text:  Oh why had he overwhelmed himself with partners--why had he married--why had he taken upon himself the responsibility of his parent's debts--why had he not explained every thing when he might have done it with honour and advantage--why had he not relied upon his own integrity--and why had he attempted with cunning and duplicity to overreach his neighbours? Why oh why had he done all this? When Michael was fairly hemmed in by his difficulties and as it is vulgarly said had not a leg to stand upon or a hole to creep through then and not till then did he put these various questions to himself; and since it is somewhat singular that so shrewd a man should have waited until the last moment to put queries of such vast importance to himself I shall dwell here for one brief moment on the fact be it only to remind and to warn others equally shrewd and equally clever of the mischief they are doing when they postpone the consideration of their motives and acts until motives and acts both have brought them into a distress out of which all their consideration will not move them an inch