faction, and was rapidly advanced to a position of great
trust, collecting moneys and keeping the accounts. His salary was large,
and he was considered a rising and prosperous young man; he moved in
fashionable society, married a dashing girl, lived in a handsome house,
gave elegant entertainments, and kept a horse.

"Howard and I got on more slowly. Somehow, we always kept together, so
that 'the two Johns' became a by-word. We were clerks in the same
commercial house, and, although self-praise is no recommendation, I may
say that both of us did our whole duty. We worked hard, as was then
expected; were at the store soon after sunrise, and had everything in
order before our employers arrived. Young gentlemen in those days did
many things that are now the porter's work, making fires, sweeping the
store, etc., quite new duties to us, who were fresh from Academic
shades, and from communion with Homer, Virgil, and Horace. I can't say
we enjoyed it much. Neither did we like the lifting of heavy packages
and being ordered about as if we were inferiors. But we did not shirk
our duty, and kept our tempers. John, good fellow, came out of the
ordeal sweet-tempered, kind, and obliging; and I don't doubt that we
both feel the benefit of this practical training to this day. Certain it
is, that we mastered all the details of the business, and knew what to
expect from others, when our time came to employ them.

"'The two Johns' went into business together, and for a time everything
was prosperous. We married happily, and lived in comfort and moderation,
as becomes young people who have to make their way in the world.
Meantime we saw less and less of Willing, for in the daytime we were
busy, and our evenings were very differently employed. He and his young
wife--a pretty and attractive creature she was--cultivated the society
of the gay and rich, gave entertainments, or were seen in full dress at
balls, concerts, the opera, and the theatre. I sometimes wondered how a
clerk on a three-thousand-dollar salary could live at the rate of eight
or ten thousand. And so, with all kind feeling, we drifted apart; your
dear Aunt and John's wife found their style of living so different,
ideas on all subjects so opposite, and friends so dissimilar, that
visits were only exchanged once or twice a year.

"When we were about thirty, commercial disasters befel us. A financial
crisis swept over the land, by which some houses closely connected with
our