National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1873-05-09
"You fail sometimes, I suppose ?"

lOu Iull bOtuGtihNoS ohDPoops
"I cant say fail. never under
take dead heat that is. if know
it-never. / ion't claim to be able to
magnetic n corpse. Sometimes / en-
counter one without knowing it. 1t
don't take me long TO find it out Then
l punish him, always with view to his
good.
How?"
"Sometimes in one way, sometimes
in another. A poor man gave me an
account for twenty dollars to collect
against a young fellow in frst-class
jobbing house. found he was dead
beat : he would make appointments for
every day in the year, and when you
came, coolly tell you he had no money.
II was in July; the weather awful hot.
One day the fellow said, Call Friday,
and / will make a payment. On Fri
day called he was in the ,ower base
ment, packing goods. No money to-
day; that was all he said. Two or
three of his fellow-clerks were helping
him. 1 took off my coat and began to
preach to him. l can preach when |
try. / went into the detail of my
clients situation, the nature of the
debt, the conduct of the debtor, his
manner of life, his probable end. l
soon discovered had the attention of
my audience-the chap himself began
to slacken in his work. At last he said:
Mister, if you will stop where you are
/ will pay you five dollars down and
give you my word of honor l will pay
you five dollars week till the whole is
paid Done l said. He handed
over the V, and I came away"
Did he pay the rest ?"
"Not he. The next week the bird
had flown, and | never saw him again.
But | administered punishment rishte-
ously. Poor wretch, my heart bleeds
for him. What life to lead p
"And do you never resort to harsh
measures p l asked.
"Such as what ?" demanded my CON-
panion.
Legal prosecution, for instance" l
said.
He laughed at what he seemed to
think was very verdant suggestion.
"You do not suppose, he continued,
complacently, that where my mag
netism fails there is any chance for
law?'
l did not know. "There are other
MEANS" l remarked, (Which l have
heard of. There are collectors, / am
told, who make themselves personally
offensive in dress and appearance, 80 as
TO be as annoying as possible.
"You are right; but that sort of
thing is pretty much played out These
are low fellows, disgrace to an artistic
profession. Why, knew one of these
who had an old covered
wagon plastered with common adver-
and bills, and raw-b boned
horse. He went around collecting. The
establishment was 80 conspicuous that
everybody knew what it was. This chap
would drive before the door of the per
son who owed bill, and there he would
sit an hour or two. SO everybody would
say, Look there; he is after Thomp-
SON. The fellow came to grief. He
drew up to a house in Lexington Av-
enue went in and asked payment OF an
account. The party hadn't the money.
The other went out, took seat in his
covered cart, and there remained. The
party in the house seeing this told him
to drive on. He declined to do so. The
party, who was a strong, stalwart man,
dragged the fellow to the sidewalk and
thrashed him soundly 1t stopped his
business, and it served him right, say
He was a disgrace to the profession.
No, sir; no. Nothing but magnetism
md moral suasion. Appeal to the con-
science which is alive in the bosom of
svery one of Gods creation, except in
hat of the dead beat who is a moral
corpse. Appeal, say, to the conscience,
md bring your magnetism to bear.
Very hard work, though-very hard
work, indeed. 1t requires deal of run
aing a wearisome work. | sometimes
ear it will wear me out"