The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1885-08-21
A WORD IN TIME.

influence of women in mortal affairs, and
the usual views that see the light upon
such occasions, some cynical, some senti-
mental, had been one after the other
brought forward, Il moral being here and
there pointed by some pertinent anecdote.
My friend, Bacon, who had been listening
to the discussion with his customary dry
tacturnity, suddenly spoke:
81 know of rather curious case that
bears upon this question. ! can't tell you
how the facts came into my possession. 1t
was strange that they should have done
so; but that does not affect the point one
way or the other.
"The person chiefly interested | shall
His father, old Blank, is the head Of
very successful firm of brokers and bank
ers which you would all of you recognize
if | mentioned its name. 1t has always
been a very heightened sort of institution
Blank & Co. have kept their heads above
water through all kinds of financial
weathers by adhering with unfalterng
tenacity to that system of small risks and
moderate profits rather than large profits
and commensurate risks which has per-
haps not as many disciples among us as it
might have. Old Blank had been rather
drawing himself out OF active partnership
within the last few years and making over
his powers to his son Sam don't think
Sam cared much for his fine opening and
opportunity. He was pretty wild. Moth
ing very extravagantly out Of the way, but
his Emergencies from the puritanical
chalk-mark the old man expected him to
toe were more frequent and decided than
Samuel Blank, Sr., had probably any
notion. At bottom there was nothing i'll
the least wrong about young sam. He
was simply headstrong. and he had had no
proper guidance or home influence. Mrs.
Blank had died when he was a child He
had no sisters or near female relatives
Old Blank worshipped him, in his way,
but it was not the most agreeable way
The old fellow has always had an intense
ly dctatorial, dogmatic and ntolerant
temper, and he is addicted to stupendous
RACES at times. Well, as Sam went on he
began getting in pretty deep. He didn't
dare tell his father and ask him TO come
down handsomely and help him out of his
scrape and there was where the trouble
first began. He might have done so, per-
haps, but for the other partner in the firm
T. L /
who hated young Sam, and whom Sam re
paid with interest The idea of his
fathers partners secret delight al his
humiliation farther kept yonng Sam from
doing the right thing under the circum-
stances.
''Just at this iuncturc his evil genius
threw the chance Of little successful
speculation in his way. Sam made quite
respectable sum, lost it a few weeks later
had second streak of luck-ill-luck it
would be better called-and then the
whole series of ups and downs. Sam lost
his head. The fever grew on him. He
got pretty reckless. am perfectly con-
WINGED that the young fellow had no
deliberate intention of doing anything
absolutely wrong or dishonorable. Never
thcless, his very acute sense of what was
right and what was not became gradually
warped He INDUCED in one or two trans
actions under cover of his fathers pane
which would have turned old Blanks gray
hairs white with surprise and fury. told
won Gam baI Inct Iic ba11
''Well, one day he awoke and found
that he was in terribly tight place. Elk
posurc stared him in the face. He had
either to make a clean breast of it then
and there, without an hours delay, or
the only other alternative, suggested to
him doubtless directly by the devil him
self-was to try and cover up past delin-
quencies with a fresh one which was more
serious than any preceding it. Mind You,
| have said that Sam had not done any
thing positively dishonorable nor could
the steps he was contemplating now have
been stigmatized precisely as such. But
he was on path which was, to say the
least, very irregular.
'The Blank firm was at this time en-
ploying young woman by the name of
Clara Low as shorthand writer and
amanuensis generally. She was a small,
slight, very fairgirl not more than twenty
two, should say, extremely refined and
lady-like. She was emphatically pretty;
but her manner was such that this fact
was not the Inconvenience to her which it
might otherwise, i'll the position she was
obliged to occupy, possibly have proved
She was very quiet and excessively re-
served. All the men in the firm respected
and liked her; and, what's more held a
very good opinion of her abilities. She
was certainly very thoroughly efficient and
capable in the work she had undertaken.
1t struck me once or twice that there was
great deal of power under that pretty,
placid exterior. She never talked about
having come down in the world, or any
of that jargon; she never talked at all, in
fact; but they said she had been very care
fully brought up to fill a sphere somewhat
more exalted than the one to which She
had ultimately come.
''As to that, | don't know. | don't