ever presented a bill to him that he did not pay at once; and how he should be so well off, many who were older than he, and had been struggling for years to get on in the world, could not tell.

Henry wanted to use a thousand dollars, which he could not conveniently spare from his business, and he had applied to Mr. Carter, one of the rich men in the village, for the loan. Mr. Carter did not doubt the young man's honesty, and he believed he was fully able to pay the sum when it became due. If he had had a thousand dollars at his command, he would have let Henry have it; but he had not. He therefore told him that he thought he should have five hundred dollars in a few days, and he presumed Mr. Kelsey would let him have the other five hundred. He had just returned from transacting some business, with the money in his pocket, when he met Mr. Kelsey on the post

office steps, and received from him the answer which we have already noticed. It was not the words so much as the tone and manner that made him think that Mr. Kelsey had some good reason for not lending Henry the money. He therefore decided that he should wait a few days before he let his money go, and look into the young merchant's business affairs a little more closely.

It so happened that there were quite a number of men standing near by when Mr. Carter asked the question of Mr. Kelsey. They, too, got the same impression from his answer that Mr. Carter did. It was not many hours before it was hinted round that Mr. Kelsey did not think much of the new merchant; and the story grew so fast, that before many days it was quite currently reported that Henry was on the very verge of bankruptcy.

In the mean time, after the refusal of Mr.

Kelsey to loan him the money, Henry went home, and, upon looking over his accounts, he concluded that, with the money which he confidently expected from Mr. Carter, he could do without borrowing more. He therefore sat down, and wrote to a friend in New-York, to send him flour to the amount of one thousand dollars, immediately; promising to pay the bill at sight. The flour would arrive the next day, and he had already collected half of the money, and was hourly expecting Mr. Carter with the other half.

The day passed away, however, and Mr. Carter did not call as he expected. The next mail brought him the bill of his flour, which would arrive that day. He immediately waited upon Mr. Carter, and was politely, yet rather coolly, informed that unforeseen circumstances would render it difficult for him to spare the money just then.

Upon returning to his store, he was informed by his clerk that two men, who had urged upon him one hundred dollars each, only a few weeks before, assuring him that they had no use for it, and desiring him to keep it a year at least, had called during his absence, and said that they wanted their money that day. Stung by the unfairness of their conduct, Henry took the money from his desk, and immediately sent his clerk with it to the men. A few other demands were made upon him during the day, which he did not expect; and at night he found he had but a trifle over two hundred dollars left, and the bill for flour must be paid the next day. Trade, too, for a few days past, had never been so dull before, and yet it was right in the midst of the business season. He could not understand it. And then he thought people grew rather shy of him. He went home that night almost discouraged. In the morning, however, he felt

better, thanks to a good night's rest. night's rest. Harnessing his horse to his gig, he rode over to his native village, and soon found those who were very glad to help him out of his trouble.

The bill was paid as agreed; and the people of the village, after waiting for some time for Henry's failure, and being doomed to disappointment, began to think that they had been mistaken, and they became better friends to him than ever. Mr. Carter became satisfied that he had mistaken the meaning of Mr. Kelsey's tone and manner, and from that time he too became one of Henry's warmest friends.

But why did Mr. Kelsey do as he did? Simply because he did not like Henry. His own son had opened the store at first, and after being held up by his father for a few years, was obliged to close up his business. Mr. Kelsey could not bear that any one should succeed where his son had failed. He disliked Henry