"Sidney Lawrence!" replied the merchant, speaking in a firm, serious
voice, "I am a plain-spoken man, and always tell my real mind when I
feel it my duty to do so, whether I give offence or not. That
Solomon spoke truly, when he said, '_He that maketh haste to be rich
shall not be innocent,_' I fully believe, because I am satisfied,
from what I have seen and know of business, that whoever follows it
with an eager desire to make money rapidly, will be subjected to
daily temptations, and it will be almost impossible for him not to
seek advantages over his neighbour in trade, and trample under foot
the interests of others to gain his own. If this is done in little
matters unscrupulously, it will in the end be done in great matters.
What is the real difference, I should like to know, between taking
advantage of a man in bargaining, and getting his money by passing
upon him a forged note? The principle is undoubtedly the same, only
one is a legal offence and the other is not. And therefore, I hold
that he who takes an undue advantage of his fellow man in trade,
will not in the end hesitate about committing a greater wrong, if he
have a fair chance of escape from penalty. In my young days, the
motto of most business men, who were not very nice about the
interests of others, was, '_Every man for himself and the Lord for
us all._' But the motto has become slightly changed in these times.
It now reads, '_Every man for himself, and the d----l take the
hindmost!_' I hear this too often unblushingly avowed, but see it
much oftener acted out, all around me. My young friend, if you wish
to keep a clear conscience, adopt neither of these mottoes, but
regard, in every transaction, the good of others as well as your own
good. And let me most seriously and earnestly warn you against
making haste to be rich. The least evil that can overtake you, in
such an effort, will be the almost certain wreck of all your worldly