“Feb。15CompromisedthecaseofMr。Snap。AmountenteredinJournalfiftycentswhichsee。
“Feb。16。Castbythatruffian，Gruff，whomademeapresentoffivedollars。Costsofsuit，fourdollarsandtwenty-fivecents。Nettprofit，seeJournal，-seventy-fivecents。”
Now，hereisacleargain，inaverybriefperiod，ofnolessthanonedollarandtwenty-fivecentsthisisinthemerecasesofSnapandGruff；andIsolemnlyassurethereaderthattheseextractsaretakenatrandomfrommyDay-Book。
It’sanoldsaying，andatrueone，however，thatmoneyisnothingincomparisonwithhealth。Ifoundtheexactionsoftheprofessionsomewhattoomuchformydelicatestateofbody；and，discovering，atlast，thatIwasknockedalloutofshape，sothatIdidn’tknowverywellwhattomakeofthematter，andsothatmyfriends，whentheymetmeinthestreet，couldn’ttellthatIwasPeterProffitatall，itoccurredtomethatthebestexpedientIcouldadoptwastoaltermylineofbusiness。Iturnedmyattention，therefore，toMud-Dabbling，andcontinueditforsomeyears。
Theworstofthisoccupationis，thattoomanypeopletakeafancytoit，andthecompetitionisinconsequenceexcessive。Everyignoramusofafellowwhofindsthathehasn’tbrainsinsufficientquantitytomakehiswayasawalkingadvertiser，oraneye-soreprig，orasalt-and-batterman，thinks，ofcourse，thathe’llanswerverywellasadabblerofmud。Butthereneverwasentertainedamoreerroneousideathanthatitrequiresnobrainstomud-dabble。Especially，thereisnothingtobemadeinthiswaywithoutmethod。Ididonlyaretailbusinessmyself，butmyoldhabitsofsystemcarriedmeswimminglyalong。Iselectedmystreet-crossing，inthefirstplace，withgreatdeliberation，andIneverputdownabroominanypartofthetownbutthat。Itookcare，too，tohaveanicelittlepuddleathand，whichIcouldgetatinaminute。BythesemeansIgottobewellknownasamantobetrusted；andthisisone-halfthebattle，letmetellyou，intrade。Nobodyeverfailedtopitchmeacopper，andgotovermycrossingwithacleanpairofpantaloons。And，asmybusinesshabits，inthisrespect，weresufficientlyunderstood，Inevermetwithanyattemptatimposition。Iwouldn’thaveputupwithit，ifI