yourself and your friends."

"I shall never forget the lesson, Mrs. Appleton," was Louisa's emphatic
response.

"A FINE, GENEROUS FELLOW."

MY friend Peyton was what is called a "fine, generous fellow." He
valued money only as a means of obtaining what he desired, and was
always ready to spend it with an acquaintance for mutual gratification.
Of course, he was a general favourite. Every one spoke well of him, and
few hesitated to give his ears the benefit of their good opinion. I was
first introduced to him when he was in the neighbourhood of twenty-two
years of age. Peyton was then a clerk in the receipt of six hundred
dollars a year. He grasped my hand with an air of frankness and
sincerity, that at once installed him in my good opinion. A little
pleasure excursion was upon the tapis, and he insisted upon my joining
it. I readily consented. There were five of us, and the expense to
each, if borne mutually, would have been something like one dollar.
Peyton managed every thing, even to paying the bills; and when I
offered to repay him my proportion, he said--

"No, no!"--pushing back my hand--"nonsense!"

"Yes; but I must insist upon meeting my share of the expense."

"Not a word more. The bill's settled, and you needn't trouble your head
about it," was his reply; and he seemed half offended when I still
urged upon him to take my portion of the cost.

"What a fine, generous fellow Peyton is!" said one of the party to me,
as we met on the next day.

"Did he also refuse to let you share in the expense of our excursion?"
I asked.

"After what he said to you, I was afraid of offending him by proposing
to do so."

"He certainly is generous--but, I think, to a fault, if I saw a fair
specimen of his generosity yesterday."

"We should be just, as well as generous."

"I never heard that he was not just."

"Nor I. But I think he was not just to himself. And I believe it will
be found to appear in the end, that, if we are not just to ourselves,
we will, somewhere in life, prove unjust to others. I think that his
salary is not over twelve dollars a week. If he bore the whole expense
of our pleasure excursion, it cost him within a fraction of half his
earnings for a week. Had we all shared alike, it would not have been a
serious matter to either of us."

"Oh! as to that, it is no very serious matter to him. He will never
think of it."

"But, if he does so very frequently, he may feel it sooner or later,"