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never forthcoming when wanted! For myself, I was discreet and suspicious as an old man ought to be (to be sure I must allow that my property, being in the three per cents., had not suffered any reduction) and I felt extremely indignant with all the thickly gathering short roads to wealth, which I was disposed to define as short roads to ruin. Nevertheless, I kept my opinion to myself. The occurrences of every day brought more and more to my remembrance the title of an old drama, "A mad world, my masters;" but I did not annoy my acquaintance with interference, "I recollected the saying of a clever man, parcel wit and parcel philosopher, whom I knew-" If any person choose to make himself a fool, it is his business principally, not to say exclusively," and I offered to the community no portion of that valuable treasury of advice locked up in the mind of every old man, but which, sooth to say, unlike other treasures, is generally lavishly volunteered by them, and ungratefully rejected by their young friends. At length, however, I was induced to depart from my usual nonchalance, for the purpose of giving a "wizard's warning" to the thoughtless, impetuous Frank Mervyn. I had been his father's friend, and, like most father's friends, saw great reason to lament that the son partook so little of his worthy sire's solidity and prudence of character. Frank inherited from his father the very inconvenient property of five thousand pounds, enough to prevent him from applying steadily to a profession, and not enough to support him independently of one. To do Frank justice, he was fully sensible of the insignificance of this sum, and had repeatedly wished to magnify the five thousand pounds to fifty, but wishes were in vain till Glossington, like the enchanter of a fairy tale, came forth to realize them. Oh! how plausible were his wordy calculations and paper schemes, the fair sex in particular admired and trusted in him; single ladies and widows, too numerous to be reckoned, sold out their four (late five) per cents, and brought the proceeds to Glossington, humbly hoping that he would accept of their small pittances, and give them splendid fortunes in return; and the worthy Glossington always complied with their requests, bowed, as though he were the obliged party, took charge of their property, and assured them that they should all be laden with wealth in a very short time. I had always a great horror of speculation; Mervyn assured me that many speculators were men of the strictest honour, but I would not altogether agree with him; it seemed to me that a habit of speculation, although it might not precisely stain the honour of him who practised it, must in a great degree deaden that nice sense of conscientiousness and moral principle which I should always wish to see prominently displayed in the character of a relation or friend. Mervyn denied the truth of my assertion, and the argument ended as arguments between old and young men generally do, neither party succeeding

in convincing the other. A few days after this conversation I was walking up Cheapside, when I overtook Mervyn, who seemed to be in a great hurry, and in high spirits.

"I think I shall soon have a large sum of money to invest in Glossington's hands," he said, "I am just going to buy a prize in the lottery."

"I rather doubt that," I replied, drily; "you may very probably be going to buy a ticket in the lottery, and I must say that considering you have risked nearly the whole of your property in speculation, you can ill afford to spare two and twenty pounds from the remainder.”

"Nay, I cannot be going to do an imprudent thing," said Mervyn, "for Mr. Creswell, my father's friend and yours, who is a perfect pattern of caution, has just written to me, begging that I would purchase a ticket for him, and transmit it to him by the post."

"I can only say, in answer to that observation," I rejoined, "that Mr. Creswell is a man of large fortune, and if he think proper to throw away two and twenty pounds, he can very well afford to do so; but I recommend you to purchase a ticket for him only, and to wait till you are at least half as rich, before you purchase one for yourself."

Mervyn merely smiled, and told me "I was very wise," (a just observation certainly, only I did not quite like the tone in which it was spoken), and the next moment we were both within one of the Cornhill temples of Plutus. Several persons were crowding round the counter, choosing shares. One man wished for the number of the year in which he was born, and another for that in which his grandfather gained a lottery prize. A pretty young country girl said she had dreamed the night before of a weddingring, and as that was best described by a circle, she wished for a number containing a 0. One terminating in the desired cypher was immediately handed to her, a sign, as her brother who accompanied her told her, that "her wedding-ring would end in nothing." This joke, poor as it was, flushed the offended damsel's cheek with indignation, which was not at all lessened by a smart young clerk, with a green bag under his arm, telling her "not to fret, for that if she got the ten thousand pound prize, he would marry her himself!"

Mervyn advanced to the counter, and asked to see some tickets; he despised all speculation on a small scale, and that he might not be suspected of any partiality for lucky numbers, or any faith in dreams, he hastily snatched the two first that presented themselves, but not before I had taken a memorandum of their numbers in my pocket-book. I walked home with Mervyn to his lodgings, wishing to borrow a book from him. While I was selecting it, he hastily wrote a short letter to Mr. Creswell, enclosed in it one of

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the tickets (which I did not observe) and returned the other to

his pocket.

"I will go out with you," said he, as I was preparing to take my leave," and put this letter in the post."

We walked together to the end of the street, and then separated-I to return home, and Mervyn to proceed to the postoffice.

Perhaps my readers may think me very prosy in entering into these minute details, and will be ready to accuse me of practising the "penny-a-liner" art of making the most of a story; but I beg to assure them that I have always a good reason for everything that I do, and they will soon find out the necessity of my present exactness.

The next morning the drawing of the lottery began, and about the middle of the day I happened to be passing down Cornhill, when my attention was attracted by a crowd round the office where Mervyn had purchased the tickets the preceding day. A prize of twenty thousand pounds was already drawn; the number seemed familiar to me; I looked into my pocket book-it was one of those held by Mervyn. I instantly proceeded to his lodgings; he was at home, and I found him resting his head on his hand in an attitude of despondency which I could not have believed any disappointment in money matters would have induced my lively friend, Frank Mervyn, to adopt.

