"CENT to cent, shilling to shilling, and dollar to dollar, slowlyand steadily, like the progress of a mole in the earth! That maysuit some, but it will never do for Sidney Lawrence. There is aquicker road to fortune than that, and I am the man to walk in it.'Enterprise' is the word. Yes, enterprise, enterprise, enterprise!Nothing venture, nothing gain, is my motto."
"Slow and sure is the safer motto, my young friend, and if you willtake my advice, you will be content to creep before you walk, and towalk before you run. The cent to cent and dollar to dollar system isthe only sure one."
This was the language of an old merchant, who had made his fortuneby the system he recommended, and was addressed to a young man justentering business with a capital of ten thousand dollars, the jointproperty of himself and an only sister.
Sidney Lawrence had been raised in a large mercantile establishment,that was doing an immense business and making heavy profits. But allits operations were based upon adequate capital and enlargedexperience. When he commenced for himself, he could not brook theidea of keeping near the shore, like a little boat, and followingits safer windings; he felt like launching out boldly into the oceanand reaching the desired haven by the quickest course. He wished toaccumulate money rapidly, and believed that, on the capital hepossessed, five or six thousand dollars a year might as easily bemade as one thousand, if a man only had sufficient enterprise topush business vigorously. The careful, plodding course pursued bysome, and strongly recommended to him, he despised. It was beneath aman of true business capacity.
"As I said before, nothing venture, nothing gain," replied Lawrenceto the old merchant's good advice. "I am not content to eke out athousand or two dollars every year, and, at the age of fifty orsixty, retire from business on a paltry twenty or thirty thousanddollars. I must get rich fast, or not at all."
"Remember the words of Solomon, my young friend," returned themerchant. "'He that maketh haste to be rich shall not beinnocent.' Among all the sayings of the wise man, there is not onetruer than that. I have been in business for thirty years, and haveseen the rise and fall of a good many 'enterprising' men, who werein a hurry to get rich. Their history is an instructive lesson toall who will read it. Some got rich, or at least appeared to getrich, in a very short space of time. They grew up like mushrooms ina night. But they were gone as quickly. I can point you to at leasttwenty elegant mansions, built by such men in their heyday ofprosperity, that soon passed into other hands. And I can name to youhalf a dozen and more, who, when reverses came, were subjected totrials for alleged fraudulent practices, resorted to in extremity asa means of sustaining their tottering credit and escaping the ruinthat threatened to engulf them. One of these, in particular, was ayoung man whom I raised, and who had always acted with the mostscrupulous honesty while in my store. But he was ardent, ambitious,and anxious to get rich. His father started him in business with tenthousand dollars capital. In a little while, he was trading high,and pushing his business to the utmost of its capacity. At the endof a couple of years, his father had to advance him ten thousanddollars more to keep him from failing. During the next five years,he expanded with wonderful rapidity, built himself a splendid house,and took his place at the court end of the town, as one of ourwealthy citizens. It was said of him that he had made a hundredthousand dollars. But the downfall came at last, as come I knew itmust. He toppled over and fell down headlong. Then it was discoveredthat he had been making fictitious notes, purporting to be the billspayable of country merchants, which his own credit had carriedthrough a number of the banks, as well as made pass freely tomoney-brokers. He had to stand a long and painful trial for forgery,and came within an ace of being sent to the State's prison. As soonas the trial closed, he left the city, and I have never heard of himsince."
"But you don't mean to insinuate," said Lawrence, rather sternly,"that I would be guilty of forgery in any extremity?"
"Sidney Lawrence!" replied the merchant, speaking in a firm, seriousvoice, "I am a plain-spoken man, and always tell my real mind when Ifeel it my duty to do so, whether I give offence or not. ThatSolomon spoke truly, when he said, 'He that maketh haste to be richshall not be innocent,' I fully believe, because I am satisfied,from what I have seen and know of business, that whoever follows itwith an eager desire to make money rapidly, will be subjected todaily temptations, and it will be almost impossible for him not toseek advantages over his neighbour in trade, and trample under footthe interests of others to gain his own. If this is done in littlematters unscrupulously, it will in the end be done in great matters.What is the real difference, I should like to know, between takingadvantage of a man in bargaining, and getting his money by passingupon him a forged note? The principle is undoubtedly the same, onlyone is a legal offence and the other is not. And therefore, I holdthat he who takes an undue advantage of his fellow man in trade,will not in the end hesitate about committing a greater wrong, if hehave a fair chance of escape from penalty. In my young days, themotto of most business men, who were not very nice about theinterests of others, was, 'Every man for himself and the Lord forus all.' But the motto has become slightly changed in these times.It now reads, 'Every man for himself, and the d----l take thehindmost!' I hear this too often unblushingly avowed, but see itmuch oftener acted out, all around me. My young friend, if you wishto keep a clear conscience, adopt neither of these mottoes, butregard, in every transaction, the good of others as well as your owngood. And let me most seriously and earnestly warn you againstmaking haste to be rich. The least evil that can overtake you, insuch an effort, will be the almost certain wreck of all your worldlyhopes, some five or ten years hence, and your fall, so low, that torise again will be almost impossible."
