when he said to the threatening Pope, who was endeavouring to coerce him into submission to error: "Do not think that for any money I will suppress a single syllable of the truth." It would be a reproach upon the government and character of God to suppose that He has placed any man in circumstances to justify a departure from moral rectitude. The youth who entertains the sentiment is already marked for ruin. Follow him into manhood, and he will be found loose in his morals, reckless in conducting his affairs, and irresponsible in all positions. Napoleon ruined his own country, and brought himself down to a dishonoured grave, because he tried to live and act without moral principles. Even Mirabeau once said: "If there were no honesty, it would be invented as a means of getting wealth."

There are abundant opportunities to practise deception and dishonesty, and old and young are strongly tempted to it. We see enough around us every day, in the frauds perpetrated, to prove this. It is not confined to one pursuit. It is not all found in the mercantile business. Does the mechanic never deceive in the quality of his work? Is the material always just what the customer has a right to expect? Has the farmer no opportunity to deceive? is he never tempted to overreach his customer? Does the lawyer never misrepresent for his client? Is he never tempted to hide guilty deeds for the sake of his cause? And so we may ask of all the pursuits in which men engage. There is deception and wrong practised by the unscrupulous and wicked in all of them. So it will continue to be. Hence the youth can enter upon no business where he

will not have the opportunity to do evil. If his heart is so inclined he can misrepresent, deceive, and cheat anywhere and everywhere. The most unyielding integrity alone will save him from the direful experiment.

Many things, inconsistent with integrity of character, are often done by men who claim to be honest and true. This appears to arise from the fact that public opinion does not sufficiently condemn them. For instance, it is not unusual for men to fail, and pay their creditors only a nominal dividend, and thereafter become wealthy, without restoring another farthing to those creditors. Indeed, some go further than this, and fail, in order to save their money. Men are well satisfied of the facts, and still not a few of this class live on in luxury, and move in good society, when they ought to be expelled from every honourable circle. Also, property is often concealed or misrepresented to the assessors so as to evade taxation; and some excuse themselves in so doing. Others do not scruple to retain the shillings or pence which the merchant has overpaid them in giving change. They say, "It is the trader's business to look out for himself, not ours." Others still, consider the money or garment which they find by the wayside, theirs, and do not think of looking for the rightful owner. These, and many other things, which we have not space to mention, are practised under various excuses, as if they could ever be reconciled with strict integrity.

In the outset, every youth should understand that all such deviations from truth are enough to sacrifice any person's claim to integrity. A clear conscience cannot

dwell in the breast of those who are guilty of these acts. Perhaps we should say that there are more temptations to violate convictions of right in a mercantile life than elsewhere; and this fact magnifies the moral character of Lawrence. It is well known that youth in many shops are taught to be "shrewd" and "sharp," to conceal the defects of goods and magnify their quality, to make false representations in many ways, and to shuffle about prices, all of which is destructive to their morals. A London merchant, J. Hitchcock, Esquire, stated publicly, a few years since, that he knew a large trading-house, in which the employees were taught to say, if it were asked across the counter, "Is this a fast colour ?" Yes, fast, ma'am, I assure you," when the only sense in which the colour could be called fast was, that "it would go immediately." A part of the clerks in this house became Christians, and would not consent to practise such dishonesty. The result was, that the proprietors were obliged to procure a few worldly young men and women to do that part of the business which Christians would not consent to do.

66

A writer says: 66 If every brick in every wall that had been laid in transgression, and every nail driven in sin, and every bale and box brought forth in iniquity, were to groan and sigh, how many articles around us would remain silent? How many would shriek and cry out, 'Art thou come to torment us before the time?' If every article of trade in any shop, that was there through wrong, were to fly through the air to the rightful ownership, what a flight of bales, and boxes, and sugar casks, should we see !"

These remarks are not introduced to cast aspersion

his way.

upon merchants. There are many noble examples of rectitude among traders, and their uprightness shines all the brighter for the mercantile sins around them. Our object is to shew the real worth of that integrity for which Amos Lawrence was distinguished; and to prepare the reader, who may contemplate entering upon mercantile business, to meet and overcome the evils in We trust there are many merchants of as high purity of character as Gideon Lee, of whom we have once spoken. A customer boasted in his warehouse one day that he had gained an advantage over him (Mr Lee), in a bargain. "Well," replied Mr Lee, "that may be; but if you will promise never to enter my office again, I will give you that bundle of goat-skins.” Strange as it may seem, the unprincipled man accepted the offer, and retired with the gift. About fifteen years after, the man walked into Mr Lee's office. He at once recognised his old customer, and said: "You have violated your word; pay me for the goat-skins." " Oh," replied the man, looking sadly, "I have been very unfortunate since I saw you, and am quite poor." "Yes," rejoined Lee," and you will always be so; that miserable desire to overreach others must keep you so." The incident not only illustrates the beauty and value of the merchant's integrity, but it also exhibits the wretched end to which dishonesty bears thousands of its victims.

Nothing can be more manly that the exercise of this beautiful virtue. As an ornament to human character, it is worthy of being fondly cherished. Let the reader contemplate the following examples, and say if it is not more valuable than gold or pearls.

How

There is the well known case of Washington, whose uprightness from his earliest youth was exact. simple, and yet how beautiful was his frank confession to his father, after he thoughtlessly cut the apple-tree with his hatchet, adding, "I cannot tell a lie." The boy who has too much principle to utter a falsehood will surely make an upright man. Such was Washington. The faintest shade of deception or dishonesty never stained his character. Thomas Jefferson said of him : "HIS INTEGRITY WAS MOST PURE."

The biographer of Mr Budgett gives the following incident: "In Mr Budgett's early days, pepper was under a heavy tax, and in the trade, universal tradition said that out of the trade every body expected pepper to be mixed. In the shop stood a cask labelled P. D., containing something very like pepper dust, wherewith it was used to mix the pepper before sending it forth to serve the public. The trade tradition had obtained for the apocryphal P. D. a place among the standard articles of the shop, and on the strength of that tradition it was vended for pepper by men who thought they were honest. But as Samuel went forward in life, his ideas on trade morality grew clearer. This P. D. began to give him much discomfort. He thought upon it till he was satisfied that, when all that could be said was weighed, the thing was wrong. Arrived at this conclusion, he felt that no blessing could be upon the place while it was there. He instantly decreed that P. D. should perish. It was night; but back he went to the shop, took the hypocritical cask, carried it forth to the quarry, then staved it and scattered P. D. among the clods, slag, and stones. He returned with a light

H