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If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: A Week in Wall Street - By One who Knows - -Author: Frederick Jackson - -Release Date: May 3, 2020 [EBook #62012] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A WEEK IN WALL STREET *** - - - - -Produced by Quentin Campbell and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - -The eponymous street of the title appears in three guises: -“wall-street” (once), “Wall Street” (twice) and most commonly -“Wall-street”. - -“Mr. Jacob Broker opened an office near the wall-street”, describing -the street built on land where the old city wall was knocked down. -His descendant brokers, the author writes, have “since congregated -in the region round about Wall Street”, the name which is also used -in the book’s title. In all other places in the text it appears as -“Wall-street”. - -In the text that follows, italic text is denoted by _underscores_ -around the text. Small capitals in the printed works have been -transcribed as ALL CAPITALS. - -See the end of this document for a full list of corrections and changes. - - - * * * * * - - - - - A WEEK - - IN - - WALL STREET. - - BY - - ONE WHO KNOWS - - - NEW-YORK: - PUBLISHED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS. - - 1841. - - - - - Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1841, - BY FREDERICK JACKSON, - In the Clerk’s office of District Court of the Southern District of - New-York. - - - - - TABLE OF CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I.—Introduction—The origin of Joint Stock - Companies, and Brokers. - - CHAPTER II.—The History of the Morrison Kennel—Nicholas - the 1st.—A Stock Speculation. - - CHAPTER III.—State Stocks—History of the Morrison Kennel - continued—Introduction of new characters—The - U. S. Bank. - - CHAPTER IV.—How Stocks are bought and sold—How Brokers get - out of a bad Speculation—How money is sometimes - made by doing a losing business—How Discounts - are made and obtained. - - CHAPTER V.—The Defaulter. - - CHAPTER VI.—A Panic. - - - - - PREFACE. - - -The following pages were written during leisure hours of the last six -or eight weeks, of which “the times” have thrown rather too many upon -the writer’s hands; and the statement of this fact, I conceive to be a -tacit admission, that such hours might have been better employed. - -They were originally composed for the writer’s own amusement; to -beguile the tediousness of otherwise idle time. And not the least -motive for this indulgence was a desire to abstract the mind from too -near a contemplation of the dark side of that picture, which I have -described as a panic. They were not written in the first place, with -any view to publication, but as each chapter was successively read in -the presence of friends, and principally for amusement, those friends -at length advised their publication; and with their advice they have -been submitted to the press, in the original manuscript, almost without -correction. - -The writer has no claims to literary qualifications, and of course he -seeks no reward of literary reputation. Were it otherwise the reader -would at once convict him of his presumption. - -Those persons who are acquainted with the business of Wall-street, -will be able to judge for themselves of the truth of the descriptions; -and those who have not that opportunity of judging, are respectfully -requested to consider the reflections and moralizing, occasionally -introduced, as made in seriousness, and the rest as the truth in -burlesque. - -That there is existing, at the present time, a demoralised condition of -principle, feeling, and practice, pervading the country throughout, in -regard to pecuniary transactions and engagements, deserving a severe -castigation, will not I believe be denied by any one; and for the -vindication of good faith and honesty, the writer could wish that the -subject had been taken in hand, by some one more skilful than himself -in the use of the scourge. - -The proper correction of public morals is public opinion; but so long -as public opinion is indifferent to the innovations that have grown -up, and so long as pecuniary credit, and the posts of honor, trust and -profit, are so frequently accorded to the most successful in their -negotiations or their intrigues, without regard to the principles, or -practices, that have placed them where they are—so long we may expect -nothing but the increase of those mischiefs, of which so many now -complain. - -I confess, that were I to write the same pages over again, with a view -to publication, I would alter, amend, and expunge much that is here. -But as I am now engaged in something that will afford more pleasure -in its pursuit, and more profit if attained, I have not time for this -purpose at present. And since the present is a time, when men’s minds -are alive to the subjects which I have endeavored to bring out in -ridicule, I submit the whole for what it is worth. - -The introduction of vulgar wit may serve to amuse some, but it is not -a passport to men’s good sense; and, although it may sometimes make a -book sell, it is not, in my opinion, the best way to convince of the -truth. And the only excuse for indulging in it is, that the subjects -of remark, and the slang frequent in Wall-street, are not of that -character which cultivate the delicate sensibilities—nor can they be -pourtrayed to the life, by such language or figures, as should grace -the conversation and writings of a gentleman. - -The practice of making a book personal, is, and ought to be condemned; -and, if it is objected that, in this, I have called persons by their -right names, or pointed too clearly at individuals, the answer is, -that, except in the case of one martial spirit, the notable Major -Downing,[1] whom I have shorn of a little of his patriotism and -courage, I have in “no instance made allusions which have not been -directly applied, and treated with much greater asperity, by all -the newspapers of the day.” And this fact, I conceive, has given me -licence, since it would be folly to wing a shaft of invective or -ridicule, if it aimed at no object. - -The major, I must suppose, will not consider himself aggrieved, -because, from his position, he was the only person whom I could -conveniently make tributary to the information I wish to give; -and, since he has so often asserted his courage, without fairly -acknowledging his identity, he has no cause to complain at being -assailed on that point. - -The remark will generally hold true, that whatever requires to be -explained, or excused, is always wrong; but, in this case, I think it -will not apply. I would therefore be understood as excusing only the -faults of the book, and not the object at which it is aimed. - -And, lastly, the writer cannot help saying that, in the face of -the trite remark that, “those who live in glass houses should not -throw stones,” he will not deny, that, in the expressive language of -Wall-street, he has himself been “flunked;” and, with this candid -acknowledgement, which will, perhaps, satisfactorily account for -the production of the book, in the minds of those who may please to -consider it an effusion of spleen,—he subscribes himself— - - Respectfully, - THE AUTHOR. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] We intend to refer to Major 2nd., the bosom friend of General -Jackson, not the original major, down east. - - - - -N. B. It is perceived that a considerable number of errors have escaped -notice and correction, in the following pages; but as they affect only -the orthography and the grammar, without detracting from the truth, -or the moral of the story, I have thought it best to leave their -correction to the intelligent and good humored reader, rather than mar -a page with a formidable list of errata—except, that, in one instance, -as a mere friendly suggestion, I would request the substitution, on -129th page, 7th line, of “_stewardship_” for “_friendship_.” - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - INTRODUCTION.—THE ORIGIN OF JOINT STOCK COMPANIES AND BROKERS. - - -As the practice of some readers is to begin in the middle and read a -book backwards, I respectfully request those who may open here, to -begin at the beginning and read the preface first. In case of any -captiousness of disposition on their parts, they may thereby save -themselves a good deal of ill nature, and quarrelling with the author. -But if any one is perverse, and chooses to go on without taking my -advice, I will not hold myself accountable for the preservation of his -temper, nor even of this book; for I am not sure but he may throw it -in the fire, before he gets through the first or second chapter. But, -should he even persevere and go through, until he receives my parting -“salaam,” still I request him to turn back and read the preface, that -he may see what the writer thinks of his own book. - - HOW BOOKS ARE WONT TO BE MADE. - -It is usual with authors, in the outset of their story, to introduce -to their readers their Hero and Heroine, with elaborate descriptions -of their persons, manners, habits, dress, &c. &c.; all of which is -intended, either to prepare the reader’s mind for the very interesting -positions which these personages are designed to fill, or to amuse -those who are fond of that kind of portraiture. But in this history of -“a week in Wall-street,” there is neither hero nor heroine, but a great -number and variety of characters, each of whom lives out his sunny -hour, and passes again into oblivion. Some there are, it is true, who, -from a crawling worm, pass into a chrysalis, and appear to be dead for -a time, not only to revive again with new life and beauty, but to soar -a lofty height into the world of fashion, and boast the gayest plumage -among those who float on the wind of fortune’s fickle favors. - -The veritable history of Diedrich Knickerbocker was not a truer -story than is every whit of this history of “a week in Wall-street;” -but alas for the mutations in all human affairs!—a sad change has -come over the waking dreams of the inhabitants of this goodly city, -since the days when Petrus Stuyvesant surrendered the government of -Niew-Amsterdam to the conquest-loving Briton. - - HOW NEW-YORK BECAME SO POPULOUS. - -From that day, when first its name was changed to New-York, it has not -ceased to be overrun by the stragglers from every country and clime, -but especially by those cunning vagabonds from Connecticut, and her -sister states, who had well nigh taken in their toils the venerable -Petrus and his jolly trumpeter, Antony. And they have now trodden down, -or overturned, every remnant of social order, that was so remarkable -in the time of the honest Dutchman. In one respect, at least, these -interlopers seem to be the favored of heaven—for their seed has -multiplied as the sands on the sea shore; and it is shrewdly suspected, -by some, that the gambols of the cunning Antony with the lasses of -New-Haven, in his famous journey thither, may have had some hand in -this, since never was a people known who could blow the trumpet of -their own fame, better than these same descendants from the colony of -New-Haven. - - THE OLD WALL BROKEN DOWN. - -From their love of continual change—which they call improvement—they -had no sooner gained a footing in the city, than they persuaded the -honest Dutchmen to break down the _city wall_, which had hitherto -prevented them from robbing the cabbage garden or tapping the hollands -of the rich burghers, and which, some have said, was erected partly -to prevent their too frequent solace of themselves with the softer -beauties concealed by close caps and short petticoats. And they further -persuaded them to convert the ground into a street, thence called -“Wall-street;” which, being the scene of their first victory over that -prejudice which prefers to keep folks honest when they are so, has -ever since continued to be the focus of all enterprises undertaken -for one’s own benefit, to be accomplished by other peoples’ means. -And it is even said, that the projectors of this work, in reality, -designed only to gain for themselves unobstructed access to the good -living, and the pretty damsels, of Niew-Amsterdam, now New-York. Want -of means themselves to perform so great a work, first suggested to -them the idea of a Stock Company, for objects of public improvement; -the principal virtue of which is, to replenish the fortunes of those -who plan and conduct it, as is more than suspected, since most of the -money generally stops short of its intended application, and can only -be accounted for by mistakes in the original estimates, or expenses -preliminary to the commencement of the real work. - - MR. SOLOMON SINGLE-EYE. - -The good Dutchmen at first looked astonished at a project so bold and -vast; they next smoked a pipe and doubted; but on an explanation being -given by Mr. Solomon Single-Eye, of all its advantages, accompanied -with a prompt offer to embark HIS _whole fortune_, and give his -services for nothing, the shares were eagerly caught up. And as the -scheme rose in public estimation, the shares rose in nominal value, -greatly above their