“I desire it, then,” said Rowley.

“Do you remember the five bales of cotton you sold to Peterson?” inquired Mr. Lane.

Rowley replied that he did, but evinced some uneasiness of manner at the question.

“They were damaged,” said Lane.

“I sold them as I bought them,” returned Rowley.

“Did you buy them as damaged?”

“No, I bought the cotton as a good article.”

“And sold it as good?”

Mr. Rowley seemed a little confused.

“I sold the cotton at twelve cents a pound,” was the reply.  “Nothing was said about the quality.”

“Twelve cents is the price of a prime article.  If you had been asked by Peterson if the cotton were in good condition, would you have answered affirmatively?”

“Do you think I would tell a lie?” asked Mr. Rowley, indignantly.

“Our acts are the most perfect expressions of our intentions,” replied Mr. Lane.  “You were deceived in your purchase of the cotton; the article proved so near valueless, as not to be really worth three cents a pound.  You discovered this, as I have the best reasons for knowing, almost as soon as it came into your possession; and yet you offered it to Peterson, who, not suspecting for a moment that any thing was wrong, bought it at the regular market-rate as good.  You saved yourself; but Peterson, though not a professor of religion, was too honest to put his bad bargain off upon another.  Now, if that act, on your part, was loving your neighbour as yourself, I must own to a very perverted understanding of the sacred precept.  I, though no church member, would have put my head into the fire rather than do such an act.”

Mr. Rowley, much confused by so direct a charge, attempted to explain the matter away, alleging that he did not think that the article was so badly damaged—­that he sold as he bought—­that it wasn’t right that he should bear all the loss, with much more to the same purpose; to all of which Lane opposed but little.  He had presented the case already strong enough for all to see how far it comported with Christian morality.  But he had more to say:—­

“Beyond this, which I bring forward as a specimen of the character of your dealings with your fellow-men, I could adduce almost innumerable examples of your indirect and covert modes of obtaining the advantage in ordinary transactions.  You may not be aware of the fact, Mr. Rowley, but your reputation among business men is that of a dealer so close to your own side of the bargain as to trench upon the rights of others.  You invariably keep the half cent in giving change, while you have been repeatedly known to refuse a ten cent piece and two cents for an elevenpence.  In fact, you are known as a man who invariably seeks to get the best of every transaction.  If this is Christian charity—­if this is a just regard for the rights of your neighbours—­if this is in agreement with the spirit of the Bible, then