Year: 1879

nomenclature of the bulls and bears was
to me more difficult of translation than
even the parchment which made Nathan
iel Pease an \. b. And again, why, on
the afternoon of that same October day,
should it so happen that Birdseyc y
Brothers sent in a check for l,lli in
payment for bill of goods, and that
this check fell into my hands through the
absence of Wood. the chief book keeper:
Less humilating is it to seek an answer
to these questions than to that other in
quiry which thmstS itself upon me. Why
did not |, Nathaniel Pcasc, enter the re-
ccipt of that check in my books and
place the check itself in the safe:


Few hours intcrvcncd between my
conversation with Morse and the moment
of my overmaStcring temptation. In
those four hours | had become fcvcrish
with excitement at the thought Of win
ming wealth without work The seed,
dropped in an idle word, had taken deep
root and shot up into thistle, which
chokcd truth and honor and honesty.
Other men had made fortunes in day
by stock spcculationS; and might not !
do the same: Here was the tide to be
taken at It's hood-but whence was to
come the money, At my weakest OPP
portunity found me, dazllcd me, and
yielded.


The check sent in by Birdseyc y Broth
ers was drawn in their favor by the
North>idc Gaslight Company, and proper
" endorsed. 1t was precisely ten min
utes past three when the messenger left
it. and received from my hands, a receipt,
given in the name of Heller, Hoyt y
Carman. \ reference TO the books
showed that the bill was not due until
the thirteenth of the month rs |
dipped my pen into the inkstand, with
the intention of recording this payment,
piece of hair attached itself to the pen $
point, which l stopped to remove with
my fingers.


That bit of hair in my inkstand made
me a thief.


Before had freed the pen of its OBJ
struction. Morse came into the counting
room.


"Wcn, Nat, YOU haven't found
thousand dollar bin among your blottcrs
today, suppose: Its precious pity to
let that L. Y. and X. b. chance slip
through our fingers


| threw down the pen and fell TO talk
ing. An hour later locked up the
books. passed ont OF the counting room,
and into the street Birdscyc y Brother,
check was in my brcast-pockct.


All this was on Wednesday, the second
Of October. Friday morning while was
eating my breaktast-no longer did good
digestion wait on appctitc-Nlorsc called
at my clearinghouse. His face was
very pale. and his hand holding out to
me a copy of the Times, trcmblcd per
ccptibly. ! took the paper, speaking no
word. and fixed my eye on the paragraph
to which he pointed 1t twas in the tnan-
cial columns, and, while | could not read
it clearly. saw enough to convince me
of It's import Little Valley and Round
Bend had fallen to seventeen and quar-
ter. The words manipulation of the
bears scramble among the shorts
~ swindling combination, and utterly
worthless. stood out in bold relief; then.
without breaking the silence, handed
back the paper.


If we had only bought Rock Island
or Illinois Central said Morse dcspond-
emily.


If we had only bought nothing" l
rejoined pcnitently.


Then, for the first time in torty-eight
hours, felt my manhood reasSert itself.
Reason and repentance came back hand
in hand. From my boarding house |
went straight to the house OF Mr. Heller,
and told him all that had happened. In
that confession, at least, did not seek
to cXtenuate my crime: nor did think
it necessary to mention the name Of
Morse.


Nathaniel" said my employer when
had finished, "you have been guilty of
an offence which would not have thought
it possible for the son of John Pcase to
commit. The law would imprison you,
but | shall not appeal to the law. l
will leave your punishment to your own
reflections You may consider yourself
discharged from your present position,
and | recommend YOU to go home and
think over your conduct seriously


So | went back to Penhamyille.


What | suffered during those first
few days of my Punishment may not be
written Hardest of all was the contes-
sion which | felt constrained to make to
my mother. Her love, her ready forgive
ness, her tender care, her broad charity,
which would cover all my faults-these
made my anguish the deeper. Itseemed
but Yesterday since | set forth from the
old home, yearning TO enter the conflict
and now, manned and disheartened, |
had come back. | brought no trophies,
| had won no triumphs. The conscious
ness of my own disgrace bore down on
me like great weight. | felt that the
faint of dishonesty was about me, and
that my early manhood had been irrevok-
ably blasted. During those days of
wrctchedness | learned that there was
love such as | had never dreamed of in
anapastic verse Almost daily | met
and talked with Carrie Leonard. half
suspected that she guessed the truth ;
and when one November afternoon.