would be least injurious to the interests of my family. If, therefore, I accept this appointment, a sacrifice of that ease, of much social enjoyment, and of my material interests, must be the inevitable consequence.

"Putting myself out of the question, the sole motive is the public good; and this motive, I confess, comes home to my feelings. The contest we are engaged in, appeared to me, in the first instance, just and necessary; therefore I took an active part in it; as it became dangerous, I thought it the more glorious, and was stimulated to the greatest exertions in my power, when the affairs of America were at the worst."

In the continuous history of this distinguished American merchant, we have a remarkable example of what probity, firmness, integrity, and zeal, may accomplish. What it achieved for himself was great. He rose to wealth and honour, and might have attained to greater worldly distinctions had it not been for his own moderation and virtuous reserve. As superintendent of finance, one of his first acts was to establish a national bank; while by his own personal credit alone, he supplied nearly the whole munitions of war, during the struggle of his fellow countrymen for independence.

In one of his letters written at this trying period, Mr. Morris says, "The late movements of the army have so completely drained me of money, that I have been entirely obliged to pledge my personal credit very deeply in a variety of instances, besides borrowing money from my friends, and advancing, to promote the public service, every shilling of my own."

During the time that Mr. Morris was engaged in public

service, he gave over his own business concerns to the hands of others, that he might exclusively fix his attention upon his official duties. He adopted as an invariable rule, never to recommend any one to office. In consequence of this he did not secure a band of pensioned defenders and supporters. He stood almost alone to bear the brunt of the complaints and imprecations of unsatisfied claimants.

His character as a merchant was marked by sterling honesty-this was the basis of all his success. His enterprise and foresight formed only the valuable auxiliaries to these.

At the conclusion of the war he was among the earliest who engaged in the East India and China trade. For this purpose he dispatched the ship Empress, Captain Green, from New York to Canton, and it was the first American vessel that ever appeared in that port.

His enterprise led him to make another attempt, which was then a novel one. With the aid of Mr. Gouverneur Morris he marked out a passage to China, termed an "out of season" passage, round the south cape of New Holland. This was safely accomplished by Captain Read, in the ship Alliance, in six months, which was then considered a remarkably short passage. It was quite astonishing to the most experienced navigators, and the lords of the British admiralty made application to Mr. Morris, to learn the route of the ship.

While thus active and enterprising, Mr. Morris was generous and liberal in dispensing his money for the good of others. Not only did he sacrifice to the public good in various ways, but his ear was open to the demands of suffering humanity, and his ready hand extended for its

relief. His hospitality was proverbial, and this hospitality, though cordial, was said to be "without the slightest tinge of ostentation." In domestic life he was kind and cheerful, and in his friendships, warm and devoted.

Robert Morris was remarkable for his independence and decision of character. He never cringed to human being, or courted the countenance of living man. His patience and perseverance were indomitable, and his hopefulness, even under the most gloomy circumstances, unfailing.

These were the elements of his success. Integrity, enterprise, foresight, activity, liberality, benevolence, kindness, independence, decision, patience, perseverance, hopefulness, and we must add, promptness, boldness, and punctuality-devotion to his own business, and a sincere desire to aid others in promoting their interests.

CHAPTER VII.

DECISION OF CHARACTER.

"I shall remember,

When Cæser says-do this, it is performed."

SHAKSPEARE.

THERE are certain qualities which are essential to the success of the man in business, the origin of which is directly traceable to the supreme standard of human conduct, as set forth in the divine law. Of these are honesty, integrity, truthfulness, self-restraint, and self-denial. But there are

others not a whit less indispensable to any great success, which may be characterised as the virtues of acquirement and education. Foremost among these must be placed decision of character. We designate this a virtue of education, we might perhaps still more correctly call it one of self-education, for no man is destitute of it naturally, and those who have become the slaves of indecision, procrastination, and delay, will find that an appeal to their own conscience as clearly tells them that these are the fruit of their own self-indulgence as are the vices of the drunkard or the thief. We propose, in the first place, to point out some of the sources of the deplorable vice of indecision; and foremost among these must be placed the spirit of procrastination. It is one of the golden rules for the man of business, "Never put off till to-morrow, what can be done to-day." Depend upon it, whatever present difficulties urge to procrastination, delay will only increase them. The decided man does the present work at the present time; and is thereby as ready for the next call of duty as is the day-labourer for his appointed task after the mid-day meal, or the night's repose. Yet let not the young reader jump rashly to the conclusion that all that is needful is to be in a hurry. The very next source of indecision which we would mention is the want of deliberation; and to that we would join the want of method and orderly arrangement. The man who rushes to his object, without counting the cost or estimating the means, is like the young unbroken colt which dashes off like the wind, exhausts its inexperienced strength in one violent effort, and blindly dashes against the obstacle which it aims at overleaping; while the well trained courser husbands its strength,

reserves the strain for the right moment of action, and bearing its rider over every obstacle, brings him unexhausted to the goal.

The man of decision plans before he executes. He decides, in fact, on what he is to do, and having so done, he then proceeds calmly and deliberately to execute it. It is your procrastinator who is always in a hurry. Twenty things in hand at once, and in such troubled haste to do every thing at once,-to finish to-day what should have been done yesterday, and to gather up the residue of many delays, that he never has time to do any thing well. The first cure for this is to learn to be self-dependent. We must indeed be to some extent controlled by circumstances, but we must also learn to make them subservient to our plans; and to do what should and must be done in spite of obstacles. "You will often," says Foster, "see a person anxiously hesitating a long time between different, or opposite determinations, though impatient of the pain of such a state, and ashamed of its debility. A faint impulse of preference alternates toward the one, and toward the other; and the mind, while thus held in a trembling balance, is vexed that it cannot get some new thought, or feeling, or motive, that it has not more sense, more resolution, more of any thing that would save it from envying even the decisive instinct of brutes. It wishes that any circumstance might happen, or any person might appear, that could deliver it from the miserable suspense.

"In many instances, when a determination is adopted, it is frustrated by this indecision. A man, for example, resolves to make a journey to-morrow, which he is not under an absolute necessity to make, but the inducements appear,