subscription price; and such was the clamor for -more, that the directors—having nothing in view but the public -good—disinterestedly consented to sell out theirs at an advance of -only seventy-five per cent., in order to appease public opinion, -in respect of their apparent partiality in having retained any for -themselves. Still, however, the inquiry for shares was eager and -constant, so great was the public confidence in the integrity and -shrewdness of the directors, and of Mr. Single-Eye, particularly. - -At this juncture, Mr. Jacob Broker opened an office near the -wall-street, that was to be, for the sale and purchase of shares. - - MR. JACOB BROKER. - -Mr. Broker was a man of great shrewdness and penetration. His -education, to be sure, had been somewhat neglected, having been -superintended in his youth by a strolling professor of the “black -art,” whom to follow, he ran away from home at the age of fourteen. -But his genius was of that universal kind which all men desire and but -few possess—and hence the facility with which he adapted himself to -his new employment. His initiation into the black art now stood him -instead of capital, and made it easy for him to convince the honest -Dutchmen of his power to turn “metals of drossiest ore to purest gold.” -To him, therefore, they all went, whether to buy or to sell shares -in the Wall-street Stock Company. And as he had often learned by the -sad vicissitudes of life, the necessity of turning an honest penny -for himself, he reasoned as all philosophers would do in the same -circumstances, “that if he took not the tide of fortune at its flood, -he might again suffer under the same unhappy conviction.” In other -words, he thought, and acted accordingly, that if he did not embrace -the opportunity to improve his fortune when it offered, it might -never present itself again. He shrewdly guessed that he might greatly -aid the rise in the value of the shares by appearing to be _entirely -disinterested_—while at the same time he contrived, generally, to be -the real purchaser when people employed him to sell, and the seller -when they employed him to buy: by which means, as the stock gradually -rose in the market,—the commission being considerable, the profit -more—and as he bought and sold the whole number of shares several -times over, he was enabled to abstract from the pockets of the honest -Dutchmen and placing it in his own, in solid cash, nearly the whole -amount of the nominal rise in value on all the shares. - - HONESTY AND DISINTERESTEDNESS. - -He was of course a man of substance, made so by his wits, and at the -expense of the burghers of New-York. - -That he was a strictly honest man, is quite certain; for his old -master of the “black art” is known to have said, that when he paid -him a secret visit, and suggested the propriety of manufacturing -a few certificates of shares, to meet the urgency of demand, Jacob -replied, that “if detected it would spoil the profits of his trade, and -therefore, in honor, he could not consent to the proposal.” - -He honestly paid his debts, also, for the same reason, and as a man of -public spirit, lent his means to assist in building the “old jail,” to -confine all those rogues in, who could not pay theirs. - - PRINCIPLES OF TRADE. - -To be sure, he acted on the principle that there is no friendship in -trade, and that a bargain is a bargain, however made, and must be -fulfilled. What if his customers _did_ pay him a commission? he sold -only his services, not his wits; and them he had a right to use for -his own benefit. He had long since learned, in his profession of the -“black art,” that the measure of success depended on the closeness of -his secret, and if people did not know his arts, he thought it but -right that they should pay for being amused by them; and following this -mode of reasoning, in the scale of progression upward to the higher -sciences, he judged rightly, “that if people were ignorant they must -pay for instruction.” - - MORAL REFLECTIONS. - -Skilfulness in trade was, in his opinion, justly placed at the head of -moral science, of which he had now become a professor; and why should -he be expected to impart what he knew without a “quid pro quo?” Not he; -but rather following the plain dictates of wisdom, he would learn all -he could, and impart nothing. - -If he knew better how to make a bargain than his customers did, that -was their fault, not his. People should look before they leap, and look -too with their own eyes, not attempt to borrow his; they should know -his mode of business before they came to him; not come and complain -afterwards. - -These reflections while they clearly show the astuteness of his -mind, also suggest the reasons why stock rose rapidly; and point -out the means by which Mr. Broker pocketed nearly all the advance -himself,—without ever retaining more than ten shares in his hands at -any one time. - -In time Mr. Broker became a sage, and, as a fruit of his wisdom, left -behind him a code of laws which have ever since been the standard of -Wall-street. - - VIRTUE OF CORPORATIONS. - -We shall have frequent occasion to refer to points in this code, -but, for the present, will only mention, that he improved upon the -great Lacedemonian, who is said to have made a law that placed the -crime of stealing only in detection—Mr. Broker placed it only in the -punishment. It was of no consequence that a man should be found out -in his roguery—that only established his character for shrewdness—a -word of modern coinage, which some silly and old fashioned people have -supposed to be, only a mitigated term for dishonesty. He never became -a criminal until the law reached him with punishment; and the merit of -his character, as well as the measure of his success, depended entirely -on the length he could go, and the frequency of his exploits, and still -escape the lash of the law.—And herein is seen the peculiar virtue -and particular wisdom of those contrivances called Corporations, and -Joint Stock Companies, of which Mr. Broker was a great encourager. An -ingenious device, wherein an imaginary body alone is made accountable -for the acts of its members; while the real actors may hide behind it, -as long as it has power to protect them, and scamper off without fear, -when it has not. It has also this peculiar property, that, when the -directors have taken to their heels, like the ignis-fatuus, the farther -you pursue it the farther it recedes; and he who follows it long will, -very likely, get stuck in the swamp from whose foul vapours it has been -generated: and, at most, if fairly got hold of, it is never found to -consist of any thing more than a worthless bit of parchment. - - DISCOVERY IN NATURAL HISTORY. - -We have said that Mr. Broker was a man of universal genius. In proof of -which, he essentially improved the vocabulary of English; and in two -particulars, conclusively shew that Johnson and Buffon are in error, -viz.—that a Bear means a man who has no shares in the Stocks—one -stripped—in an em-bar-assed condition, and that a Bull means a man -who has more shares than he can keep, and has gored his neighbour to -procure them. - -His was the first Broker’s office ever established in the city of -New York; and from him have descended all the race of brokers which -have since congregated in the region round about Wall Street. Whether -his posterity have answered Dr. Johnson’s[2] definition of the word -broker, viz: “A negotiator between two parties who contrives to cheat -both,” will be seen in the course of this history. - - SIMPLICITY OF THE GOVERNMENT. - -When the gallant Col. Nicholls had, in the name of the crown of Great -Britain, taken full possession of the city and territory of New -Amsterdam, and bestowed upon it the name of his patron the Duke of -York; by way of conciliating the Burghers, he left them undisturbed -in all their civil and domestic privileges, without embarrassing them -with the intricacies of British laws. And in those days of simple -legislation, the government had not yet learned the way to purchase -power, and make people dishonest, by selling corporate privileges. And -demagogues had not yet learned to claim the monopoly, as a reward for -their intrigues. Consequently, Mr. Single-Eye, and his coadjutors in -the matter of the Wall-street Stock Company, had the power of fixing -things all their own way; that is, they made all their own laws, -rules, and regulations, without let or hindrance of any kind. And so -ingeniously were they contrived, that, by their natural operation, the -money which came in by subscription, all leaked out again exactly at -the right place and at the right time. Since that time, the wisdom of -the Legislators of most of the states has decreed, that people shall -not associate in bodies for purposes of roguery, without first buying -a licence; and, under the name of Charters, they will sell licences to -cheat the public, as the Pope sells plenary indulgences, to replenish a -wasted Treasury, (_vide the great state of Pennsylvania and the U. S. -Bank._) - - WHAT A DIRECTOR SHOULD BE. - -It is worthy of remark and imitation, that neither the president nor -the cashier of the Wall-street Stock Company ever ran away with a -dollar of their money; so rigid a _surveillance_ did Mr. Single-Eye -keep over its affairs. Although nothing but a director himself, he -held the true doctrine, that directors should really be the head of an -institution, and that the president and cashier were merely heads of -the clerks. Mr. Single-Eye was moreover of opinion, that it was better -for a director to hustle the money into his own pocket, and make sure -of the gain, than to suffer another to do it, and incur the odium -himself. To be sure, he was somewhat at variance with Mr. Broker on -this point, but Single-Eye had the power, and there is nothing like -that for enforcing a good reason. - - DEGENERACY OF OUR DAYS. - -And here I cannot forbear to remark on the degeneracy of these days, -when directors so often give up all management to the presidents and -cashiers, thus leading them into temptation, and provoking them to -do that, which they might do themselves with greater safety, because -they are less immediately responsible. Alas! how many men, with their -families, have been ruined by this cruel lack of vigilance. - -I should not have said so much on the origin of stock companies -and brokers, but that I thought it necessary, to a more perfect -understanding of what shall follow. Having said so much, it is proper -that I should make known the fate of this first attempt at stock -jobbing. And it is especially necessary that I should do so, for the -benefit of those widows and orphans, who have any doubts about the -entire safety of investing their little fortunes in the like securities. - -Every body has read of the severe reproof once administered, by a -Spanish lady, to a gentleman who complained of the indelicacy of their -statuary. She told him that, had his own mind been pure, he would -never have discovered indelicacy in what was “true to nature.” - - STOCK COMPANIES. - -It is well known that stock companies, such as banks, insurance -companies, trust companies, and the like, are got up entirely by -disinterested men, for the purpose of affording an opportunity for -ladies of a “certain age,” widows, and orphans, to invest what little -funds they have in safety, with the certainty of a _moderate_ income. -Accordingly, whenever a company is started, and the stock _all_ -subscribed for by the managers, this class of people are particularly -favored, in being permitted to purchase some shares at a trifling -premium of ten or fifteen per cent., and urged to take an interest -before they shall go higher. And then, after two or three years’ -refusal to make any dividend, for fear they might spend it imprudently, -the same gentlemen who sold the stock, are willing to buy it back -again at a discount of only fifty per cent.; and the poor spinster is -perfectly satisfied of the safety of her investment, because, having -once parted with the money, she can never get it back again. This class -of stockholders are also particularly favored and acceptable, because -they never want to borrow, and never find fault with the management; -and if, by chance, they should suspect themselves to be badly used, a -tear shed in secret is the only complaint they ever make. - - EVIL TO HIM WHO EVIL THINKS. - -I will lay it down as a rule, therefore, that whoever distrusts the -integrity and good intentions of those gentlemen, who get up a stock -company, and collect within its vaults the widow’s mite and the -orphan’s support, is no better than the gentleman before alluded to, -whose perversion of the luxuries of taste flowed from the impurity of -his own mind. - - A DIRECTOR A WEASLE. - -Whenever any company is attempted to be established for purposes of -public improvement, it is always a prerequisite of success, that in -the programme, the expense should be set down at one half, and the -profits and advantages at double—and this mode of stating things, -although it varies from the actual result only three hundred per -cent., is sure to convince, and the public will eagerly