"I see," said I, advancing with a duly gentle step, and modulated voice," that you know all, and I fear that the fortunate number

"Was the one you saw me enclose to Mr. Creswell," he answered, in a gloomy manner, without raising his head.

"This is certainly an unfortunate accident, my dear Frank," said I, "but there is no blame to be attached to anybody."

"Blame," interrupted he, quickly, "no, certainly, who presumed to talk of blame ?"

I did not quite like his manner of addressing me, but I knew that vexation seldom improves the temper, or polishes the manners, and therefore I excused his abruptness.

"Oh!" said he, after a few minutes' silence, "how just was your remark, that a habit of speculation deadens the nice feelings of honour!"

“Yes,” said I, gratified by his compliment, although I did not exactly see what it had to do with the subject in question. "I. believe most of my remarks are very just and sound, and might also be very profitable, if you and my other young friends would only be persuaded."

Here Mervyn again interrupted me

"How proudly once," said he, "did I boast of my ability to resist temptation; and now, how near have I been to falling!"

I was still more puzzled.

"I dare say, Frank," said I, "you are angry with yourself for not having taken my advice, and relinquished your idea of buying a ticket."

"Angry with myself!" he repeated, rising, and walking up and down the room, "I despise myself."

I was in doubt whether I ought not to ring the bell, and send a messenger for medical assistance, considering Mervyn's senses to be in a very precarious state, when he settled the point by ringing the bell himself.

"I wish this letter to be taken to the post-office," said he, giving one, as he spoke, to the servant who attended.

He stood at the window, watching his messenger round the corner, and then turned to me with a completely altered expression of countenance.

"Congratulate me," said he; "I have overcome the unworthy inclination that I blush to think I could ever have entertained. The letter which I have just given to the servant was the one which you saw me direct yesterday to Mr. Creswell!"

I pressed Mervyn's extended hand in silence, and he continued: "Soon after I left you, yesterday, I met with a friend whom I had not seen for some time; he pressed me to accompany him home to dinner, and I completely forgot the letter. This morning I was, like you, attracted by the notification in Cornhill of the splendid prize just drawn; I eagerly took out my own ticket, and at the same moment that I ascertained that it was not the number in question, I felt that the letter for Mr. Creswell still remained in my pocket; I returned home, and for the last hour I have been combatting a disgraceful and culpable impulse to change the tickets.”

"But you have overcome the impulse," I said.

"Yes," he answered, "but I do not think I should ever have entertained it for a moment, had it not been for my unfortunate familiarity with speculation; in fact, I am persuaded that had this event occurred a twelvemonth ago, I should no more have thought of appropriating Mr. Creswell's lottery ticket, than of abstracting the contents of his strong box; but this was the insidious, baleful form in which the evil spirit assailed me. You know my firm confidence in the judgment and integrity of Glossington, and that this twenty thousand pounds (if my own) would immediately have been delivered over to his management. thought to do the same in the present instance, and when it was trebled in value, to disclose the whole facts to Mr. Creswell, and divide the profits with him."

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"It would have been long enough, I fancy," said I, "before the disclosure took place, if you waited till the money was trebled by Mr. Glossington's powers of multiplication."

"I cannot agree with you there," said he, "but I immediately began to reflect that I had no right to judge for another person; the money was fairly and equitably Mr. Creswell's. I knew him to have a decided aversion for speculation, and felt that I could not be justified in running risks for him, which he certainly would never have run for himself. Above all, I reflected that, although my fellow-creatures would not see my exchange of the tickets. it would be beheld by that Almighty Judge who will one day 'bring to light the hidden things of darkness.' My cheerful days, my peaceful nights, my even spirits, must all be sacrificed, and replaced by self upbraidings, gloomy retrospection. and anxious forebodings. A prize in the lottery is a desirable thing, but the proverb tells us that even gold may be bought too dear,' and certainly I am not disposed to purchase it at the price of an approving conscience."

"You will, I hope, inform Mr. Creswell of your honourable conduct," said I.

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Assuredly not," he replied, "the circumstances are not at all to my credit; I feel much more ashamed of having admitted the temptation, than pride in having resisted it."

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Nay," said I," do not undervalue your own conduct; few have ever been placed in circumstances of such remarkable temptation, and I sincerely hope that the honour you have evinced, will, in some way or other, be rewarded."

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"Thank you for your good wishes," he answered, "but I cannot bear such phrases as honour rewarded,' 'virtue rewarded;' a modern writer humorously designates them as the clinking of cash in the white pockets of conscience.' I will immediately go to the lottery office, and give them the name and address of the fortunate holder of the prize (alas! for me not the fortunate youth'), and then return to the usual concerns of life, with rather a more humble opinion of my own excellence and rectitude than I entertained before."

I accompanied Mervyn to the office, where we inquired the fate of the other ticket, and learned that it had been just drawn a blank !

Some time afterwards, Mr. Creswell arrived in London, and, notwithstanding Mervyn's strenuous solicitations to deposit the proceeds of his lottery prize in the hands of Glossington, persisted in placing it in the inglorious security of the three per cents.

I was well acquainted with Mr. Creswell, and under the seal of secrecy, acquainted him with Mervyn's triumph over temptation.

This circumstance added much to the interest which he had always taken in him, and he joined with me in deeply lamenting his speculative habits; but reasoning was not now of any availit was too late; Frank Mervyn's capital was already in the hands of Glossington, and few and faint were the hopes to be entertained of its escape from them.

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