If the city tradesman has omitted any of the bills which the country tradesman has sent him up, he finds it out, and is sure to put him in mind of it.  ‘Sir,’ says he, ’you had a bill from me upon Mr A.G. at such a time, for thirty pounds, and I have your letter that you received the money; but you have omitted it in the account, so that I am not so much in your debt by thirty pounds, as you thought I was.’

‘Say you so!’ says the city tradesman; ’I cannot think but you must be mistaken.’

‘No, no!’ says the other, ’I am sure I can’t be mistaken, for I have it in my book; besides, I can go to Mr A.G., whom the bill was drawn upon, and there is, to be sure, your own endorsement upon it, and a receipt for the money.’

‘Well,’ says the citizen, ’I keep my books as exact as any body—­I’ll look again, and if it be there I shall find it, for I am sure if I had it, it is in my cash-book.’

‘Pray do, then,’ says the countryman, ’for I am sure I sent it you, and I am sure I can produce the bill, if there be occasion.’

Away goes the tradesman to his books, which he pretends he keeps so exact, and examining them over again, he finds the bill for thirty pounds entered fairly, but in his running the whole year over together, as well he might, he had overlooked it, whereas, if his cash-book had been duly posted every week, as it ought to have been, this bill had been regularly placed to account.

But now, observe the difference:  the bill for thirty pounds being omitted, was no damage to the country tradesman, because he has an account of it in his book of memorandums, and had it regularly posted in his books at home, whatever the other had, and also was able to bring sufficient proof of the payment; so the London tradesman’s omission was no hurt to him.

But the case differs materially in the debtor side of the account; for here the tradesman, who with all his boasts of keeping his books exactly, has yet no ledger, which being, as I have said, duly posted, should show every man’s account at one view; and being done every week, left it scarce possible to omit any parcel that was once entered in the day-book or journal—­I say, the tradesman keeping no ledger, he looks over his day-book for the whole year past, to draw up the debtor side of his customer’s account, and there being a great many parcels, truly he overlooks one or two of them, or suppose but one of them, and gives the chapman the account, in which he sums up his debtor side so much, suppose L136, 10s.:  the chapman examining this by his book, as he did the cash, finds two parcels, one L7, 15s., and the other L9, 13s., omitted; so that by his own book his debtor side was L153, 18s.; but being a cunning sharp tradesman, and withal not exceeding honest, ’Well, well,’ says he to himself, ’if Mr G. says it is no more than L136, 10s. what have I to do to contradict him? it is none of my business to keep his books for him; it is time enough for me to reckon