" Here he was interrupted by the other,
who eagerly replied, "A. B., sir, I suppose." "The same," cried the
last-comer: "I was afraid I should be too late; for I was detained
beyond my expectation by a nobleman at the other end of the town, that
wants to mortgage a small trifle of his estate, about a thousand a
year; and my watch happens to be in the hands of the maker, having
met with an accident a few nights ago, which set it asleep. But,
howsomever, there is no time lost, and I hope this affair will be
transacted to the satisfaction of us both. For my own part, I love
to do good offices myself, and therefore I expect nothing but what
is fair and honest of other people."
His new friend was exceedingly comforted by this declaration,
which he considered as a happy omen of his success; and the hope
of fingering the cash operated visibly in his countenance, while
he expressed his satisfaction at meeting with a person of such
candour and humanity. "The pleasure," said he, "of dealing with
an easy conscientious man is, in my opinion, superior to that of
touching all the money upon earth; for what joy can be compared
with what a generous mind feels in befriending its fellow-creatures?
I was never so happy in my life, as at one time, in lending five
hundred pounds to a worthy gentleman in distress, without insisting
upon rigid security.
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