good fortune in having
been received into Mr. Carman's employment. "It doesn't look right, but
it _may_ be in the way of business."

One day he went to the bank and drew the money for a check. In counting
it over, he found that the teller had paid him fifty dollars too much.
So he went back to the counter and told him of his mistake. The teller
thanked him, and he returned to the store with the consciousness in his
mind of having done right.

"The teller overpaid me fifty dollars," he said to Mr. Carman, as he
handed him the money.

"Indeed," replied the latter, a light breaking over his countenance; and
he hastily counted the bank bills.

The light faded as the last bill left his fingers. "There's no mistake,
James." A tone of disappointment was in his voice.

"Oh, I gave them back the fifty dollars. Wasn't that right?"

"You simpleton!" exclaimed Mr. Carman.

[Illustration: "_The teller over-paid me fifty dollars_."]

"Don't you know that bank mistakes are never corrected? If the teller
had paid you fifty dollars short he would not have made it right."

[Illustration: "_You simpleton_."]

The warm blood mantled the cheek of James under this reproof. It is
often the case that more shame is felt for a blunder than for a crime.
In this instance the lad felt a sort of mortification at having done
what Mr. Carman was pleased to call a silly thing, and he made up his
mind that if they should ever over-pay him a thousand dollars at the
bank, he should bring the amount to his employer, and let him do as he
pleased with the money.

"Let people look out for their own mistakes," said Mr. Carman.

James Lewis pondered these things in his heart. The impression they made
was too strong ever to be forgotten. "It may be right," he said, but he
did not feel altogether satisfied.

[Illustration: "_He had been paid a half dollar too much_."]

A month or two after this last occurrence, as James counted over his
weekly wages, just received from Mr. Carman, he saw that he had been
paid a half dollar too much.

His first impulse was to return the half dollar to his employer, and it
was on his lips to say, "You have given me a half dollar too much, sir,"
when the unforgotten words, "Let people look after their own mistakes,"
flashing into his mind, made him hesitate. To parley with evil is to be
overcome.

"I must think about this," said James, as he put the money into his
pocket. "If it is right in one case, it is right