what can make this man," and he mentioned the
name of a well-known philanthropist, "give up
his time to such infinitely disagreeable pursuits
as poking about in poor neighbourhoods,
inhaling nasty smells, encountering nasty sights,
talking to people an inch thick in dirt, and full
of disease into the bargain, so that he runs the
risk of infection continually, when he really is
not obliged to do any of these things. It is
very extraordinary—most extraordinary," he
continued, musingly. "I'll tell you what," he
went on, sitting up suddenly in his chair, "it
must be that he likes it. There's no other way
of accounting for it. He likes bad smells and
horrible sights—that's it. I knew a man once
who liked having his teeth out. Just as I like
watch-making—and then these people flatter
him, and——"

Here he was interrupted in his reflections by
a lively tap at the door, and on his calling to
the tapper to come in, a little man, about sixty
years of age, with twinkling spectacles, came
briskly into the room, smiling and bowing, and
pulling off his brown gloves as he advanced
towards the fireplace.

"Good morning, sir, good morning," said the
little man, as Lethwaite rose and shook him by
the hand. "Studying our commercial interests
in the newspapers, I see. Can't do better, sir.
Can't do better."

He was a small, neat, highly-finished old man
this, with eyes that were very bright, and beamed
kindly over his glasses, while his mouth, which,
when he was not speaking, was tightly closed,
was ornamented with a continual placid smile.
He was buttoned up tightly in a small greatcoat,
if the expression may be permitted, and
had left a pair of goloshes on the mat outside,
so that his shoes were as clean as if he had just
come out of his bedroom, though it was a muddy
day outside notwithstanding. His name was
comfortable, like his appearance. It was Goodrich
—Jonathan Goodrich.

"Nothing of the sort, Goodrich, nothing of
the sort," replied his patron, in allusion to the
strong commercial feeling which the man of
business had given him credit for. "On the
contrary, I was reading just what came uppermost,
and especially all the most frivolous
matter that I could by any possibility pick out.
Why don't you sit down?"

"Ah! never tell me," returned the little man,
obeying his employer's suggestion. "Never tell
me. You wouldn't be able to give such
important hints as you do in connexion with the
business, if you didn't give your attention to
commerce, ay, and that pretty closely too, sir.
But oh, sir! how I do wish that you'd come
down now and then to the office, and superintend
things a bit yourself. There's many a question
turns up there in the course of the day which
I ain't competent to give an opinion on, and then
Mr. Gamlin he acts in it on his own responsibility,
and it isn't right, sir. It isn't, indeed, for
you're the principal, as you know; it's
'Lethwaite and Gamlin,' and not 'Gamlin and
Lethwaite——'"

"But, my dear Goodrich," urged the sleeping
partner, "you know it's to Mr. Gamlin's interest
to engage only in what's profitable to the firm,
just as much as it's mine."

"Ah, sir, that's all very well, but you ought
to be on the spot, sir, indeed you ought. For
there isn't always time, when a question has to
be answered, for me to come up here and put it
before you; and then, as I said, Mr. Gamlin has
to act simply on his own responsibility—and
he's too fond of speculating, sir, that's what I
say, and too fond of American securities, and
it's a country, is America, where you may have
a crash at any time, and then where are you?
That's what I say, sir."

"And you speak with considerable prudence,
no doubt, my good Jonathan, though with too
much mistrust of your namesakes over the
water. But you may depend upon it that Mr.
Gamlin knows well enough what he's about."

"Well, then, Mr. Julius," the old clerk went
on, "he's been and bought up ever so much
American cotton, and it's left there in warehouse,
and it's dangerous, sir, you may depend upon
it, with things looking so queer over there. And
now he's proposing to buy I don't know how
many bales more, and I thought that transactions
on such a scale ought not to go on, and
you, the head partner, knowing nothing about
it. So I thought I'd just step round and speak
to you on the subject, and warn you of what's
going on, sir, and that we are involved much
too deeply in these American undertakings."

"Well, Goodrich, I am disposed to think
you're right in that idea, and I authorise you,
if there is still time, to enter my protest against
any further transactions with the Yankees just
at present."

"There, now!" cried the old man, triumphantly,
"there's an opinion worth having.
Nobody like the head of the firm for right
thinking and right acting. That's what I say."

"Don't give me credit for it, you old goose,"
replied the patron, good humouredly; "you
know that it was your own idea, and that you
are praising yourself all this time."

"Nothing of the sort, sir—nothing of tiie
sort. You come in and knock the nail on the
head directly you take the hammer in hand.
Ah, sir, if you would but make the
Lethwaite, in 'Lethwaite and Gamlin,' the working
partner instead of the sleeping partner, we
might do then."

"Nonsense, Goodrich, nonsense; we do very
well as it is. I should spoil everything; and
do remember, once for all, my good friend, that
it's Mr. Gamlin's interest as much as mine that
we should prosper; and there's nothing like
self-interest.

"I don't know that, sir," replied Jonathan,
doggedly.

"You do, you aggravating old rascal; you
know that everything's done in this world with
a selfish motive."

"I don't know anything of the kind, sir."

"Yes you do."

"No I don't. And I'll tell you what, sir,