A Successful Clerk

In the town of O , in one of the States which border on tho great lakcs, lives a very successful country merchant. He employés half a score of elcrks and does a large general business. As a traveling man, I called upon Mr..C, the merchant of whom I speak, and af ter doing our business we began conversation, as we sat in nis easy office chairs. Said he : "Do you see that young man over there by the deski He holds the highest position in our store, and I guess, is the best man we have. Ten years aso, this very night, he carne to this place a pobr little ragged chap of eleven years, to sell me some hickory nuts." "You don't say," said I. "How carne he to gRt into your employ?" "WeU," continued the merchant, "if you have time I want to teil you nis story, to show you the kind of stuff I want my clerks to be made of. It was as I said. ten years ago to-night, my attention was called to a little raggcd boy coming into the store with somet 'üing on his back. "He carne timidly to my desk. I saw he had been crying, and I said: 'My boy, what can I do for you to-nighti' 'Oh!' said he 'if you wül buy my hicker-nuts- I have a peck- and I have tried to sell them everywhere else, and I want the monoy so bad.' Here ho began to cry. I was interested in the boy, and I began to question him; I learned that his mother was a widow, and they had only been in town a few weeks and were very poor. It seems be went to school, and his mother found it very hard to support themselves and buy the books, paper, pencils, and the like, boys need in school. How the object of his anxiety to sell the nuts he had gathered was this : On his way home the day before he had thrown a stone while passing a house, and broken a window-glass. Well, I took the nuts, and in a day or so I opened my door one morning to reccivo tho money again from his hands, for it was my window he had broken. "Iñ this way I was convinced that ho was an honest boy, and as the days and weeks went by I kept watch of him in school. I made the acquaintanee of his mother, and found them to be very poor but honest, God-fearing people. Well, George, for that is his name, kept on in school. I helped the family some and kept my eye on the boy. Some four years went by. He Uien came to my store and served as errand boy, mail boy and kept the floor swept, empticd tho ash-pans; in fact, did all the dirty work around the establishment. Here, you know, is where I tested him. A boy that will commence at the bottom and tradge on from day to day, always wearing a bright face, is the one who gets on. "Well, time went on, as it alwayl does, my business increasing, and all tho time this boy going up from errand boy to assistant clerk In one of the departments. "I have had a great many clerks in the course of my past life, and I never saw one who had the push and go-ahead he has. Day before yesterday ho was twenty-one, and he was placed at tho ncacl with the largest salary ; but to-day he is not af raid to take up a broom and sweep the floor. "Now, we want young men for our business who have the spirit he has. Who are not afraid of work and a little dirt on their hands, who are wiliing to begin at the bottotn, an-l go up tho ladder, round by round. "The markot is full of young men, who have adesíre to 'get a position;' and the '. demand is very dull for that kind. The young man who has life, and a go-ahoad ! way with him, can usually find a placo in the sphero ho belongs, but ho must not skip the details; that means the dark part; and all things have dark sidos. Then when i the slack comes, the clerks who remain the longest, are those like George." "Of course, of course," I said, and as I went away I thought, why aro we not all like George 1 Tho thought camo: "He that is diligent in his business, shall stand fore Kings."