catch at the -enterprise. The reason of this necessity is, that if the truth were -told in the first place, there would be little chance for management -in the stock, and none whatever of its being all taken up. But by this -_shrewd_ management, it generally happens that an original subscriber, -after having paid up in full his subscription, and two or three -assessments beyond, loses all confidence, and suffers all he has paid -to be forfeited to the company, rather than pay more. Thus the original -subscribers generally lose all their money; the stock is resold by -the company to some new comer, and the company, in the end, collect a -million capital upon a subscription of half that amount. And whoever -subscribes to a new fashioned bank, or a railroad, and does not find -the directors awake to this management, may hereafter say with truth -that he has caught a weasle asleep—there being no other difference -whatever in the vermin, than is expressed by the simple affixes _bi_ -and _quadru_. - -Such was the character of Mr. Single-Eye, of the Wall-street Stock -Company; and the number of similar institutions which now display their -gilded signs there by the same means, can only be told by multiplying -some of the numericals. - -It so happened, however, that the Dutchmen, from their natural -stupidity and ingratitude, as Mr. Single-Eye averred—but, as some -suppose, from some lurking doubts of his virtue, and a spice of his -own cunning—after having paid seventy-five per cent. premium for their -stock, through the agency of Mr. Broker—could not be convinced of the -propriety of paying more in the shape of assessments, notwithstanding -Mr. Single-Eye, and his partners in the directorship, assured them that -all was right, and that the money had all been properly expended. - - COMMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION. - -A committee of examination into the company’s affairs was therefore -appointed; whereupon Mr. Single-Eye, being grieved at such indignity -offered to his honor, took the “book of minutes” and walked off, -leaving the Dutchmen in a state of “confusion worse confounded,” from -which they never recovered: thereby establishing a precedent for the -tragedy lately enacted in the Water Works Bank, in this city—wherein, -if the directors of that institution had consulted the ancient -chronicles, they would never have tried to cover their own delinquency, -by a contemptible persecution of their late venerable cashier. - -The committee of examination, without waiting to come to their senses, -adjourned “sine die.” The city wall had been broken down, and its -materials were all scattered about in delightful confusion. A complete -inroad had been made on the hitherto peaceful and happy homes of the -Dutchmen. They had lost all the money invested in the company, with the -melancholy satisfaction that it would cost them as much more to clear -away the rubbish; and the street was left to the slow progress of time, -to assume its present magnificent appearance. - - HONORABLE END OF SINGLE-EYE. - -It is remarkable, that such fatal results to the first experiment, -should not have proved a death blow to all similar enterprises in -future. But the Dutchmen overcame their misfortunes by patience and -industry. The memory of their wrongs was all washed away by the -soothing lethe of time, and their follies were all buried in the deep -dark valley of the land of forgetfulness. Mr. Single-Eye, and Mr. -Broker, ever afterwards fared sumptuously every day. They lived long -and died lamented; and the tablet to their memory, lately removed from -the Garden-street church yard, was inscribed with this motto: “Money is -good, fame is good, but to know how to improve the follies of others is -better than either.” And their descendants, learning wisdom from this -law, have ever since continued to follow their example. - - THE MORRISON KENNEL. - -And now, my dear readers, having initiated you into the origin of -stock companies and brokers, as well as the phrase and practice of -Wall-street, in my next chapter I will give you the history of the -“Morrison Kennel”—a company that has exhibited so many of the phases -of human nature, that some have said that “old Nick” must have had a -hand in it. If you expect that the dogs of this Kennel will prove to be -hounds, I will tell you beforehand, that they are the veriest puppies -in cowardice, treachery, and meanness, while they are perfect wolves in -voracity; as will be proved by the perfectly denuded bones of the dead -but stall-fed ass, which they have just forsaken. - -If any one is curious to know from whence I got all this information, -I will tell him. I received it from a venerable chronicler of the -age, who has the old manuscript in his possession, and who now visits -Wall-street daily to mark the passing events. He has agreed to meet -me there every day for a week, where he will reveal to me the history -aforesaid, and such other matters as his experience and observation may -suggest. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[2] See Boswell’s posthumous edition. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE HISTORY OF THE MORRISON KENNEL—NICHOLAS THE 1ST—A STOCK - SPECULATION, &C. - - -It is a pleasure which comes gratefully home to the heart, when -contemplating the picture of human life, in whatever grade of society -or condition we view it, amongst the multitude that flit by us, -occasionally to see a being that stands out in bold and bright relief -to its dark shades. - -On the second day of my visit to Wall-street, while sitting with my -venerable friend, the old gentleman, pointing to the street asked, -“do you see that man.”—“Yes,” I answered, “and I know him; he is a -man of honor, such as honor should be considered,—one of nature’s -noblemen; his word is as good as his bond, and his friendship is better -than either. He pays his debts because he promises, lends to oblige -his neighbor, and gives to benefit the receiver—he tells the truth -because it is right, and cheats nobody because it would be wrong. -He has gradually risen in wealth and credit, has the confidence of -every body, and amidst all the slime and filth that surround him, his -character stands untouched and unsullied by its poison.” - - ONE HONEST MAN IN WALL-STREET. - -He may be seen every day, at half past ten, going to the stock -exchange, with a book under his arm; and may be known by the breadth of -his foot, the swing of his legs, and the weight of his bottom. He will -occasionally appear in the course of this history, under the name of -Mr. Bottomly, and I hope his conduct will vindicate my description of -his character. - -The old gentleman heard my remarks with apparent consent and pleasure, -which were indicated by a smile of satisfaction peculiar to himself; -but my silence was immediately commanded by a significant nod, with -a gesture of the hand, as much as to say “there are some things -however in Wall-street, which I know better than you do,” and he then -proceeded, agreeably to promise, to relate the history of the Morrison -Kennel. - - THE VALUE OF A NAME. - -The garrulity peculiar to men of his age, must excuse the frequent -introduction of remarks foreign to the narrative; and when I tell -my readers, that my friend is a man of deep reflection and high -toned moral sentiment, as well as acute observation, they will not -be surprised at his occasional illustration of fact by reference to -principle. - -“The practice of the aborigines of this country,” said he, “of giving -names to men and things, indicative of their qualities and exploits, is -well considered savage. Since the day when the poet first propounded -the question ‘what’s in a name?’ mere moralists have been at fault. But -modern practical skill has discovered that there is much; and it was -left for the originators of the Morrison Kennel, to find out the best -use that could be made of it, viz: that it may be made to cover one -purpose under color of another—may gain credit for what it is not, and -shield from detection what it really is, or may gull a State with the -promise of improvement, and cheat the people of their money for their -credulity. In short, the advantages to a stock company of a judicious -choice of a name, are incalculable; not the least of which arises -from properly compounding it, so as to mean more things than one, as -the Morrison Kennel and Banking Company. One peculiar advantage of -this last is, that as the projectors are not always certain what they -will do, but intend to be governed by their success, they are thereby -enabled to shift their course to suit the breeze.” - - WHY THIS WAS CALLED KENNEL. - -“This company would probably never have attained the _soubriquet_ of -Kennel, a mere play upon the original sound, but for the remarkable -financial talents of Nicholas the 1st, profanely called old Nick, in -the first place, and its employment afterwards to help to hold up the -sides of the great bull dog of Pennsylvania, ycleped the U. S. Bank, -who had grown so weak from disease, that it was feared, without such -aid, his attempt to bark, would prove a concussion of air from the -wrong orifice. In other words it was feared, that without collateral -support, the first resumption would _not_ last as long as the second -_did_. - -“The circumstances which called into activity the financial talents -of Nicholas, deserve a particular notice, as they have an important -bearing on this history. And for that purpose, I must introduce to -you a gentleman well known in Wall-street; of amiable disposition, -gentlemanly deportment and honorable connections. His person may be -known from his resemblance to king Saul, being taller, by the head, -than any of his tribe of brokers, and, as he bears the appellative of -an immortalized Friend, and the signification will be descriptive of -his character, I will call him Mr. Friendly.” - - MR. FRIENDLY AND HIS APPETITE. - -“The only thing remarkable about this gentleman is, his extraordinary -appetite; from which, taken with his slender proportions, it has been -inferred by some, that, like the bird most avoided by sportsmen, his -alimentary canal consists only of a straight passage; for he has been -known to gorge and digest more stocks in one day, than the weight or -bulk of his whole body in the certificates.” - - FRIENDLY’S CAUTION. - -“With this introduction of a part of the ‘dramatis personæ,’—having -already described, with some particularity, the motive for, and the -manner of, getting up stock companies, with such parts of their general -management as can be interesting to the public—I will commence with -the Morrison Kennel, at that point when the causes for the activity -before alluded to commenced, viz: precisely at that time, when the -directors had expended the whole amount of capital subscribed, together -with a loan of seven hundred thousand dollars obtained in Holland, in -digging a ditch through the State of New Jersey, which served little -other purpose than to drown the Jersey farmers’ pigs—without any -one of the said directors having cleared more than fifty thousand -dollars out of the company, by means of contracts or otherwise—when -their credit was exhausted, the stock reduced in market to one fifth -its original cost, and the directors ready, on the first symptom -of alarm, to take to their heels for safety. Then, fortunately for -them, Mr. Friendly, desirous of improving his fortune, which at this -time he found to be in rather a waning condition, formed a scheme of -speculation in the stock, commensurate with the vastness of his own -desires; and, with this view, he began with the caution and finesse -of one who has a game to play. He first ascertained that some of the -directors were still in possession of a considerable amount of the -stock; whom he could, very probably, draw to his own interest by -endeavoring to aid them; and he then proceeded to the office of Mr. -Bottomly.” - - CALLS ON BOTTOMLY. - -“Good morning, John,” said he, “how are you?” - -“Pretty well Dan, how are you?” - -“Hard up.” - -“Hard up,” eh!