Desk and Debit; Or, The Catastrophes of a Clerk
                        
                     
                                                         
                
                    Desk and Debit; Or, The Catastrophes of a Clerk
                                            
                            By Oliver Optic
                            
                                16 Nov, 2019                            
                            
                         
                                        
                                                                        "Desk and Debit" is the third of "The Upward and Onward Series," in which Phil Farringford appears as a clerk. The principal events of the story are located in Chicago and on Lake Michigan—the latter, perhaps, because the author finds it quite impo
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                                                "Desk and Debit" is the third of "The Upward and Onward Series," in which Phil Farringford appears as a clerk. The principal events of the story are located in Chicago and on Lake Michigan—the latter, perhaps, because the author finds it quite impossible to write a story without a boat, which also involves the necessity of a broad sheet of water or a long river. In this, as in its predecessors, evil-minded characters are introduced, to show the contrast between vice and virtue; but the hero, in whom the sympathies of the reader are supposed to be centered, is still faithful to his Christian duties, still reads his Bible, and "prays without ceasing."
Young and old are injured only by the precept and example of those whom they love, respect, or admire; and the writer has no fear that his readers will love, respect, or admire Charles Whippleton or Ben Waterford, or that they will fail to condemn their errors and their vices. The author hopes and expects that his young friends, while they follow Phil in his exciting experience in the counting-room, and in the "Marian" on Lake Michigan, will love and respect his virtues as well as his courage and resolution. Less