I implore you to believe that I never knew of them till now." "I am glad to believe it," said the merchant; "but you have done much to substantiate them.

You have appeared in a circle and incurred expenses which were alike unsuited to your position and your fortune." Anton felt that he would greatly prefer the centre of the earth to its surface.

At length he cried, "I know it--you are right--nay, I knew it all the time; and especially since I found that I had run into debt"-- here the merchant smiled almost imperceptibly--"I have felt that I was on the wrong road altogether, though I did not know how to retrace my steps.

But now I will lose no more time." "Was it not Fink who introduced you to that circle?
Perhaps," said the merchant, "he may be able to throw some light on the affair." "Allow me to call him," said Anton, "and let him be witness as to whether I knew of this." "Certainly, if it be any satisfaction to you;" and Fink was summoned.

On entering, he looked with astonishment at Anton's excited aspect, and cried, without particularly heeding the principal's presence, "The devil! you have been weeping!" "Over calumnies," said the merchant, gravely, "which affect his own character as a respectable man of business, and the honor of his family." And he proceeded to state the whole affair.
"He is quite innocent," said Fink, good-naturedly: "innocent and harmless as the violet that blows in the shade.