Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1865-11-22
THE ACCCSED CLERK.

mess. l advanced the idea shat some
merchants made their stores schools OF
Dishonesty. They taught their clerks all
the tricks of trade for their own benefit
and the clerks, thus educuted would in
. after times practice-those same tricks for
: themselves. Mr.. Lamson admitted the
truth of the assertion; and chen, with a
smile, assured me hat he could not plead
guilty to the cIlarge.
But, said he, I have committed errors
IN business a.Id have committed errors
IN my judgment upon nv fellows When
+ | was young was taught to look upon al
species Of dishonesty with feeling of
horror, and I grew up to manhood with
that same feeling in possession Of me. l
do not believe that o real virtue can be
carried too far; but believe that anv
line of conduct may be carried so far as
to cease to be a virtue / can look back
now and see that, in my extreme ideas
OF rigid honesty, l became self-rishteous
and unforaiving, In short, forgot that
greatest of the heavenly graces-CfAR-
/ IrY
Let me tell YOU little story. It has
not so much 10 DO with the moral Of the
subject we haze been discussing, but it
has to 10 with the rraiIty Of mans iude-
mear and IS at the same time interesting
Thirty years aro-mercy how time
fiest-T took George Savers to he one Of
nv .ro41-s II, --,- +l,o~ -.-...,, --,u-
old. ana ono Of the most active, intelli
gent, ani Efficient clerks / ever employed
His mother was a widow. and he was m
] only son. lie had one sister two years
older than himself who had been brought
up with him Mrs. Savers was m excel
lent woman, and 1 knew that she had en-
deavored to rear her children in the way
Of virtue and strictest honor Ellen Savers
-thcsister-was one Of the faircst maidens
in our town and one Of the best She was
kind and gentle. and every body loved her
The widow was very grateful when took
her son into my employ. giving him at
once a lucrative situation without submit
ting him to the apprenticeship Of lower
service
Time passed on ana at the end Of
wear gave George Savers CHARGE Of nv
books During that wear there had heeu
several small sums Of money missing, oc
which no account could lie given GEORGE
wosin 2 ~ ton where he could have taken
them had r been 50 disposed, but d'5
not suspect him, HAD then uogparticular
! reason 10 suspect him.
had at that time a number Of agents
IN different parts Of the country who were
. in the habit of rernittine money to him by
nail One asnt by the name Of Gibson.
ras tra,elin9 in Vermont In Januarv
. Gibson mailed letter ut Montpelier. con
tanning five hundred dollars, five one hun
dred-doIlar notes That letter arrived
safely in my counting room because / saw
+ it and saw the money that was in it, Nv
oversight Of that letter happened peculiar
+ IL. / was engaged during the 5av in an
other part Of the town in surcrin-
taudina the alteration Of some machinery
+ IN my woolleu mill In lhe afternoon
had occasion to - to my store, and I en-
tered my counting room just after the hov
had brought IN g oafch oi Ie's7FS from li'e
+ post Office Among those letters were two
/ or three q +" private nature ann ! +. n".
.'e'' away ".'s" '''i' i''.'' '''s'', ''
.etsef rom "'os'.'r eol'"'''.''@ '"e N'e
. hundred 1oiiarS / loI'ea he"''y up "-,''''
+ ana was sure 5I'a5 P"' ]. WIN '"e ''"eT
business letters. oenea'" a he"'E fuIe
upon the desk "eorIe was not IN 'le
store at the time but l suppose he "o"ta
/ return very shortly. turned the Key IN
/ The counting ro m door as ! came out ana
went back to the mill
.Ahoat q month after this Gibson re-
turned ana we sat down 70 TOOK over our
accounts There was mistake some
where q h1e hundred o'iiaFs. q "a'cn
had 10 account here was h'> remit
.f-sT z +4rfa tom