THE MERCHANT'S DREAM. 149

 

prived of many comforts, of many delights.
The agriculturalist, the manufacturer, the
merchant, the artisan—all who are en-
gaged in the various callings that minister
to the wants, the comforts, and the luxu-
ries of life, are honourably employed. So-
ciety, in all its parts, is held together by
mutual interests. A chain of dependencies
binds the whole world together. Sever a
single link, and you affect the whole.
Look below you. As a merchant, your po-
sition is intermediate between the producer
and the consumer. See how many hun-
dreds are blessed with the reception of na-
ture’s rich benefits through your means.
Could this take place, if you sought only
after abstract truth, in idle, dreamy mus-
ings? Cease, then, to chafe yourself by
fallacious reasonings. Rather learn to feel
delight in the consciousness that you are
the means of diffusing around you many
blessings. Think not of the gold you are
to gain, as the end of your activity; for so
far as you do this, you will lose the true