This well-meant, but plainly uttered advice, more than half offendedLawrence. He replied, coldly, that he thought he knew what he wasabout, and would try, at least, to "steer clear of thepenitentiary."
With shrewdness, tact, untiring industry, and a spirit that knew nodiscouragement, the young man pressed forward in business. Thewarning of the merchant, if it did not repress his desire to getrich in haste, caused him to look more closely than he wouldotherwise have done into every transaction he was about to make.This saved him from many serious losses.
The want of more capital soon began to be felt. He saw goodoperations every day, that might be made if he had capital enough toenter into them.
"A man deserves no credit for getting rich, if he have capitalenough to work with," was a favourite remark. "There is plenty ofbusiness to be done, and ways of making money in abundance, if themeans are only at hand."
One week, if he had only been in the possession of means, he wouldhave purchased a cotton-factory; the next week become possessor of aship, and entered into the East India trade; and, the next weekafter that, purchased an interest in a lead-mine on the UpperMississippi.
Money, money, more money, was ever his cry, for he saw goldenopportunities constantly passing unimproved. A neighbour, to whom hewas expressing his desire for the use of larger capital, said tohim, one day--
"I'll tell you how you can get more money!"
"How?" was the eager question.
"Get into the direction of some bank, push through the notes of abusiness friend, in whom you have confidence, who will do the samefor you in another bank of which he is one of the managers. Thereare wheels within wheels in those moneyed institutions, from whichthe few and not the many reap the most benefit. Connect yourselfwith as many as you can of them, and make the most of theopportunities such connections will afford. You know Balmier?"
"Yes."
"And what a rushing business he does?"
"Yes."
"He dragged heavily enough, and was always flying about for money,until he took a hint and got elected into the Citizens and Traders'Bank. Since then he has been as easy as an old shoe, and has donefive times as much business as before."
"Is it possible?"
"Oh, yes! You are not fully up to the tricks of trade yet, I see,shrewd as you are."
"I know well enough how to use money, but I have not yet learned howto get it."
"That will all come in good time. We are just now getting up apetition for the charter of a new bank in which I am to be adirector, and I can easily manage to get you in if you willsubscribe pretty liberally to the stock. It is to be called thePeople's Bank."
"But I have no money to invest in stock. That would be taking awayinstead of adding to my capital in trade, which is light enough inall conscience."
"There will be no trouble about that. Only an instalment of twentycents in the dollar will be necessary to set the institution going.And not more than ten cents in the dollar will be called in at atime. After two or three instalments have been paid, you can drawout two-thirds of the amount on stock notes."
"Indeed! That's the way it's done?"
"Yes. You ought to take about a hundred shares, which will make iteasy for us to have you put into the Board of Directors."
"I'll do it," was the prompt response to this.
"And take my word for it, you will not be many months a bankdirector, if you improve the opportunities that will be thrown inyour way, without having a good deal more money at your command thanat present."
The charter for the People's Bank was obtained, and when an electionwas held, Lawrence went in as a director. He had not held thatposition many months, before, by favouring certain paper that waspresented from certain quarters, he got paper favoured that camefrom certain other quarters; and in this was individually benefitedby getting the use of about fifteen thousand dollars additionalcapital, which came to him really but not apparently from the bankin which he held a hundred shares of stock. For the sake ofappearances, he did not borrow back his instalments on stock notes.It was a little matter, and would have looked as if he were pressedfor money.
From this time Sidney Lawrence became a financier, and plunged deepinto all the mysteries of money-raising. His business operationsbecame daily more and more extended, and he never appeared to bemuch pressed for money. At the end of a couple of years, he held theoffice of director in two banking institutions, and was president ofan insurance company that issued post-notes on which three per cent.was charged. These notes, as the institution was in good credit,could readily be passed through almost any bank in the city. Theywere loaned pretty freely on individual credit, and also freely onreal estate and other collateral security.
It is hard to serve two masters. The mind of man is so constituted,and the influences bearing upon it are so peculiar in their orderlyarrangements, that the more it is concentered upon one object andpursuit, the more perfection and certainty attend its action. But ifit be divided between two objects and pursuits, and especially ifboth of these require much thought, its action will be imperfect toa certain degree in both, or one will suffer while the other absorbsthe most attention.