—“No cornering, I hope”—“No,”—“dull times, no -movements, things are paralysed, very much.” - -Mr. Friendly wished, and was therefore pleased, to find his neighbor -alone. So he sat down without ceremony. And after a variety of common -place remarks, he at length arrived at the point where he should -unburthen himself of his subject. His object was to enlist Mr. Bottomly -in his proposed speculation, and thereby secure his means, his -influence, and his interest in its favor. - -“John,” said he, “the Morrison stock is very low, what do you think of -it?” - -“That it sells for more than it is worth.” - -“That may be, but a thing is worth what it will bring.” - -“The seller always thinks so, but the buyer sometimes finds that he has -paid too dear for the whistle.” - - TWO WISE HEADS TOGETHER. - -“What would you think, John, to see the Morrison at 75.” - -“I should think very strange.” - -“Stranger things have happened though, John. I have a mind to move in -the Morrison, what say you to join me?” - -“What do you propose?” - -“Why, you have the means,—the stock may be had at twenty, and a -hundred thousand dollars would control the whole of it. It must be done -quietly; and then by contracting on time we should have the power to -deliver without loss when we sold; and by making three contracts to -receive to one to deliver, we can make them pay whatever difference we -choose.” - -“That would be too much power to get in our hands, Dan, would it not?” - -“True, it would not answer to trust every man with so much; but in your -hands and mine, I think we would not abuse it.” - -“What amount of exaction do you think would be an abuse of such power?” - -“Why, it would be wrong to take more than two hundred per cent. profit, -unless we got hold of some one who could well afford it.” - -“But that would be using force to appropriate other people’s money to -our own use. I think it would not be justifiable.” - - PLAN CHANGED. - -Mr. Friendly, though not devoid of sound sense and a good judgment, -usually suffered his eagerness for speculation to blind his mind to -every probable result but the glitter of gain. He had never looked -on the subject in this light before. He intended nothing but a “fair -business transaction,” and was desirous that his friend Bottomly should -share in its success. His mind revolted at doing a positive wrong; -he therefore abandoned his plan, but adopted another on the instant, -which though less culpable on his part, was in the end productive of an -equal degree of evil. Always quick and decided in his actions, he said -“well John, you are always right-minded, though you are sometimes wrong -headed, we will say no more of this plan for the present; but I think -well of a speculation, and therefore you shall buy me five hundred -shares to day at ‘the board,’ I will send you in a check for ‘ten up,’ -and the rest we will arrange to-morrow.” - - THE BANK PARLOR. - -Having decided upon his plan of action, Mr. Friendly then immediately, -sought the directors who held stock. Fortunately he found them all in -the bank parlour. They had just been talking over the affairs of the -company, I will not say that they had been discussing its affairs, -for their conversation was like any thing else but a discussion, and -consisted of sundry expletives directed principally against their -predecessors in office. And here let it be remembered, that those -gentlemen, whose ambition had led them to desire such a post of honor, -were but newly installed in their places. And, having purchased stock -to procure their election, with knowing but very little about the real -state of the company’s affairs, they were now unable to get rid of it, -and were lamenting their folly and cursing the authors of it. For be -it known, that their ambition and vanity had been stimulated by their -predecessors before the election, to induce those gentlemen to seek a -post which they wished to abandon themselves, knowing that sooner or -later it would disgrace them. - -Mr. Friendly disclosed his errand at once, and was well received. - - EAVESDROPPERS. - -He said he was apprised of a speculation going on in the stock of the -Morrison; he intended to embark in it—wished them to hold back their -stock, and aid his views in effecting a rise, and he would aid them in -disposing of theirs at the right time. He did not tell them that he was -the sole author of the speculation; he modestly forebore that, under -the plea that he did not feel at liberty to tell all that he knew. But -the directors were almost immediately confirmed in their good opinion -of his knowledge and sagacity, as well as of his intention to do them -a service, by hearing of the large purchases of Mr. Bottomly, at a -considerable advance on the previous market value. - -It is curious, as well as amusing, to see how many and how slight -causes sometimes tend to aid or to frustrate a speculator in his -designs. - -There is a set of proscribed men in Wall-street, who were once -brokers, professionally, and are now broken in reputation, credit and -finances—having no means but what they have kept from their creditors, -and—being expelled from the exchange board for defalcation or bad -conduct—they still linger round their old haunts, and carry on a -system of gambling in what are termed fancy stocks, through which -they contrive occasionally to entrap and empty the purse of some -newcomer, or filch each other of their ill retained means, until each -in his turn gets placed on the “black list,” which is the final seal -of reprobation, and in Wall-street signifies—“that whoever deals with -that man, shall himself not be dealt with by any one.” - - EAVESDROPPERS. - -These gentry may be seen, daily, in squads of three, four, and five, -standing on the side walks, or on the steps of the large offices, -talking vociferously, and making such bids and offers in the funds, as -that one not knowing better, would suppose that each held the finances -of the country in his palm. - -One of them, whom I will call Mr. Eavesdropper, had his ear timidly -placed at the key hole of the Stock Exchange, and heard Mr. Bottomly’s -bids for Morrison, which instantly infused such courage into his -mind, and activity into his limbs, that he went out, and before the -transactions of the board were publicly known, he had privately -contracted for the delivery of a large number of shares; and then, to -aid his purpose in effecting a further rise, gave out that he was in -confidence with John Jacob Astor, or some one no less powerful, who -had determined to buy up the whole company. - - MR. SPRIGGINS. - -As soon as Mr. Friendly had returned to his office from the meeting of -the Board of Brokers, on the day I am speaking of, and, as is common, -had laid open on his outer desk, for public inspection, the record of -the transactions which had there taken place—in which he had carefully -noted all those in the stock of the Morrison—he walked out into the -street, where he encountered Mr. Spriggins, who, contrary to his wont, -for some cause, had not been present at the board that morning. - -Mr. Spriggins is one of those gentlemen, whose conceit of himself -supplies the place of education, manners, and intellect, and he -accosted Mr. Friendly as follows: - -“Dan, what does all this speculation in the Morrison mean?” - -Mr. Friendly, whose polite manners encouraged the freedom of such men -as his friend Bottomly, held in contempt the rudeness of impudence, -and, instead of answering Spriggins, turned on his heel without -noticing him. - - THE FEVER UP. - -Spriggins, who could never imagine the existence of such a feeling -towards a gentleman like himself, attributed this treatment entirely -to another motive; and knowing Mr. Friendly’s speculative character, -he at once imagined that Friendly had a secret that he wished to keep, -and improve for his own benefit, and he immediately resolved in his -own mind to outwit him. Upon this impulse he hurried away to purchase -all the Morrison stock he could get hold of—which he did at a large -advance of price over the purchases of Mr. Bottomly; and when he had -done so, exultingly told Mr. Friendly that he was “not to be come -over.” “But never mind,” said he, “you can keep your secret now, Dan; -but if you are so disposed, as you know what is going on, we will -operate together.” - -Mr. Friendly was not disposed to embrace this offer, liberal as it was, -and maintained such a reserve as excited still further the cupidity of -Spriggins. Meantime, having heard of the operations of Eavesdropper, -Mr. Friendly perceived that he had fairly put the match to a train -that, if properly fed, would lead to an explosion. But he resolved that -before it should happen, he would take good care of himself. - - LOAFERS. - -There is another set of men in Wall-street, which demand my -description. They have neither trade nor profession of any kind, and -if they ever had any, they have abandoned it. Some of them are of -that class called Gentlemen, who have married fortunes and squandered -them—some are broken merchants—some disgraced politicians—defunct -post masters, &c. &c.,—and all of them are Loafers. They have neither -wit enough to contrive, nor credit enough to carry out, a speculation: -but when one has begun, like that I am now describing, they may be -seen flocking in and out of the brokers’ offices—examining the stock -books—talking wisely of the nation’s affairs—each one pretending -to know more of finance than even Mr. Woodbury himself; and their -exuberance of knowledge is almost as luminously exhibited. Like flies -round a honey pot, each one is anxious for a sip, and according to his -slender means, pledges a hundred dollars, more or less, and orders his -broker to buy as many shares as he will upon this security. They thus -materially aid the great speculators; but the result to themselves -generally is, that their families or friends suffer precisely the -amount they have risked—and so it was in this instance. - - DEEP IN FOR IT. - -Mr. Friendly continued to purchase largely of the Morrison stock, which -increased the excitement, and continually advanced the price; and Mr. -Spriggins, nettled by Friendly’s reserve towards him, continued to be a -large purchaser also, and induced several of his friends to join him. - -It ought to be observed here, that these purchases were generally made -“on time:” that is, the stock was agreed to be delivered at a future -day. And it so happened that when Spriggins was the buyer, Mr. Friendly -was generally the seller, through some other persons, as his agents; -and he had taken care so to provide himself with stock, that he could -meet his contracts on time—not only without the danger of loss, but -with a certain profit. - - HOW SOME PEOPLE NEGOTIATE LOANS. - -So long as the stock maintained the very high price to which it had -now advanced, all was well; but the time must come, when it would not, -and then, there was danger that Spriggins, and his compatriots in -the speculation, would not be able to fulfill their engagements. Mr. -Friendly, therefore, as a stimulant to the action of Spriggins, and -to prepare for the denouement, hinted to him that, as the stock had -now so much increased in value, probably Nicholas the 1st would loan -money liberally upon it; and, as the stock must rise still more, such -an accommodation would be very desirable, to enable one to hold it. He -dropped this hint in such a way, as led Spriggins to believe that he -intended to make the application for himself. He had really, however, -no intention of asking such a favor, for such a purpose, but he knew -well what the effect of such a suggestion would be with Spriggins, -and—as he expected—the dapper gentleman immediately started, post -haste, for Philadelphia, and succeeded in obtaining from Nicholas, -the promise of a loan of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, on -stock of the Morrison, which, six weeks before, was not worth, in the -market, one-fourth of that amount: that is, provided Mr. Spriggins -would negotiate half a million of dollars of the bonds of the U. S. B., -payable in twelve months from date; by which means, Nicholas cunningly -foresaw, that, instead of lending Spriggins, he should himself be -the borrower of no less a sum than three hundred and fifty thousand -dollars. But those were palmy days of credit: the bonds were all -negotiated with ease, and the Morrison stock transferred to Nicholas, -as security for the _loan_, as fast as the greedy purchases of Mr. -Spriggins could command the large amount necessary. - - FRIENDLY’S PLAN CONSUMMATED. - -Mr. Friendly now saw all his hopes about to be realized. By obtaining -the control of a very large amount of the stock at 20 to 25 per cent. -on the par, and stimulating the cupidity and self conceit of Spriggins, -he constantly went on buying ten shares at an increased price, and -always selling, through some one else, twenty shares to every ten -that he bought, until he succeeded in throwing the whole stock upon -Spriggins, and his associates, who, as we have seen, were supported by -Nicholas, in their mad speculation. And, in less than four months from -his first purchase, Mr. Friendly retired, with a clear profit of one -hundred thousand dollars, and the eternal gratitude of the directors of -the Morrison, whom he had assisted and relieved. - - THE DIRECTORS STUCK FAST. - -The directors of the Morrison rubbed their hands with glee, and treated -Mr. Friendly with the greatest respect, when they found that they had -got rid of all their stock, not only without loss, but at an enormous -profit. But then came the affairs of the company, which were not a whit -better now, than when the stock was depressed. In fact, they were every -day growing worse—for the interest on their enormous loans, was now -becoming due, and they had nothing to pay it with. - -At a meeting of the board of directors, about the time we are speaking -of, for purposes of business, they all sat in silence, for some -minutes, looking at each other—each one wishing that his neighbor -might propose some remedy—and their hearts sank within them, as each -one successively uttered a desponding sigh at the poverty of his -invention, or—what was still worse to get over—the poverty of their -finances. At length, Mr. Faintheart proposed