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SMILES AN INCIDENT OF THE DAY.

Smiles was very good-natured and always in good humour. "Glad to see you; he, he! Indeed, I wanted to see you very much; for, do you know, he, he! I want your advice about becoming a shareholder in the British Bank-good speculation! a shareholder, he, he!"

"Stick to the wOOD, Smiles. To be a shareholder in a young company is no laughing matter. Do you know the responsibility of a shareholder?"

"I think I do; he, he! Good directors; he, he! and look at the advantages!"

"My dear Sir, there are people foolish enough to grasp at shadows, and by doing so lose all. Shares have ruined thousands. Stick to the engraving. It would have been well for many had they reduced their expenditure rather than have listened to the flattering proposals of large incomes. The dread of a house surrounded by white walls would not then have embittered their lives by constantly forcing itself before their eyes. You are doing well; 'Let well alone' is a good old proverb."

“But there is no danger in the British Bank; he, he !”

"Where there is doubt there is danger. I have been repeatedly asked, accompanied by favourable proposals, to change my account, but I refused the tempting offer. While in business, be satisfied with the market profit on labour and the bank interest for money.

“But,—but,—I am a shareholder," said Smiles, with an unusually forced and continued he, he! "I refused at first, but I was persuaded it was a good thing; he, he!"

"I am sorry for it."

"I was told, indeed I am sure, it is all right; he, he! Don't think so?"

you

"I trust so, for your sake."

SMILES-AN INCIDENT OF THE DAY.

57

Months rolled on. I met my smiling little friend; but there was no smile on his countenance-no he, he! His face was thin, his good-humoured countenance had become elongated and woe-bestricken.

I

"Ah! you were right," he said.

"What a fool I have been. suppose you have heard that it's all up with the Bank?"

"I have, and I am sorry for it, for your sake and for the sake of others. It is a sad blow to a number of small tradesmen."

"It is not only the money I paid for the shares, nor the money-my little ALL that I had lodged in the Bank; but I am threatened with an action. I don't know what to do. All my hard earnings—all from WOOD, too," he added, with a faint smile and a small he, he!

"Never despair. It is sad, sad indeed," added Pamphilius. "It is easy saying 'Never despair;' but what am I to do?" "See the principals at once. Put your case plainly and honestly before them. There are those amongst them who have hearts. Like you, they have suffered-and no doubt will give your case due consideration. You have lost your all, but you have still left your honesty, industry, and perseverance. The fruits of a season have passed from you. Patience! It is a dear-bought lesson for speculating in things of which you knew nothing."

Pamphilius again met his little friend, in whose face there was a smile, but whose looks still bore the impress of sadness. 'Well, S., how are you?"

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"All right. Doing pretty well. But what a fool I was to put faith in humbugs."

66

'Never mind. You are still young, and have the world before you."

"All out of wood, too; he, he! Few wants ensure many blessings; he, he! Very fine of you; he, he! Your advice was good. I saw the parties, and I am now clear of that abominable

E

58

THE BRITISH BANK.

British Bank; he, he, he! Had I kept my first resolution; he! Indecision; he, he, he! Never despair! he, he, he!—all very good, Mr. Pamphilius."

"Never despair, my dear Smiles. Patience, and all will come right."

"He, he, he! Patience, eh! Few wants make many blessings! he, he! very good of you; he, he! AU REVOIR !"

How many thousands, from listening to the advice of the cunning and the injudicious, have, for the sake of a trifling additional interest, reduced themselves to penury, and ended their days either in gaol or in a workhouse!

The sad calamity of the British Bank gave rise to the Act which is now in force-the Limited Liability Act, 20 and 21 Vict., which enables joint-stock companies to be formed on the principle of limited liability.

To conclude this important subject, we quote West on indecision, who says "That the man who is perpetually hesitating which of two things he will do first will do neither. The man who resolves, but suffers his resolution to be changed by the first counter-suggestion of a friend-who fluctuates from opinion to opinion, from plan to plan, and veers like a weathercock to every point of the compass with every breath of caprice that blows--can never accomplish anything great or useful. Instead of being progressive in anything he will be at best stationary, and more probably retrograde in all. It is only the man who carries into his pursuits those great qualities which Lucan ascribes to Cæsar-consulting wisely, resolving firmly, and executing his purpose with inflexible perseverance, undismayed by those petty difficulties which daunt a weaker spirit-who can advance to eminence in any line."

CHAPTER VI.

EVERY WISE MAN LIVES BY RULE.

O LIVE BY RULE is the aim of the prudent man. Now, the evil is, that there are men who have no design at all; who pass through the world like straws tossed upon the highway-they do not go, but they are carried. Others only deliberate upon the parts of life, not upon the whole; they AIM without a mark to shoot at, and then live, as it were, by chance, tormenting themselves with the PAST, regardless of the FUTURE. "What did I endure !" one exclaims, in lamentation. "Never

was any one so put about; my very heart was ready to break!" and fifty other such foolish ejaculations. In looking in advance he afflicts himself with the apprehension of evils to come, and betwixt the past and future his life is divided between misdoings and repentances.

Some people are never still-others are always so; both are to blame. For that which looks like activity and industry in the one is only a restlessness and agitation; and that which passes for moderation and reserve is but a drowsy and an inactive sloth. Some are perpetually shifting from one thing to another; others, again, make their whole life but a kind of uneasy sleep. Some lie tossing and turning till at length uneasiness lulls them to rest; others, again, are indolent and lazy.

Let MOTION and REST both take their turns, according to nature and the order of things; for the closer we imitate nature the nearer we arrive at truth. Let us avoid inordinate desiresdispel uncertain hopes-avoid perpetual solicitousness and suspense-irresolution and restlessness; for as age advances, such

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THE RULES OF WISDOM.

men grow impatient and irritable, till the heart breaks for want of vent. It is this that makes men sour and morose, envious of others and dissatisfied with themselves, till at last, betwixt their envy of other people's successes and the despair of their own welfare, they fall foul upon fortune and the times, and retire to a corner, soured with life, to brood over their own disquiets.

The RULES of wisdom teach a man to be uniform in action, always the same, always liberal and discreet; not profuse upon himself and sordid to others; not niggardly at home and lavish abroad. The reverse is the result of a dissatisfied and an uneasy mind.

There are men who are so bound up in business matters that RULE appears difficult-they can neither loosen nor break the tie that enthrals them. Such men require PHILOSOPHY to aid them. Let them trust to Heaven, be watchful and vigilant, and wait with patience for that TIDE which is sure to bring relief.

By doing so difficulties may be softened, and heavy burdens disposed of to our ease.

The man who lives by RULE is contented and hopeful, without envying the advantages of others; for he knows that greatness stands upon a craggy precipice, and that many men who appear great are forced to keep their station from MERE NECESSITY, because they find there is no change for them but headlong descent. These men ought to fortify themselves against ill-consequences by PHILOSOPHY, which will make them less solicitous for the future; it will teach them to restrict their desires, and to leave nothing to fortune which they can keep in their own power. This may not wholly compose them, but it will show them, at worst, the end of their troubles.