1.Some years aga warehouseman1 in Manchester,England,published a scurrilous2pamphlet,in which he endeavored thold up the house of Grant Brothers tridicule. William Grant remarked upon the occurrence that the man would live trepent of what he had done;and this was conveyed by some talebearer tthe libeler3,whsaid,"Oh,I suppose he thinks I shall some time or other be in his debt;but I will take good care of that." It happens,however,that a man in business can not always choose whshall be his creditors. The pamphleteer became a bankrupt,and the brothers held an acceptance of his which had been indorsed tthem by the drawer,whhad alsbecome a bankrupt.
2.The wantonly libeled men had thus become creditors of the libeler! They now had it in their power tmake him repent of his audacity4. He could not obtain his certificate without their signature5,and without it he could not enter intbusiness again. He had obtained the number of signatures required by the bankrupt law except one. It seemed folly thope that the firm of "the brothers" would supply the deficiency6. What! they whhad cruelly been made the laughingstock of the public,forget the wrong and favor the wrongdoer? He despaired. But the claims of a wife and children1Warehouseman,one whkeeps a wholesale store for woolen goods. 2 Scurrilous,low,mean.
3Libeler,one whdefames another maliciously by a writing,etc 4 Audacity,bold impudence.
5 Signature,the name of a person written with his own hand,the name of a firm signed officially. 6Deficiency,want.
forced him at last tmake the application. Humbled by misery,he presented himself at the countinghouse of the wronged.
3.Mr. William Grant was there alone,and his first words tthe delinquent1 were,"Shut the door,sir!" sternly uttered. The door was shut,and the libeler stood trembling before the libeled. Hetold his tale and produced his certificate,which was instantly clutched by the injured merchant. "You wrote a pamphlet against us once!" exclaimed Mr. Grant. The suppliant expected tsee his parchment2 thrown intthe fire. But this was not its destination. Mr. Grant took a pen,and writing something upon the document,handed it back tthe bankrupt. He,poor wretch,expected tsee "rogue,scoundrel,libeler," inscribed;but there was,in fair round characters,the signature of the firm.
4."We make it a rule," said Mr. Grant,"never trefuse signing the certificate of an honest tradesman,and we have never heard that you were anything else." The tears started intthe poor man’s eyes. "Ah," said Mr. Grant,"my saying was true! I said you would live trepent writing that pamphlet. I did not mean it as a threat. I only meant that some day you would know us better,and be sorry you had tried tinjure us. I see you repent of it now." "I do,I do!" said the grateful man;"I bitterly repent it." "Well,well,my dear fellow,you know us now. How dyou get on? What are you going tdo?" The poor man stated he had friends whcould assist him when his certificate was obtained. "But how are you off in the meantime?"
5.And the answer was,that,having given up every farthing this creditors,he had been compelled tstint3 his family of even common necessaries,that he might be enabled tpay the cost of his certificate. "My dear fellow,this will not do;your family must not suffer. Be kind enough ttake this ten-pound note tyour wife from me. There,there,my dear fellow! Nay,dnot cry;it will all be well with1Delinquent,an offender.
2Parchment,sheep or goat skin prepared for writing upon. 3 Stint,tlimit.
you yet. Keep up your spirits,set twork like a man,and you will raise your head among us yet." The overpowered man endeavored in vain texpress his thanks;the swelling in his throat forbade words. He put his handkerchief this face and went out of the door,crying like a child.