This circumstance, the discovery of Parker’s fraudulent doings, took place about two years prior to the time when Fanny Elder attained her legal age.

The first thought of Jasper, after his separation from Parker, which took place immediately on discovering that he had used the credit of the firm improperly, was to send for Claire, and offer him a salary of a thousand dollars a year, to come in and fill the responsible position as clerk, from which Parker had just been ejected as partner.

“I can trust him fully,” said Jasper to himself; “and I don’t know anybody else that I can trust.  He is honest; I will give him credit for that; too honest, it may be, for his own good.  But, I don’t know.  Who would not rather be in his shoes than in Parker’s?”

For some time Jasper’s mind was favourable to making Claire the offer proposed, and he was about writing him a note, when a new view of the case struck him, dependent on the young man’s relation to his ward, Fanny Elder.

“Oh no, no, no!” said he emphatically, speaking to himself—­“that, I fear me, will not do.  It would give him too open an access to my books, papers, and private accounts, in which are entries and memoranda that it might be dangerous for him to see.”

Jasper sighed deeply as he finished this sentence, and then fell into a musing state.  His thoughts, while this lasted, were not of the most self-satisfying character.  Some serious doubts as to his having, in the main, pursued the wisest course in life, were injected into his mind; and, remarkable as it may seem for one so absorbed in the love of gain, there were moments when he almost envied the poor, but honest clerk, who had an approving conscience, and feared no man’s scrutiny.

It was with no slight reluctance that he finally came to the conclusion that it would be altogether unsafe to take Claire into his employment.  And so he cast about for some one to supply the place left vacant by Parker’s withdrawal from the business.  In his final selection he was not over-fortunate, as the result proved.  The new clerk was shrewd, and capable enough, and apparently as much devoted to his employer’s interests as Jasper could wish.  Had not his own interests been regarded as paramount to those of the merchant, Jasper would have possessed in him a valuable assistant.  But the clerk did not rise superior to temptations which came in his way.  Jasper continued to trade on the close-cutting, overreaching, and unscrupulous system; and under such a teacher his clerk proved an apt learner.

“He cuts right and left,” said he to himself, “and why may not I cut left and right when a good opportunity offers?”

Soon he began to “cut left and right,” as he termed it, and it was not remarkable that, in his cutting operations, his employer occasionally suffered.  The upshot was, after holding his situation a year, that several false entries, in his hand-writing, were discovered in the books of Mr. Jasper.  To what extent he robbed his employer, the latter never accurately knew; but he was worse off by at least three or four thousand dollars through his peculations.