that they should all -resign, and let the affairs of the company take care of themselves. -This course—although so successfully practised some time afterwards by -their successors in office—did not suit the taste of Mr. Hold-on; who -said that “the public mind was not now prepared for such a movement. -A few years more, and the people will be more enlightened, and will -not expect directors to retain their seats when they have nothing to -gain by doing so. But, if we desert them now, the thing will be looked -into; we shall be accused of all the roguery that others before us have -done—we shall be hunted like rats. My motto, therefore, is, ‘don’t -give up the ship;’ and, as none of you propose a remedy, I suggest -that, as Nicholas now holds a large amount of the stock, perhaps he -will loan us a couple of hundred thousands, especially, if he is made -to believe that it is wanted to finish our works of improvement, and -that _when_ they are _finished_ it will improve the value of his stock -fifty per cent.” - - A WISE SUGGESTION—ITS RESULT. - -The proposal was hailed with delight, and Mr. Hold-on was deputed to -manage the negotiation, which he did with the same success, in the same -manner, and on the same conditions, as did Mr. Spriggins. - -This cunning device of Nicholas, always to be the borrower, when he -appeared to lend, is altogether a modern invention, and was very -successfully practised, a few years since, in an attempt to relieve the -merchants of New-York, and which, some have wickedly said, was used to -enable certain gentlemen to collect their private debts, and finally -went to relieve Nicholas of his money, by throwing the same debts upon -him. Be that as it may, it is universally admitted that Nicholas was -the first inventor of a bank, whose business was to borrow, instead of -lending, money. - - OLD NICK’S SHREWDNESS. - -By these master strokes of policy, Nicholas came into possession of a -claim of two hundred thousand dollars against the Morrison, and held -an equal amount of their stock, both which in six months afterwards he -found to be not worth a farthing. To these circumstances it was owing, -that, through his influence, the Morrison Kennel was afterwards revived -with great splendor, and scenes were enacted, which, though they have -caused many a tear of grief to flow, will, I hope, not fail to excite -your laughter by their relation. - -My venerable friend here excused himself on account of fatigue, but -with the assurance that, at our next meeting, he would introduce -me to some new and original characters, and also tell me about the -negotiation of a great state loan—how the directors of the Morrison -helped to nurse the great “bull dog” of Pennsylvania in his sickness, -and how they all ran away, when they found he was likely to die, -together with some account of his disease, and his last moments. - - HOW THE OPERATORS CAME OUT. - -If any one is curious to know what became of Messrs. Friendly, -Spriggins, and Eavesdropper, after their figure in the Speculation, I -will take this opportunity to tell them, that what has here been said -is but a small part of the fame to which they are entitled; but it is -my business only to show the results of such things as I have related. - -Mr. Friendly, as all good men do, spent his money liberally and -charitably. To a large circle, his house was the centre of politeness, -elegance, and hospitality; but his insatiable appetite for speculation -ruined him at last, as it does all others; at least, he is so far -ruined, that until another speculation shall turn out like the -Morrison, he will be content to practice economy. Mr. Spriggins set -up his carriage on his anticipated profits, and was let down from it -before his coachman had fairly mounted his livery; and report says that -he has since done the same thing three times over. Mr. Eavesdropper -ran wild with his first success, and, in the end, only arrived one -stride nearer the “black list.” And exactly one hundred and forty -others were made poorer than they were before, by the whole amount -which they put at risk. - - RESULTS OF GAMBLING. - -If the mischiefs arising from this species of gambling were confined -to those who set that kind of speculation on foot, or who make it the -business of their lives, there would be nothing to lament. But such -is not the fact. The whirlwind naturally sweeps everything within its -influence, and over which it has power, to its centre. Hundreds, nay -thousands, allured by the success of a few, are induced to embark in -the rash adventure. They are unacquainted with the real character or -causes of the fluctuations, and even if they are not ignorant, they -are liable to be outwitted by some of the hundred minds that are -continually plotting against them. Here is the fruitful source of all -those defalcations of public officers—the purloining of money by -officers, and clerks of institutions which have so much multiplied of -late—inflicting misery on the families, and disgrace on the names of -many a once honorable man. - - GOOD LESSONS TO THOSE WHO WILL HEAR. - -The business is showy and fascinating, its temptations subtle and -alluring. Young and enterprising merchants embark in it, and find that -they have lost their money and their credit, when it is too late to -repent. The hard working mechanic embarks a few hundred dollars, and -when he finds himself in debt and no means of paying, sees that he -has been outwitted, and that, if others have made money, he has lost -it. In fact that it is he, and others like him, who have assisted the -successful to pocket his profits. Women yield up the savings of years -to be invested in something, they know not what, and wail over their -folly and their credulity, when all their bright hopes have faded into -a worthless certificate. In fact it is only the loss sustained by such -as these that enables the operators, as they are termed, to accumulate, -or even to live by their business; for they could do neither the one -nor the other within themselves. And it will be found to be a necessary -consequence, that in all such speculations as that of which I have -endeavored to give but too faithful a picture, if one is made rich, a -hundred are made poor. In no country in the world, is the hazard of -stock gambling, so great as in this, where there is such a multitude -of stocks, based upon the schemes of individuals, and affected by the -ever changing prosperity of our growing, yet comparatively unsettled -condition; and where the capitals are often so small, that it is in -the power of two or three designing individuals to raise them above, -or depress them below, their real value, as may best suit their plans -or their convenience, thus often destroying the sole dependence of the -needy and helpless. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - STATE STOCKS—HISTORY OF THE MORRISON KENNEL CONTINUED—INTRODUCTION - OF NEW CHARACTERS—THE U. S. BANK, &C. - - - BUBBLES. - -Among the many schemes of finance that have disgraced our country, and -been fruitful sources of peculation, deserving the severe censure of -justice, and the ridicule of wit, there are none more prominent than -the bubble of state stocks. Time was when that name had a signification -of value; but a new era is now upon us, the end of which, “is -not yet.” The character of our western population is one of hardy -enterprise, and great intelligence in their own particular sphere; -but by some strange fatuity they have overrated their credit, and in -so doing, have overreached themselves. That confidence of a western -man which induces him to believe that he can “whip his weight in wild -cats,” is no vain boast, but the natural consequence of that hardihood, -of vigor that comes of their spirit of enterprise; and it is not to -be wondered at, that the thrift of their situation should inspire a -similar confidence in other matters. - - HOW WISE MEN HAVE BEEN DUPED. - -But, until they can learn to take better care of their credit, and -intrust the management of it to more skilful and experienced hands, -they will never cease to be cheated and dishonored. The following -detail by my venerable and facetious friend, of a negotiation for the -sale of state bonds, would be true to life, if it were not too feebly -described, for as I write only from recollection I find it impossible -to do justice to his humor. - - BUTTONING UP. - -“Before,” said he, “I proceed to the story of the state bonds, I must -first relate to you what changes took place in the Morrison.” As soon -as the speculation detailed yesterday had ceased, and Mr. Friendly had -fairly retired with his profits, the stock went down, down, down, and -not a purchaser for a single share could be found at any price; and -as soon as the whole class of small speculators perceived that they -had been “stuck,” aware of the injury the little credit they possessed -would sustain, if they were known to have met with a loss, they all -shut their mouths, except, that each one pitied his neighbor; and -strange as it may seem, not a man could be found in Wall-street, who -confessed the ownership of a share; where three weeks before there -were thousands. This is called “buttoning up,” and if any gentleman in -a certain predicament was ever surprised by a bevy of ladies suddenly -turning the corner, he will know something of the hurry felt, and the -nonchalance assumed, on this occasion. - - NICK’S TALENTS AND COURTESY. - -Six months from the time when Nicholas made the loans before spoken -of, he “found that the security was not worth a farthing.” If any one -is surprised that he should have been so improvident of safety, they -only need be told, that he is one of those men whose expansiveness -of mind, and splendid talents were at home only in great things. He -could grasp at millions, and sport with them as mere baubles; but the -dull and dry detail of investigating trifles, was fit occupation only -for meaner minds. And to the same splendid talents it was undoubtedly -owing, that in passing into retirement, he was enabled to discover -so much soundness and prosperity in the affairs of the U. S. Bank of -Pennsylvania, when nobody else could, and that the stockholders of that -institution, are so permanently fixed in an investment of a capital of -35 millions, that they will never get a dollar of it back again. - -Nicholas, however, was a man of courtesy, and when on a visit to this -city, condescended to call on the directors of the Morrison. The money -borrowed by them, had been all expended; another instalment of interest -was becoming due, and nothing provided to pay it with. He met them in -the Bank parlor, with solemn faces, and like the Irishman’s owl, which -he feigned to be a parrot, they spoke not, but were thinking very hard. - - THE D——L NOT TO BE FEARED. - -“Well gentlemen,” said he, “what is the matter?” Mr. Faintheart, -always foremost to express discouragement, and always the last to aid -in relief, immediately replied. Why Mr. B. the D——l is to pay, and -we have no money. True, answered Nicholas, you owe _me_ a good deal of -money, but if that is all, it can no doubt be arranged. - -Mr. Faintheart first blushed, then turned pale, rose from his seat, and -his knees smote together, when he perceived that he had unluckily hit -on the vulgar cognomen of Nicholas. Regarding the man with the highest -veneration, and even with fear, and unable himself to comprehend, how -so great a mind could exist, without more aid than falls to the lot -of common mortals, he secretly believed the profane allusion to be -a verity, and, in his fears, expecting a blow from the forked tail, -that would annihilate him at once, he was fain to ensconce himself -under the table. But perceiving that none of his comrades attempted -to run away, and that Nicholas himself sat in “the armed chair, calm -as a summer’s morning,” with a smile playing upon his countenance, -benignant as benevolence herself, he was re-assured; the purple came to -his nose again, and he stammered out, I beg pardon, I had no allusion -to—to—_you_, sir. - -“Sit down, Mr. Faintheart,” said Nicholas, “your wit amuses us.” - -Mr. Faintheart sat down, but was unable sufficiently to master his -disturbed, and mortified feelings, to utter another word. - - EVERY MAN HAS HIS PRICE. - -What further took place at this conference is not fully known, but -it is generally understood that, by the advice and influence of -Nicholas, it was then and there agreed, that, to revive the credit of -the Morrison, it was best to have a new official organization, and to -select for that purpose men of talent, shrewdness, property and credit. -But as few such could be found who were willing to act, common scandal -has affirmed, that resort was had to the principle, that “every man has -his price,” and that sums as high as ten thousand dollars were paid, in -more than one instance, to procure the requisite number, all of proper -standing. - -All this took place soon after the period we are speaking of, and if, -by talent and shrewdness, is meant, the ability to obtain credit, -when none is merited, and to know how to appropriate the avails to -themselves, without incurring liability, with