netary crisis was past, and that thenceforth affairs
would improve. He had reasoned with himself that such a pressure could
not last always, and that this had certainly reached its limit. The
clear, bracing air of the morning had its full influence over his
sensitive nature. All Nature seemed to rejoice, and he, for the time,
forgot the universal distress, and sympathized with it. But the
thermometer fell rapidly as he caught the expression which the face
of his employer wore. Mr. Lindsay, of the house of Lindsay & Co., was
usually a reserved, silent man--in business almost a machine, honest
both from instinct and habit, and proud, in his quiet way, of his
position and his stainless name. He had a wife and daughter, and
therefore was presumed to have affections; but those whom he met in the
market never thought of him, save as the systematic merchant. Well as
Monroe knew him, being his confidential clerk, he never had seen more
than the case in which the buying, selling, and note-paying machinery
was inclosed. He respected the evident integrity and worth of the head
of the house, but never dreamed of a different feeling; he could as
easily have persuaded himself into cherishing an affection for the
counting-house clock.

This morning, Mr. Lindsay's face wore an unusually sleepless, anxious
look. The man of routine was but a man, after all, and, in his distress,
he longed for some intelligent, friendly sympathy. Monroe recognized the
mute appeal, but, from long habits of reticence, he was at a loss how
to approach his stately chief. Determined, however, to give him an
opportunity to speak, if he chose, Monroe asked after the news, the
day's failures, and the prospects of business. The merchant needed only
a word, and broke out at once,--

"Prospect? there is no prospect but ruin. If a whirlwind would bury the
city, or a conflagration leave it a heap of ashes, it would be better
for all of us."

"But don't you think the darkest time has past?"

"Not at all; the pressure will continue until scores more are brought
down. Better fail at once than live in dread of it."

"You surprise me! Why, you are not in danger?"

"Did you ever consider? Look at the bales of goods in our lofts,--goods
which nobody will buy and nobody can pay for. And our acceptances have
been given to the manufacturers for them,--acceptances that are maturing
daily. Up to this time I have taken up all our paper, as it became due;
but God knows how t