that something unusual was about to happen, and those magnates had rushed to the paying teller’s side.  “Do you know that signature?” said the old man with a gleam in his eye.  Now it was the teller’s turn to feel wretched.  “Pay five hundred and fifty thousand—­Babbit, soap man! oh! what an idiot I am!” All this went through his head.  The president, the cashier, abased themselves before the irate old man.  It was all a mistake!  They assured him!  They assured him!  Beg pardon!  Impertinence of new teller.  And a’ that, and a’ that.  But it would not do!  The money went to another bank, and a business worth thousands of dollars annually was lost, together with the natural prestige of such patronage.  There was what I should call

A CASE OF BILLIARD-ROOM MANNERS,

and a costly one.  Drop that style.  Says Bishop Horne:  “It is expedient to have an acquaintance with those who have looked into the world; who know men, understand business, and can give you good intelligence and good advice when they are wanted.”  “He that walketh with wise men” says the Bible, “shall be wise; but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”  Try to frequent the company of your betters.  Good books are safe companions.  Good men, a little older than yourself, are still better.  Perhaps good women, who take an interest in young men, are better than all others, for they are more unselfish, and often have a spare thought for the young man that makes his life happier.

LEARN TO ADMIRE RIGHTLY.

The leer of the man who has sold lemonade in a circus has a strange charm for a young man.  It has a strange repulsiveness for the “solid man” of business.  The look of a man with a cigar put in his mouth at a sharp upward angle and with a hat lurched like the cargo of a bad sailer, has a strong fascination for a young man.  It is a strong irritant to the man whose companionship is an honor.  You cannot do better than to frequent some church, rent a sitting, and have a positive engagement two or three times a week.  You are a great gainer by this.  It may cost you a little; but you will get all that back in moral capital—­just as valuable in business as money.  Says George Washington:  “The company in which you will improve most will be least expensive to you.”  In your church you will meet men who do not live all for themselves, as does the dominant mind in the bar-room.  Their drill and discipline have made them more unselfish.  They will help you in many ways.  They will throw a rope to you and pull you aboard.  Sooner or later your association with them will get you position, respect, family, happiness, success, and above all, that peace which passeth all understanding.  Do not take this as preaching.  It is as practical as anything in this book.  Chesterfield says:  “No man can possibly improve in any company for which he has not respect enough to be under some degree of restraint.”  What makes mankind revere Shakspeare Because he said fine things?  No.  But because he said true things.  Listen to him:  “It is certain that either wise bearing or ignorant carriage is caught, as men take diseases of one another.”