two or three honorable -exceptions, the selection of officers was a judicious one. All these, -however, were minor considerations, and when Nicholas saw his new -friends installed, with a prospect of reviving the credit of the -company, and not only recovering his debt, but obtaining a bolster -also, to support the weary head of his great Pet, his ends were nearly -answered. This was probably one of the encouragements which led to his -famous letter of resignation; and, since the cotton speculation is now -closed, and the commissions all realised, we must now leave him to -enjoy his taste for literature, botany, and horticulture, on the banks -of the Schuylkill. - - FIGURES MAY BE MADE TO LIE. - -A semi official statement of the affairs of the Morrison was now put -forth. This also is a plan of modern invention, not called for of yore; -and whenever it appears gratuitously, is always designed to support a -false credit. Its success depends on such a classification, division, -and subdivision of the items, that the figures will express the same -things three or four times over. In this instance it was properly done, -and accordingly, the stock and credit of the company were revived under -its influence. - - NEW CHARACTERS. - -And now, said my friend, it is time I should make you acquainted with -the gentlemen you saw this morning. The tall, spare, white haired -gentleman, with a scooping form, a down-cast look, and a contriving -countenance, is Mr. Bold Eno. You saw that he had an eye of fire; but -it is only a spark struck from a heart of flint, and a conscience of -steel. I have not much to say about him now, but he will figure by and -by. The next is a gentleman of more noble presence, and less of the -look of the d——l about him. His mouth is full of honied words, but -if you believe them all, they will very likely prove “sweet to the -taste but bitter in the belly.” His name is John-of-the-Field, which -signifies that he is a great sportsman; but his sports are chiefly -confined to shooting with the long gun. It has been said that he could -shoot round a corner; but that is a slander upon the truth, and arose -only from his dexterity, in always providing a corner, round which he -_can_ escape, whenever his favorite weapon throws wide of the mark. -He is a lover of the arts, and his soul melts at the dulcet sounds of -music. His politeness, and hospitality, can be measured only by his -love of power; and his opinion of himself is, that to make him the -“greatest and best” man alive, he needs only to have his own way. - - A WESTERN FINANCIER. - -The third gentleman, whose hat was a little slouched, and his coat -not of the most modern cut, who measured as much space at one stride -of his legs, as the other gentlemen measured at two, with his fist -doubled in his glove, expressive of his determination, and his wrath, -is Mr. Commissioner —— from the state of ——. In his early youth, -he left the land of his fathers, the land of steady habits, where he -had learned, (what every one learns there,) how to read and spell -correctly, with the rudiments of Pike and Murray, and fearless and -alone, treading the western wilderness in search of a more genial soil, -he established himself, where now a flourishing city spreads out her -next to queenly beauty. Of course he reapt golden fruits of his toil, -and opinions of his sagacity; in short he became, not unworthily, a -great man among them. The principal error of his mind, was, that being -born in comparative poverty, and accustomed to matter of fact dealing, -he regarded the stupendous bubbles of artificial credit and means, as -all real, and the men who managed them, as all abounding in riches, -and as honest as himself. He is now here, to see how far his improved -knowledge of finance may enable him to correct his past errors of -judgment. - - DINING PRELIMINARY, &C. - -Two or three years ago, this same gentleman came here, by the way of -Philadelphia, being there recommended to the Morrison Kennel Company, -and others, to negotiate the sale of two millions of dollars, in state -bonds. On his arrival here, he made himself acquainted with all the -characters here introduced, and was “dined” by each in turn, with a -view to sound him as to his wishes and expectations. - -The president of the company having been authorised to open -preliminaries of negotiation with the commissioner, the board of -directors was subsequently called together to hear the report; and, not -to offend the dignity of any one, who may fancy he recognises his own -character, I will abbreviate the names of those present, as follows, -viz: The Prest. and Messrs. J. G. S. T. and W., directors; and when all -had taken their seats, they proceeded to business, as follows: - - DIRECTORS’S WIT AND CHAMPAGNE. - -PREST. Gentlemen: in conformity with your request, I have attended to -the duty imposed on me, and my report is—that in stubbornness, one -Hoosier is more than a match for us all. - -“Ha, ha, ha!” all around the board. - -G. Well, in cunning how does he stand, Mr. President? - -PREST. Simple as a doe. - -T. Then he can’t escape, G., if we turn him over to you. - -G. Leave off your jokes, T.; this is not a place for them. Mr. -President, what says he to our proposal? - -PREST. He likes it not; he wants more ready money than we possess—he -won’t budge. - -S. But, if we could get possession of the bonds, I think I could make a -private advance. - -T. (_aside._) Yes, no doubt, and a private profit, too. - -G. Does he object to our credit, Mr. President. - -PREST. Not at all; he has the most perfect confidence; that was cared -for at Philadelphia, before he came here. - -J. Can’t we come over him with champagne? - - PLANS, HARD NAMES, AND FLOORING. - -T. If we had less sham here, I think it would be better. - -J. But, it is our only chance; and, if we do not contrive to raise some -active means soon, we shall never accomplish our designs. - -T. And, if you are not quick about it, John-of-the-Field will outwit -you all. - -J. What says Mr. Bold Eno? - -G. He is throwing cold water, and I suspect he is attacking our credit. - -J. Tell the commissioner, then, that we will mortgage the Kennel to him. - -G. But, it is mortgaged already. - -S. No matter, tell him it is only for 700,000, and cost two millions -and a half. - -T. Yes, and you can tell what became of some of the money, eh? - -S. Mr. T., you are impertinent; do you accuse me sir, at this board. -Sir, you are a _scoundrel_. - -Here Mr. T. brought round his right foot against the leg of the chair -in which Mr. S., who sat next him, was balancing himself with offended -dignity, and knocking it from under him, brought him to the floor, to -the very sensible uneasiness of his crupper, for some time afterwards. - - AVOID INDIVIDUAL LIABILITY. - -Mr. S. was a man of courage, in words only; it therefore evaporated -with what he had last spoken, and he dared not provoke his assailant -any further. - -PREST. Gentlemen, I must use my prerogative! order—gentlemen, order! - -W. Gentlemen, this is not what I expected; I must retire. - -T. Well, W., I’ll go with you; rogues must bear to be told the truth, -without throwing back an insult, generally the best evidence of their -guilt. - -Messrs. W. and T. here retired, and the rest again took their seats. - -PREST. Suppose, gentlemen, we send for Nicholas? - -G. We are no longer dependant on him, and as it might eventuate in -our individual liability, if we go forward in this thing, it is my -opinion that it is the duty of the president to conduct the negotiation -officially on behalf of the company, and I therefore move a vote of the -board that he be directed accordingly. - -PREST. Gentlemen, I have resigned one treasury department, sooner than -do another man’s bidding, and shall decline the service; I like not -this business much. - -G. Suppose, then, gentlemen, that we resolve ourselves into a -committee, and call the commissioner in to-morrow. - -The proposal being agreed to, the board adjourned, and Mr. S. still -suffering from the contusion of his lower spine, walked home with a -gait much as he would have done, had he chanced to have made a rent in -his nether integuments, on a windy day. - - BREAKING UP—COLLOQUY. - -As they went out, J. said, “Mr. G., look well that the commissioner has -not another interview with Bold Eno.” - -“Never fear,” answered G.; “I have provided employment for him.” - -While these things were going on in the parlor of the Morrison, the -commissioner sat in consultation with John-of-the-Field, and the -following colloquy took place between them: - - PALAVER. - -JOHN. Mr. Commissioner, your State is one of great resources, I think. - -COM. Undoubtedly, sir; surpassing that of any other State in the Union; -_i. e._ when they are fully developed. - -JOHN. And you are taking the right course for that purpose. The example -of New-York, in internal improvements, has, by its success, given an -impulse throughout the country. In point of locality, you far exceed -us; but then, we have the capital _here_, which is our great advantage. - -COM. Yes, sir, if we had the capital of New-York in the State of ——, -to carry out our plans of public improvement, in twenty years from -this, we should exceed her in population by a million. - -JOHN. Yes, Mr. Commissioner, and your soil is so fertile, that when -they were completed, even the farmers of New-York would draw their -supplies from you, through the lakes, the Erie canal, and the Erie -railroad, which is now in progress, principally with that view. - -Here John, perceiving a stare of surprise and doubt in the eye of the -commissioner, added, “_i. e._ provided they could turn their lands to -a better account, by the cultivation of products more congenial to the -poverty of their soil.” - -COM. The view taken of the subject by our legislature, is, that if we -can borrow the capital now, to complete the works, the income from them -will so increase, with the increase of products and population, that -in twenty years they will pay the debt and interest, and leave a large -revenue to the State ever afterwards. - - FEELING HIS WAY. - -JOHN. I have always advised my friends to invest in the securities -of the Western States, as being the safest they could make; and many -of them are large capitalists, who frequently ask my advice in such -matters. I think if I had the agency of all the Western States, in this -market, I could save them a great deal of money in their negotiations. -Their debts being only about forty millions, the management of them -would relieve me from too much leisure, which I find rather irksome, -since I retired from the active superintendance of a large institution -here. - -COM. Perhaps the best introduction to such an arrangement, would be, -for you to take up the loan now offered. - -JOHN. Well, my investments, latterly, have been very large, which I -would not like to disturb at present, but if it would _accommodate_ -you, I would take the matter of 300,000 dollars of the bonds, at par; -but then, I should pay you 200,000 in the stock of the Long Island -Railroad at par, and the balance in six months. This railroad is -estimated to be the most promising stock in the country; and its -friends are sanguine, that _when_ completed, and in operation, the -stock will be worth, at least, 250 per cent., and produce an interest -of, at least, 20 per cent. per annum. The original capital was but -700,000, and with that capital, and the income of the portion already -finished, say only about one-third the distance, the company has -already expended one million and a half—_i. e._, including a small -debt still outstanding. I would not part with the stock for any other -purpose than to oblige you—being anxious to facilitate the interest of -all the Western States. - -COM. My object, sir, is ready funds; they are wanted for immediate -disbursement, to about the amount you speak of; if that could be -arranged, terms could be made for the balance. - - JOHN OVERSHOOTS HIS MARK. - -JOHN. Well, Mr. Commissioner, if that is the object with you, I think I -could arrange for 300,000, and give you Mississippi funds at par. The -State would, of course, give me some additional security, and you would -deposite the remainder of the 2,000,000 of the bonds with me for sale. -My commission would be very reasonable. - -COM. Why, sir, if the security of the whole State is not good, they -have nothing else to offer. However, I will think of your offer of -Mississippi funds. I have another call to make—so, good morning, sir. - -As soon as the commissioner had left, John held this soliloquy with -himself: - - HIS SOLILOQUY THEREUPON. - -“I am afraid I have overshot the mark. That asking security was a bad -affair; but then, I am so in the habit of asking six or eight for one, -hang me if I could resist it in this instance. The railroad stock, too: -if he should inquire about it, ‘he’ll smoke me.’ Two hundred thousand -dollars!—why, I’ve got but ten shares; but then, I could buy the rest -at five dollars a share. A _small debt_ they owe, indeed—ha, ha, -ha. I have no doubt those they owe would be glad to make it small. A -promising company!