Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1858-07-10
BY T. 5 ARTHUR.


Impossible ? exclaimsd Morris Heston
starting from his iron desk, Impossible 4
he repeated, his face growing Aery pale.
IL Is true,' was the answer made bv n
gentleman, who had come hurriedly Into
the store Of Mr.. Heston. I have news
from a reliable source
Failed 7
Yes and failed badly. 1t is ALLEGED
that not ten cents on dollar can posi-.
bly, be realized / hope he don't owe you
much
Not great deal Z was answered eva.
sively, though with ill-eoncealed anxiety
yet, enough to sweep away nearly all my
profits on the years business should the loss
be total. Is he on your books p
'Yes.
TO a large amount 2
Three thousaud dollars
i thought he was sound to the core
The reports in regard to his standing have
always been A No L.
He has been engaged it is said, in some
land speculatioas which have turned out
dsastrously. The old story of the dog
and the shadow. Well we must expect
such things and meet them with as much
| philosophy as can be summoned to our aid.
Good morning"
And the man went out as hurriedly as he
came in. As he left the store, Mr.. fIeston
turned with disturbed manner to his ledg.
er, and threw over the leaves nervously.-
Pausing at an account, he footed up rapid
idly. The penciled figures showed the sum
Of four thousand eight hundred and sixty.
| one dollars There was credit by bills re-
ceivable, of four thousand dollars three
| thousand and FIVE hundred Of which had
| been discounted, and would mature in less
than month.
Morris Hesten, was young man who
had been in business, only two years. The
capital on which he commenced, was less
than two thousand dollars, and the whole
Of this he saved from his salary. He was
active, industrious and intelligent. But in
one thing he was indiscreet. And that
was selling too largely to a single customer
! No wonder that he started and turned pale
/ on hearing bad news from this customer
! for loss here was equivalent to ruin. Al
ready the relation between receipt and pay
ment was so close, that any serious delic-
eucy in the one, or increase in the other.
would prove source of embarrassment !;
and two have three or four discounted bills
come back upon him in four weeks, would
certainly cause him TO stop payment.
We need not picture the troubled events
which followed TOO surely, the confirmed iu-
telligence Of this distant customer. Hes
ton was too weak to bear the pressure that
came upon him. aud so be was forced to
give away. A few Of his creditors who
had faith in his integrity and ability would
cheerfully have reduced their claims and
given him ample time on the balance but
the majority who had no personal interest
n him and looked only to themselves, act.
ed upon the common adage current in
such cases, that first loss is the best loss, ;"
and swept everything. leaving the unhappy,
mortified and disprited young man without
dollar with which to begin the world
again--nay, even worse than this, leaving
him several thousand dollars in deLt for
in throwing his stock into auction, 3 fore /
ing collections, serious losses were ineyita.
ble.
Troubles rSrely come alone. Another,
and to our young friend, sadder disaster
followed. lie was under engagement Of
marriage, and the time of its celebration
filed the air with reports OF heavy losses |
and dangers of failure, he thought he could
perceive a change in the manner Of his be-
trothed. He tried to think this only imag-
nation but the change seemed to grow
more and more apparent. AT last it be-
came necessary for him to tell her of his
misfortune and the blight which had come
over his worldly prospects. He had still
had faith in her, still tried to deceive him.
self notwithstanding the recent change in
her manner.
She listened with coldness Of exterior
that chilled him to the heart then gave a
few tears and then sat in irresponsiVe ST.
lence.
Stung by this apparent want of sympa-
pathy. aud bewldercd by the conviction that
new and heavier misfortune was about to
cloud the sky of his life. the young man
started up and standing before the embar-
rassed girl, said. with much agitation of
tone and manner
Agnes how am to understand this
Are you, too, only summer friend I"
Scarcely had these words passed from his
lips, ere she started to her feet, and glided
without word of answer from the room.
For the space of nearly ten minutes,
Heston walked the floor of the apartment
in which be had been left alone, every mo-
ment expecting the return of his betrothed,
but she came not back. At the end Of this
period, he left the house in so wretched
state of mind, that for a brief season, he
meditated self-destruction. Bnt wiser
thoughts restored him to better feelings.
Once more be called to see the yet en-
throned idol of his affections but she re-
fused to meet him and the idol was cast
down and broken into fragments at his feet.
1t was but gilded clay. aud not ine clay
as he had vainly believed.
The effect of this double misfortune was
altogether paralizing. Heston fell into
state Of gloomy inaction. Friends urged
him to look the world brasely in the face
once more, and begin again, with stout
heart, the battle OF life. But he answered.
"NO--I have been mocked once. Let
that suffice. / will not run the risk Of an
other such disaster.
''She is unworthy Of a thought" said
ana aIludiDo IA fhe maiden who had DrOVed