The Globe-republican., 1891-01-07
CHAPTER I.
A TASTE OF RICHES.

men derive from a good morality and =
sound philosophy. Defective Observa-
ton leads the best philosophy astray,
and allows virtue to grOpe in vain for its
reward. The good man who avoids evil
only because he does not see its allure
ments, will also miss great deal which
is both desirable and permissible in this
world
With SO much by way of preface it
may be safe to say that the young man
who will now be introduced had led an
exemplary life without finding any sat-
isfaction in it. He had taken for his
guiding rule the advice of Schiller that
happiness is to be found in the daily per-
Torrance of task of routine. 1t will
be remembered that the same eminent
gentleman advised writing with ones
feet in tub of ice water, but most of us
do not like it. There is, however, q
great deal of value in the routine idea,
but the trouble with it in practice is
that many people do not know what to
occupy themselves with after the daily
task is done.
William Russell was one of these. He
had held a clerkship for eight years, on
. slowly-increasing salary, and had been
temperate, frugal, and Industrious. He
had as much interest in his work as II
he had been a car-horse; but he would
rather have been employed than idle.
Thinking he regarded as an unsafe oc-
cupation for man who knew how to
analyze the facts of existence, as he did.
Al l.
analyze them but he didn't know the
facts. He had long ago given up ambi-
ton, friendship, love, and many other
sweet and profitable things because he
regarded them as decisions!
Then came a day when he began to
regard the consultations of his daily task
of routine as decisions also. He was as
good a sample of the discouraged young
man as could have been found in New
York. He had hitherto maintained
certain contentment bolstered up by
prejudice in favor Of his own philosophy;
and when this thin support gave way
there was no mending it. About this
time Russell lost his clerkship. natu-
ally enough, perhaps. for man in that
condition of mind is not valuable en-
ploye. He did not regard the loss of
the position as calamity, and he made
no attempt to get another. He simply
lived on his small savings without any
plan whatever for the day when they
should be gone. If any suggestion of q
life worth striving for should come to
him, he would awaken his energies If
not, they should sleep.
He occupied the time in strolling
about the city studying life in various
forms. In reality he knew but little of
what was going on in the world. He had
given most of his leisure to books, and
had continued studies of philosophi-
cal nature which he had begun at
college. He cultivated the AGO uaintance
Of few men and no women. There was
not single household in the great city
where he was ever a guest. If there had
been doubtless he would have obtained
new and better ideas of many common
comforts and pleasures. But his early
life had been SO unfortunate that he had
no recollections with which to stimulate
. desire for domestic scenes. Indeed it
was his special infection that he had no
desire for any thing.
The impression made upon such man
by first sight of the interior of the New
York stock exchange was wonder that
the game of stocks was played with so
great an exercise of physical activity.
He had expected to see calm, cool
headed assembly of gamblers, and this
is not what the stock exchange looks
like from the gallery, on lively day.
It bears more resemblance to football
match where the crowd has broken upon
the field with the intention of killing
the referee. Russell was surprised to
find himself much interested in the ath-
letic side of brokers' business. He
was q muscular young man, and the
sight appealed to him strongly. For
scene, and played the game Of stocks in
his mind-a method much to be preferred
to any other.
He had five-dollar gold piece in his
pocket, and not another penny in the
world. It did not occur to him to seek
out . bucket-shop and take a desperate
chance with his last coin; he WAS only
wondering what a brokers' life was like,
and whether it was worth the living. He
strolled down to the door, and observed
with genuine curiosity those who passed
in and out. The younger men especial
~ interested him, they were SO much
superior in every way to his expecta-
ton. Instead of the victims of a nerve
destroying life. he saw a lot of jolly fell
lows who were apparently full Of mem
tai and bodily vigor.
1t may have been the revolt of q
healthy body against a sluggish mind,
or simply the contagion Of the activity
around him; but, whatever the cause,
he felt for the first time q suspicion that
he had discovered career which would
please him. He had general idea that
the social life of these men was not what
he would desire, but he began to be in
doubt whether he really knew much
about it He was conscious Of q desire
ito learn what it really was. Only one
way suggested itself, and that was by |
inquiry, but he had a natural hesitancy
about stopping one of these favored