—yes, they promise every thing, and perform nothing. -They will never divide one-twentieth of one per cent.; and then, -the Mississippi funds, too—I wish I had said at a small discount, -instead of par; and then I could have fixed it at one per cent., which -certainly would have been small enough, for I can buy them at 30 off. -Confound my avarice—I’ve made a miss-fire. The fellow is tame as -a spaniel—but then, he’s no fool; how he stared, when I puffed his -State; he didn’t believe me. If he talks about this, I’m ruined; but -then, I’ll deny it all, when he’s gone.” - - HIS GAME UP. - -When the commissioner went out, he proceeded to the office of Mr. -Bottomly, where, upon inquiry, he learned the truth, viz: that -Mississippi funds were at 30 per cent. discount, and that Long Island -Railroad was worth 5 dollars a share, instead of 100. Of course, all -further negotiation with John ceased, and that gentleman was left to -wait the arrival of a commissioner from some state still farther west, -with whom his persuasive flattery, tempered by experience in its use, -would be more effectual. And here I leave him, to the disposal of -_him_, whom the State has adjudged to possess a wiser head than mine. - - HOW TO “COME OVER” A MAN. - -The commissioner, when he left the office of Mr. Bottomly, encountered -Mr. G., who, as we have seen, had just left the parlor of the Morrison. -G. seized him by the arm, and insisted that he should go home and dine -with him. It was the intention of the commissioner, to have gone -immediately to Mr. Bold Eno, whose advice he now began to consider a -salvo against the tricks and managements of others; not in the least -imagining that, should he once get in the clutches of that gentleman, -it would be like escaping from the thievishness of apes, to throw -himself into the embrace of a Bear. Such an interview was precisely -what G. desired to prevent, and consequently, he was persuasive to a -degree that common sense, in polite society, would denominate rudeness. -The commissioner, who, in days gone by, had often urged the weary -traveller to partake of the bounty of his board, or accept the shelter -of his roof, and whose open heart and hand still made the luxuries of -his table the common property of his friends, had no idea of such a -perversion of the rights of hospitality, as a prostitution of them to -the sordid purposes of interest. He was therefore persuaded; and once -at home with G., he was there detained through the day and evening, and -regaled with savory viands—“taste after taste with kindliest change -upheld,” with flowing nectar, dulcet creams, and the sweet sounds -of music, with beauty’s winning smiles, till his brain whirled with -pleasure and delight. - - GOOD EFFECTS OF HOSPITALITY. - -It is not my business to record what further took place on that day and -evening; how many friends accidentally came in, to enliven the scene, -and how certain gentlemen, who were introduced to the commissioner, -poured flattery into his ear. It is enough that the deed was done, -and in the mind of the commissioner, the character of Mr. G. was -established, as the most disinterested, polite, gentlemanly, agreeable, -hospitable, and honest, of men; and to his guidance he therefore -submitted himself. - -On the following morning, agreeably to the preconcerted plan, the -commissioner, having been notified, attended at the office of the -Morrison, at the appointed hour: and, in the mean time, Messrs. G. and -S. having agreed between themselves to raise the amount immediately -wanted by the commissioner, little remained to be done. Terms were at -once agreed upon—two millions of bonds were deposited in the vaults of -the Morrison, and in a few days the commissioner started for the State -of ——, with 250,000 dollars in good cash, and highly gratified with -his reception and success. How much of the balance the State has ever -received, the condition of their treasury will best explain. Certain -it is, that the embarrassment, which, in more than one instance, has -followed similar transactions, has been severely felt, and will be well -remembered by our Western brethren. - - A WORD ABOUT THE WEST. - -And here—politics aside—a question may well be asked, which every -man can answer for himself, so far as opinion goes. Have not the -inexperience and inefficiency of some of their agents, and the -villainy and irresponsibility of those with whom they have negotiated, -contributed more to induce a proposition, in some of the States, to -disgrace themselves by repudiating their debts, than any want of a -proper sense of honor among the men of the West? If such is admitted -to be the fact, it may, in some degree, excuse the rashness of their -tempers; but whoever entertains such a proposition, after a moment’s -reflection, would sell—not his own birth right—but his country and -his kin for a morsel of bread. - - THE BUBBLE WELL BLOWN. - -To the uninitiated, it will seem a singular circumstance, that a -company, without a dollar in their vaults, should undertake to loan -two millions; but they forget the maxim, that credit is the life of -business. This maxim formerly meant, that a credit, well sustained, -gave success to enterprise—but by its misapplication and misuse, it -has come to a different signification, viz: that the more one owes, -the more he has to sport with; and it was precisely on this principle, -that the Morrison Kennel contracted with the commissioner. It was only -carrying out, in another shape, the invention of Nicholas—“always -to be the borrower, when he appeared to lend.” They had now obtained -possession of 2,000,000 of the bonds of the State of ——, by advancing -only one eighth part of the amount. On the remainder, they could borrow -largely, and they were now prepared to wing aloft a new flight; their -gaseous inflation borne upward and onward by the breath of a fame of -their own creation; and they were not long in choosing which way they -should direct their course. - - MYSTERIES LEFT UNEXPLAINED. - -Some evil-minded people will perhaps begin to surmise that Nicholas -was the master-moving spirit in this matter, and that he was artfully -contriving to get his pay of the Morrison at the expense of some one -else; perhaps of that nondescript body called the public. Only one -thing, however, is certain; he did get his pay but as every story has -a sequel, this will be found to have one also. If the Morrison did -not lend him the State Bonds to support his own credit abroad, and -then rally their own, by negotiating his bonds, appearances and common -fame, whose poisoned breath we admit is no standard of truth, were -certainly against them. On what principle matters were arranged between -them, is not certainly known; but it is now matter of history that a -system of issuing bonds, certificates, endorsing and counter endorsing, -exchange and re-exchange, was adopted, by which they drew together a -large amount of capital, and both became proud examples of the splendid -results which a single inventive genius, like Fulton in steam, or -Nicholas in finance, may produce. The affection existing between them -was equalled only by the rivalry shown by each, in offices of kindness -to the other. - - CHARITY BEGINNING AT HOME. - -The little responsibilities of endorsing or negotiating a million or -two of bonds or certificates, were all undertaken and performed as -mere offices of love. What if they were moved to such kindness by -the promise, or the hope, of a reciprocal support? it but proves the -excellence of their hearts, and the nearer approach to that command -of the Master, that we “love our enemies,” and it is for such things -only that we have _reward_. _Their_ duty was to protect the commercial -interests, of which they each considered themselves as the head; and, -therefore, the first rule of propriety, and the first law of nature, -imposed upon them the necessity of first taking care of themselves, -individually, and their liberality in this respect cannot be too highly -commended. _They_ had a facility for raising money that other people -had not, and duty required that _they_ should enable their debtors to -pay them; and if, in the accommodations necessarily granted for that -purpose, the Morrison should lose a few hundred thousands, nobody would -ever know how it had been lost. The stockholders, a vagabond race -scattered over the face of the earth, whom nobody knows, would have -to bear it; and, (aside,) perhaps they could screen themselves, and -protect the Morrison, by throwing it all upon Nicholas, should things -go wrong. After all, what was such a loss, compared with the importance -and public benefit of supporting the _commercial_ _interest_. - - A CURE FOR HYPO. - -It was not to be considered for a moment, and the wisdom of this -conclusion was shortly made apparent in its effects. One gentleman is -known to have recovered entirely from a nervous hypochondriacism, so -severe, that his cheek blanched at the sight of his bill-book, and his -rotund proportions shrank to the circumference of an eel, from the -self-denial consequent upon poverty—or, what is more probable, the -chagrin of disappointed ambition. But we are told that “the just shall -inherit the earth,” and so it was in this instance; it having been -affirmed, in vindication of this rule, that his reduced diameter, and -assimilation to the animal aforesaid, enabled him to slide the easier -between the sheriff and his conscience; and while his neighbors, one -after another, were tumbling over the precipice of ruin, he was saved -from being knocked down in their fall, by quietly reposing beneath the -shade of the Morrison. - -But I am growing too elaborate of description, and must bring this part -of my story to a close. The subjects and material of the picture I am -contemplating, are so numerous, and fruitful of thought, that it is -difficult to decide which to choose, or where to stop; but the colors -are too gross, and weary the eye and the mind. Besides, I hate to -individualise, and must request my readers to bear in mind, that in the -characters here described, _nobody_ whatever is meant; and should they -remember ever to have seen such a character as either of them, I must -beg them to bury the memory of their follies beneath their more private -and superior virtues, should they be found to have any; and if they are -penitent, to throw the mantle of charity over the past, and screen them -from the rude gaze of scrutiny. - - CRISIS APPROACHING—NICK RETIRES. - -The time was now fast approaching when the boluses administered by the -Kennel physicians, could no longer support the weakened constitution -of Pennsylvania’s great pet; and what was of more importance, in the -opinion of the Kennel directors, his credit was no longer sufficient to -support _them_. - -Nicholas the first had retired from his charge, to fatten upon his -laurels; Alas! that they should have faded so soon, and left him -nothing but dry leaves whereon to feed his morbid appetite. - -Mr. Done-up had succeeded to his place as chief physician; his patient -had already suffered a relapse, and the symptoms were by no means -favorable. His physicians recommended a more generous diet, but both -shores of the Atlantic had already been dredged for dainties to satisfy -his hungry maw. Yet still he grew more rabid, and would swallow at a -gulp, what cost the labor of a year to procure. - - SKULKING. - -In this dilemma, the curs of the Morrison, perceiving that although -they had paid the debt to Nicholas, contracted under the old direction, -_they had, in another shape, just doubled it under the new_—that each -of them had served _his own_ purpose, and that not one of them owned a -dollar in the Morrison or the U. S. B. they all resigned their seats, -and scampered away to their dens; where, it is to be hoped, that, for -the benefit of the coming generation, they will live and die in a good -old age. And may God them assoil, the stockholders and creditors of the -Morrison never will. - -As I approach the conclusion of this chapter, my tale grows sadder, and -still more sad. All created beings and things, which have beginning, -must also have an end. Death lays his unpitying hand alike on man, and -every monument of his greatness. - - A TOUCH OF THE PATHETIC. - -We wonder at the duration of our own existence; that the term of our -lives should witness the pride of a powerful state; the successful -opposer of the conqueror of armies, and the controller of millions, -to dwell only in memory. Yet the sad tale has met our ear, that the -U. S. B. of P. is no more.