Such slow work will not suit the energetic young man whose determination is to get rich quick and have a good time while he is about it. He has no occasion to go back to antiquity for his two ways of succeeding, and he proposes to use them both as strings to his bow, so that by one or the other he will drive his arrow into the bull’s eye of fortune’s target. Speculation! Advertising! These are the words of power with which he will enslave the spirits which guard the hidden pots of gold. He is well aware that a bit of red flannel is bait enough for many fishes, and that in angling false flies catch more trout than real ones. The value of knowledge to him is measured by the ability it gives to detect the ignorance of others and to take advantage of it. His plans, like those of Cardinal de Retz, are so laid that, though they fail, they will bring in some return. He will manage to secure a commission even on the expenditures he makes for his pleasures. Such a character, and there are many such in our country, often enough succeeds in his ambitions. I was in active business for twenty years, and I made the discovery that the excellent precepts which all are taught in infancy and continue to praise in after years undergo certain modifications when it comes to practical life “in the street.” Once I amused myself by writing them out as I found them really observed, and I am inclined to insert a few specimens, which I will call NEW LAMPS FOR OLD. Not how business should be done, but how others do business, is the proper study. The brighter your virtues shine, the more fish will be attracted within reach of your gig. Always praise veracity and honesty; they are useful qualities in others. The louder you condemn dissimulation, the less you will be suspected of it. Be virtuous; nothing so enables you to appear superior to those around you. If you are stingy, do not pretend to be generous; the effort will betray you. When people express surprise at your meanness, it shows that you must have established a reputation for liberality. Punctuality is excellent; but the man who comes last to an engagement is the only one who is not kept waiting. The value of time is its value to yourself. The simplest device to capture other people’s money is to let them think that they can capture yours. Truth is bright and strong; too bright for most eyes, and too strong to be administered without dilution. The man who attends the funeral of his own reputation often has a jolly wake. Marry for love, work for your living; marry for money, work for your liberty. But enough of these. It will ever hold true that competitive business breeds deception and selfish greed. The business man who pretends otherwise is either a hypocrite or of dull moral sense.