

This well-meant, but plainly uttered advice, more than half offended
Lawrence. He replied, coldly, that he thought he knew what he was
about, and would try, at least, to "steer clear of the penitentiary."

With shrewdness, tact, untiring industry, and a spirit that knew no
discouragement, the young man pressed forward in bus