Thus it happened with Lawrence. While ardently engaged infinanciering, his business received less attention. Instead of usingto the best possible advantage the money already obtained in hisfinanciering operations, he strove eagerly after more. In fact, tooreckless an investment, in many instances, of borrowed capital, fromwhich no return could be obtained perhaps for years, made his wantsstill as great as before, and kept in constant activity all theresources of his mind in order to meet his accommodations andsteadily to increase them.
Ten years from the time when Sidney Lawrence started in businesshave passed. He is living in handsome style and keeps his carriage.Five or six years previously, he was married to a beautiful andlovely-minded woman, connected with some of the best families of thecity. He has three children.
"Are you not well, dear?" asked his wife, one day about this period.They were sitting at the dinner-table, and Mr. Lawrence was hardlytasting his food.
"I haven't much appetite," he replied indifferently.
"You eat scarcely any thing; hardly enough to keep you alive. I amafraid you give yourself too much up to business."
Mr. Lawrence did not reply. He had evidently not heard more thanhalf of his wife's last remark. In a little while he left the table,saying, as he rose, that he had some business requiring hisimmediate attention. Mrs. Lawrence glanced toward the door thatclosed after her husband with a troubled look, and sighed.
From his dwelling Mr. Lawrence hurried to his store, and spent anhour there in examining his account books, and in makingcalculations. At five o'clock he met the directors of the insurancecompany, of which he was still president, at an extra meeting. Allhad grave faces. There was a statement of the affairs of the companyupon the table around which they were gathered. It showed that inthe next two weeks post-notes, amounting in all to one hundred andfifty thousand dollars, would fall due; while not over fiftythousand dollars in bills receivable, maturing within that time,were on hand, and the available cash resources of the company werenot over five thousand dollars. The time was, when by an extraeffort the sum needed could have been easily raised. But extraefforts had been put forth so often of late, that the company hadexhausted nearly all its resources.
"I do not understand," remarked one of the directors, looking upfrom the statement he had been carefully examining, "how there canbe a hundred and fifty thousand dollars of post-notes due so soon,and only fifty thousand dollars in bills receivable maturing in thesame time. If I am not mistaken, the post-notes were never issuedexcept against bills having a few days shorter time to run. How isthis, Mr. Lawrence?"
"All that is plain enough," the president replied promptly. "A largeportion of these bills have been at various times discounted for usin the People's Bank, and in other banks, when we have neededmoney."
"But why should we be in such need of money?" inquired the directorearnestly. He had been half asleep in his place for over a year, andwas just beginning to get his eyes open. "I believe we have had noserious losses of late. There have been but few fires that havetouched us."
"But there have been a good many failures in the last six months,most of which have affected us, and some to quite a heavy amount,"returned the president. "Our post-note business has proved mostunfortunate."
"So I should think if it has lost us a hundred thousand dollars, asappears from this statement."
"It is useless to look at that now," said Mr. Lawrence. "The greatbusiness to be attended to is the raising of means to meet thistrying emergency. How is it to be done?"
There was a deep silence and looks of concern.
"Can it be raised at all? Is there any hope of saving theinstitution?" asked one of the board, at length.
"In my opinion, none in the world," was replied by another. "I havethought of little else but the affairs of the company sinceyesterday, and I am satisfied that all hope is gone. There arethirty thousand dollars to be provided to-morrow. Our balance is butfive thousand, even if all the bills maturing to-day have beenpaid."
"Which they have, I presume, as no protests have come in," remarkedthe president.
"But what is the sum of five thousand dollars set off against thirtythousand? It is as nothing."
"Surely, gentlemen are not prepared to give up in this way," saidthe president, earnestly. "A failure will be a most disastrousthing, and we shall all be deeply sufferers in the community if ittakes place. We must make efforts and sacrifices to carry itthrough. Here are twelve of us; can we not, on our individualcredit, raise the sum required? I, for one, will issue my notesto-morrow for twenty thousand dollars. If the other directors willcome forward in the same spirit, we may exchange the bills amongeach other, and by endorsing them mutually, get them through thevarious banks where we have friends or influence, and thus save theinstitution. Gentlemen, are you prepared to meet me in this thing?"
Two or three responded affirmatively. Some positively declined; andothers wanted time to think of it.
"If we pause to think, all is ruined," said Mr. Lawrence, excited."We must act at once, and promptly."
But each member of the board remained firm to the first expression.Nothing could be forced, and reflection only tended to confirm thosewho opposed the president's views in their opposition to the plansuggested. The meeting closed, after two hours' perplexingdeliberation, without determining upon any course of action. At teno'clock on the next day the directors were to meet again.
