“Every thing that some people touch turns into money,” he would sometimes say.  “But I was not born under a lucky star.”

Instead of rigidly bringing down his expenses, as he ought to have done, to four hundred dollars, if he had to live in a garret and cook his own food, Jacob went back to his old boarding-house, and paid four dollars a week.  All his other expenses required at least eight dollars more to meet them.  He was perfectly aware that he was living beyond his income—­the exact excess he did not stop to ascertain—­but he expected an increase of salary before long, as a matter of course, either in his present situation or in a new one.  But no increase took place for two years, and then he was between three and four hundred dollars in debt to tailors, boot-makers, his landlady, and to sundry friends, to whom he applied for small sums of money in cases of emergency.

One day, about this time, two men were conversing together quite earnestly, as they walked leisurely along one of the principal streets of the city where Jacob resided.  One was past the prime of life, and the other about twenty-two.  They were father and son, and the subject of conversation related to the wish of the latter to enter into business.  The father did not think the young man was possessed of sufficient knowledge of business or experience, and was, therefore, desirous of associating some one with him who could make up these deficiencies.  If he could find just the person that pleased him, he was ready to advance capital and credit to an amount somewhere within the neighbourhood of twenty thousand dollars.  For some months he had been thinking of Jacob, who was a first-rate salesman, had a good address, and was believed by him to possess business habits eminently conducive to success.  The fact that he had once failed was something of a drawback in his mind, but he had asked Jacob the reason of his ill-success, which was so plausibly explained, that he considered the young man as simply unfortunate in not having capital, and nothing else.

“I think Mr. Jones just the right man for you,” said the father, as they walked along.

“I don’t know of any one with whom I had rather form a business connection.  He is a man of good address, business habits, and, as far as I know, good principles.”

“Suppose you mention the subject to him this afternoon.”

This was agreed to.  The two men then entered the shop of a fashionable tailor, for the purpose of ordering some clothes.  While there, a man having the appearance of a collector came in, and drew the tailor aside.  The conversation was brief but earnest, and concluded by the tailor’s saying, so loud that he could be heard by all who were standing near,

“It’s no use to waste your time with him any longer.  Just hand over the account to Simpson, and let him take care of it.”

The collector turned away, and the tailor came back to his customers.