received a
two-third indemnification on all _his_ liabilities _for_ the _smashed_
house of P. & B., which the senior partner assured him, arose from the
fact of his, Jenks', gentlemanly forbearance in not joining the clamor
against them, in the adverse hour, nor pushing his claims, when he had
reason to believe that they were down; quite down at the heel. Jenks
"hoped" he should never be found on the wrong or even doubtful side of
humanity, gentlemanly courtesy, or Christian kindness; they shook hands
and parted; the senior partner of the exploded firm requesting, and
Jenks agreeing, to say every thing he could towards sustaining the honor
of the house of P. & B., and recreating its now almost extinguished
credit. Those who fought the bankrupt merchants most got the least, and
because Jenks preserved an undisturbed serenity, when it was known that
he was as deeply a loser, they supposed, as any one, they were staggered
at his philosophy, or amused at his extreme good nature. This latter
result seemed the most popular and accepted notion of Jenks' character,
and proved the ground-work of his pecuniary destruction.

The firm of Perkins & Ball crept up again; Jenks had, on all occasions,
spoken in the most favorable terms of the firm; he not only freely
endorsed again for them, but stood their _referee_ generally. In the
meantime, Jenks' celebrity for good nature and open-heartedness had
drawn around him a host of patrons and admirers. Jenks' name became a
circulating medium for half his business acquaintances. If Brown was
short in his cash account, five hundred or a thousand dollars----

"Just run over to Jenks'," he'd say to his clerk; "ask him to favor me
with a check until the middle of the week." It was done.

"Terms--thirty days with good endorsed paper," was sufficient for the
adventurous Smith to _buy_ and depend on Jenks' _autograph_ to _secure_
the goods. When in funds, Bingle went where he chose; when a little
_short_, Jenks had his patronage. Jenks kept but few memorandums of acts
of kindness he daily committed; hence when the evil effects of them
began to revolve upon him--if not mortified or ashamed of his
"bargains," he at least was astounded at the results. Brown, whose due
bills or memorandums Jenks held, to the amount of seven thousand
dollars, accommodation _loans_, took an apoplectic, one warm summer's
day, after taking a luxurious dinner. Jenks had hardly learned that
Brown's affairs were pronounced