Mr. Lawrence walked the floor for half of that night, and lay awakefor the other half. To sleep was impossible. Thus far, in the manydifficulties he had encountered, a way of escape from them hadopened either on the right hand or on the left, but now no way ofescape presented itself. A hundred plans were suggested to his mind,canvassed and then put aside. He saw but one measure of relief, ifit could be carried out; but that he had proposed already, and itwas not approved.
The unhappy state in which she saw her husband deeply distressedMrs. Lawrence. Earnestly did she beg of him to tell her all thattroubled him, and let her bear a part of the burden that was uponhim. At first he evaded her questions; but, to her oft-repeated andtenderly urged petition to be a sharer in his pains as well as hispleasures, he mentioned the desperate state of affairs in thecompany of which he was president.
"But, my dear husband," she replied to this, "you cannot be heldresponsible for the losses the institution has sustained."
"True, Florence; but the odium, the censure, the distress that mustfollow its failure,--I cannot bear to think of these. My credit,too, will suffer, for I shall lose all I have invested in the stock,and this fact, when known, will impair confidence."
"All this is painful and deeply to be regretted, Sidney," said thewife, speaking in as firm a voice as she could assume. "But as it isa calamity that cannot now be avoided, and is not the result of anywrong act of yours, let a clear conscience sustain you in thissevere trial. Let the public censure, let odium be attached to yourname--so long as your conscience is clear and your integrityunsullied, these cannot really hurt you."
But this appeal had little or no effect. The mind of the unhappy mancould not take hold of it, nor feel its force. It was repeated againand again, and with as little effect. Finally he begged to be leftto his own reflections. In tears his wife complied with his request.That night she slept as little as her miserable husband.
On the next day the----Insurance Company was dishonoured, and "wentinto liquidation." On the day following Sidney Lawrence suspendedpayment. Trustees were appointed to take charge of the effects ofthe company, who immediately commenced a rigid examination into itsaffairs. Lawrence made an assignment at the same time for thebenefit of his creditors.
One evening, about a week after his failure, Mr. Lawrence came homepaler and more disturbed than ever. There was something wild in theexpression of his countenance.
"Florence," said he, as soon as he was alone with her, "I must leavefor Cincinnati in the morning."
"Why?" eagerly asked the wife, her face instantly blanching.
"Business requires me to go. I have seen your father, and have madearrangements with him for you to go to his house, with the children,while I am away. This property, as I have before told you, has to besold, and the sale will probably take place while I am gone."
"How soon will you return?"
"I cannot tell exactly; but I will come back as quickly aspossible."
There was something in the manner of her husband, as he made thisannouncement, that startled and alarmed Mrs. Lawrence. She tried toask many questions, but her voice failed her. Leaning her head downupon her husband's breast, she sobbed and wept for a long time.Lawrence was much affected, and kissed the wet cheek of his wifewith unwonted fervour.
On the next morning, early, the unhappy man parted with his family.His wife clung to him with an instinctive dread of the separation.Tears were in his eyes, as he took his children one after another inhis arms and kissed them tenderly.
"God bless you all, and grant that we may meet again right early,and under brighter skies!" he said, as he clasped his wife to hisbosom in a long embrace, and then tore himself away.
On the third day after Mr. Lawrence left, one of the city newspaperscontained the following paragraph:
"THE----INSURANCE COMPANY.--We understand that in the investigationof the affairs of this concern, it has been discovered that Mr.Lawrence, the president, proves to be a defaulter in the sum ofnearly a hundred thousand dollars. The public are aware thatpost-notes were issued by the company to a large amount, and loanedto individuals on good collateral security. These bore only thesignature of the president. It now appears that Mr. Lawrence usedthis paper without the knowledge of the directors. He signed what hewanted for his own use, and when these came due, signed others andnegotiated them, managing through the principal clerk in theinstitution, who it seems was an accomplice, to keep the wholematter a secret. This was continued until he had used the credit ofthe concern up to a hundred thousand dollars, when it sank under theload. Preparations were made, immediately on the discovery of this,to have him arrested and tried for swindling, but he got wind of itand has left the city. We presume, however, that he will beapprehended and brought back. His own private affairs are said to bein a most deplorable condition. It is thought that not over twentycents in the dollar will be realized at the final settlement."
Here we drop a veil over the history of the man who made haste to berich, and was not innocent. His poor wife waited vainly for him toreturn, and his children asked often for their father, and wonderedwhy he stayed so long away. Years passed before they again met, andthen it was in sorrow and deep humiliation.
THE END.
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