His whole conversation was touching handsome operations in trade; and not a day passed in which he had not some story of gains to tell.

Yet, with all his heavy accumulations, he was always engaged in money raising, and his line of discounts was enormous.

Such a thing as proper attention to business was almost out of the question, for nearly his whole time was taken up in financiering--and some of his financial schemes were on a pretty grand scale.

Watson, on the other hand, had kept plodding along in the old way, making his regular business purchases, and gradually extending his operations, as his profits, changing into capital, enabled him to do so.

He was not anxious to get rich fast; at least, not so anxious as to suffer himself to be tempted from a safe and prudent course; and was, therefore, content to do well.