“Well, but my dear fellow,” commenced the merchant.
“Don’t ‘well but,’ and ‘dear fellow’ me,” interrupted the Entity, “the war that laid the foundation of your fortunes was my doing. You must admit that I made you or I am done with you.”
“I will not admit anything of the kind,” hotly replied the merchant.
Immediately the Entity became invisible. His sudden disappearance rather shook the self-confidence of the merchant, but a few hundred thousand makes a man very brave and assertive.
The merchant thought no more of his experience till he went to his office and discovered that his trusted manager had eloped with his daughter after having used up various negotiable securities. Then something seemed to tell the merchant that Circumstances had to be taken into consideration. And more lessons were forthcoming, for Circumstances altered so many cases that the merchant did not expect to be altered that he was finally reduced to his undershirt and trousers again. The front door of the merchant’s house banged furiously and the merchant awoke to the fact that he had been dozing on the lounge of his own comfortable library with the cat asleep on his chest.
He patted and stroked the cat kindly and thought a few thoughts that did him a great deal of good.
When the merchant’s cat had kittens, the one that was not drowned was christened Circumstance.
It is an honest church that pays taxes.