Then a newspaper said that these shares were the
greatest rubbish that had ever been imposed upon the English public, and
Ernest could stand it no longer, so he sold out, again this time against
Pryer's advice, so that when they went up, as they shortly did, Pryer
scored off Ernest a second time.
Ernest was not used to vicissitudes of this kind, and they made him so
anxious that his health was affected. It was arranged therefore that he
had better know nothing of what was being done. Pryer was a much better
man of business than he was, and would see to it all. This relieved
Ernest of a good deal of trouble, and was better after all for the
investments themselves; for, as Pryer justly said, a man must not have a
faint heart if he hopes to succeed in buying and selling upon the Stock
Exchange, and seeing Ernest nervous made Pryer nervous too--at least, he
said it did. So the money drifted more and more into Pryer's hands. As
for Pryer himself, he had nothing but his curacy and a small allowance
from his father.
Some of Ernest's old friends got an inkling from his letters of what he
was doing, and did their utmost to dissuade him, but he was as infatuated
as a young lover of two and twenty.
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