—That pillar of the currency that some -thought was based on a rock of ages—that nursing mother, who would -fain have gathered the whole nation, as a hen gathereth her brood under -her wings—that giant of ubiquity, that dwelt in every town and city, -a very mastodon in power, and a mastiff in watchfulness—deserted by -his friends, persecuted by his enemies, and cheated by all—expired at -Philadelphia on the 5th of Feb. A. D. 1841, after one long and piteous -howl of 20 days and 6 hours, in the 5th year of his age. - -The power of sympathy is one of the remarkable properties of life, -throughout all animate and inanimate creation; and it is a circumstance -worthy of note, that, at the moment of his expiring, every inferior -cur, from New York to New Orleans, gave one loud and piercing yell, -and laid himself down in his den. Throughout the land, old men bowed -themselves in sorrow, widows wailed in secret, children began to cry -for bread, girls in their teens shed salt tears, lest the fall of -stocks should loose them their sweethearts, and a thousand and one -ancient virgins retired in privacy to count their rosaries; not with -catholic piety and reverence, but to see how much remained in the -stocking. - - A SHOW OF REASON. - -My readers will be surprised, that I should apply the incongruous -and unmusical name of bull dog to the U. S. B.; but I must beg them -to recollect that I am in Wall-street, that this is Wall-street -language, and that no other would be understood here. And as this was -the name under which we first made his acquaintance, for the sake of -consistency, I must carry out the figure. And to redeem my promise, it -only remains that I should give some account of his disease. - -For the benefit of science, and the coming generation, it is to be -regretted that those who have his body in keeping, have refused a -post-mortem examination.[3] Mr. Done-up, the chief physician, insists -that he is not dead, and that he will have him kept for a year and -a day, for experiments of the galvanic battery, electro-magnetic -suspension, and such other inventions and restoratives as his skill -may suggest. But it is the opinion of Wall-street physicians, that the -doctor will never be able to do more than to embalm his body. - - DISEASE—ITS NATURE AND CAUSE. - -It is the opinion, also, of those who have had an opportunity of -observing his symptoms, that his disease was a species of cholera, a -sort of internal evacuation; or, to be more particular in explanation, -that while promises were going out one way, the specie was going out -the other; and that the too frequent gorging of stocks, state bonds, -cotton speculations, &c., had the effect, like Major Downing’s -elder-bark tea, to work both ways. One singular circumstance has -attended him throughout; which, as it is a reversal of the order of -nature, is worth mentioning. In his case, _corruption_ took place -long before death, and _mortification_ afterwards. His disease is -said to have had its origin in an overheating of the blood, in the -great contest about the deposites. But as this is a matter of some -dispute, I leave the point to be settled by the great successors of -their “illustrious predecessors”—Dr. Done-up of Philadelphia, and Dr. -Ran-down of Kinderhook, both of whom, it is supposed will now find -sufficient leisure, amicably to settle their differences. - - PRACTICAL HINTS. - -My friend, the relator of the foregoing, here left me abruptly again, -but as I am sure to find him in the same place to-morrow, I shall not -fail to make him a visit. What the subject of his conversation will be, -I cannot tell, but as he has found me a willing listener, I feel sure -that he will be as communicative as ever. - -It was my intention, at the close of this chapter, to have expanded -a little on the great value to the public, of corporations, when in -the hands of men of talent, property, and credit, who can, without -responsibility to themselves, act for the benefit of the stockholders. -But, as I have already detained my readers too long, and since people -will think for themselves, right or wrong, if they ever chance to -think at all, I need give no further evidence of their utility, and -entire safety in such hands, than the following facts. Among all the -officers and directors of the Morrison Kennel, and the U. S. B., -in which about forty millions of dollars have been totally sunk and -lost, not one of them ever failed, or lost a dollar in his individual -capacity; and, had the stockholders loaned their capital directly -to the merchants, through whom it will perhaps be said it has been -lost, instead of investing it in those stocks, they would have saved -in the last 25 years, only about 50 millions of dollars, in their -expenses, investments in unconvertible property for their splendid -accommodations, and losses consequent upon their management to sustain -themselves in a ruinous business. - - THE WAY OF SAFETY. - -But, since commerce has so organized herself, that such institutions -are necessary, if stockholders will not look after their own interest, -if they will allow their agents to pursue their own pleasure without -supervision, or accountability—if they will not employ as their -agents, such men as will have some reference to a good conscience, and -common sense, something besides selfishness in the performance of their -duty to their principals, and the public, they deserve to lose their -money. - - WHAT EXPERIENCE SAYS ABOUT IT. - -I have no wish to appear the censor of the past, or to make wise saws -for the future. But for the benefit of those who may have a little -money left to invest, I will give them, in few words, the experience -of thirty years. Every institution, established for the purpose of -creating capital, instead of investing that already possessed—every -one established for the purposes of speculation, or monopoly, of -any kind—or for the promotion of the interest of any particular -individuals—every one which contracts debts against itself beyond -the immediate means of paying, and thus loses its independence -of character—and every one which perverts its means from the -legitimate use, which, on a fair construction, was contemplated in its -creation—either has ruined, or sooner or later will ruin, itself, its -stockholders, and its customers. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[3] Since the above was written, the affairs of the U. S. B. have been -examined by a committee. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - SHOWING HOW STOCKS ARE BOUGHT AND SOLD—HOW BROKERS GET OUT OF - A BAD SPECULATION—HOW MONEY IS SOMETIMES MADE BY DOING A - LOSING BUSINESS—HOW DISCOUNTS ARE MADE AND OBTAINED, &C. &C. - - -Before proceeding to relate the conversation of my friend this day, I -must first state a few facts, for the information of those who are not -already acquainted with them. - - THE LAWLESS HAVE LAWS. - -The Board of Brokers have many rules for their government; one of -which is—that, when a broker is employed by another person to buy or -sell stock on time, he has the right to give the name of his principal -within twenty-four hours, and then, if the other party is not satisfied -with the security, he is required to deposite ten per cent., or the -contract is cancelled. If the broker so employed, does not give -the name of his principal, he assumes the responsibility himself. -All contracts for the purchase or sale of stocks, on time, are, in -themselves, illegal; the contract cannot be enforced by any law, and -the only security that operators have for their fulfilment, is, that -rule of the board which expels a member, if he fails in his contracts. -Just as all gamblers may be supposed to expel a man from their society, -who takes up his winnings, but never pays his losses: or, upon the same -principle on which there is held to be honor among thieves—whoever -takes more than his share, is expelled from the gang. - -Stocks sold on time, are seldom delivered; but, when the contract is -mature, the difference between the sale and the average market value -then, is paid over by the loser. - -There are a few men of property, not brokers, who occasionally buy -fancy stocks in Wall-street, when money is scarce, and sell again -when it is more plenty, and reap a profit by it; but their number is -so small, that they have never attained the respectability of any -distinguishing name. - - BULL-BACKERS AND BEAR-TRAPS. - -There is a larger class, who sometimes control a good deal of money, -and who make speculation their business. These generally unite in -squads, for the purpose of _cornering_—which means, that they first -get the control of some particular stock, and then, by making a great -many contracts on time, compel the parties to pay whatever difference -they choose—or rather, I should say, whatever difference they can -get—for they sometimes overrate the weight of the purse of those -they contract with. These persons are denominated Bull-backers, or -Bear-traps, according to the nature of their operations. The first -signifies that they have bought stock largely, and hold it; and the -second, that they have sold stock which they have not got, and trust -to circumstances to be able to supply it. The brokers, themselves, in -these cases, are called Bulls and Bears. - -There is another, and a much larger class, who, deceived by -appearances, come into the market without any knowledge of it, and -generally lose what they invest. These are called Flunkies. - -With this elucidation of terms, I am ready to proceed with my friend’s -narrative, whom, true to his habit, I found at the spot, and anxious -for a listener; and, from the nature of his remarks, I am induced to -believe that he suspected me of some desire or design to enter on the -business of stock jobbing. - - HOW TO QUALIFY FOR WALL-STREET. - -“If,” said he, “you have any intention of entering into business in -Wall-street, you ought first to know, that, although there are many -respectable men and firms here, who have accumulated property and -credit, by a long course of industry and application, as in any other -branch of business, there is, nevertheless, a very large class, who -look upon every new comer as a fit subject for their stratagems. And -very few such escape one of two extremes: either the loss of their -property, or a sacrifice of conscience, honor, honesty, and every noble -principle, to the mean and sordid one of getting money. The first -sacrifice you would be called upon to make, would be, confidence and -respect towards your neighbors—you must disbelieve every thing you -hear and see, and look upon every one as having a design on your purse: -no very comfortable position for an honest man.” - - FANCIES BETTER THAN SOUND STOCKS. - -A very large portion of the stocks termed ‘fancies,’ and in which they -mostly deal, are entirely worthless in themselves; unlike articles of -merchandise, which may be seen and examined by the dealer, and which -always have an intrinsic value in every fluctuation of the market, -these stocks are wholly wrapped in mystery; no one knows any thing -about them, except the officers and directors of the companies, who, -from their position, are not the most likely men to tell you the truth. -They serve no other purpose, therefore, than as the representative of -value in stock gambling, which might just as well be wholly imaginary, -and of any other kind, as these; and you would soon learn, that the -reason why there is so much dealing in _depreciated_ stocks, and so -little in those which are solvent and at par, is this: Nearly all the -fluctuations in their prices, are artificial—a small fluctuation is -more easily produced than a large one, and as the calculations are -made on the par value, a fluctuation of one per cent. on a stock worth -only twenty dollars a share, is just five times as much on the amount -of money invested, as it would be on a par stock. Consequently, if a -‘Flunkie’ can be drawn in, he may be fleeced five times as quick in -these, as in good stocks. - - HOW FALSE LIGHTS ARE SHOWN. - -The arts and tricks resorted to, in this kind of gambling, are the -same as in all others. When the brokers and speculators engaged in -it, have no customers on whom to practice, and each one is shy of the -other, they lovingly play among themselves. To keep up appearances, -large transactions take place, which, by mutual understanding, are not -to be fulfilled, and like children at chequers, when the game is out, -the kernels are thrown into common stock again, and a new one begun. -And, strange as it may seem, these transactions are published in all -the commercial newspapers, and go forth to the world as the evidences -of value, and the condition of the money market, to deceive the unwary. -Every editor, who properly regards the welfare of the community, over -which his position gives him great influence, ought at once to refuse -the publication of any sale of stock, but such as are of standard and -intrinsic value; for it is by these means, that so many are drawn from -their regular pursuits, into ruinous speculations; when, if nothing but -truth were told them, they would stay at home, and save their money—to -say nothing of the mischief of idleness and dissipation, which the -habit of gambling engenders. - - WHO IS TO BLAME. - -I must not be understood as applying what I have said, or shall say, -to every man in Wall-street: far otherwise. Nor would I be understood -as applying it to brokers exclusively, or to any one in particular. I -only say, that if the coat I shall cut out suits any man’s shape and -dimensions, let him put it on. On the whole, the brokers are less to -blame than those who support them; and, if left to themselves, their -trade in fancy stocks would soon cease. If people will gamble, there -must be some place to do it, and some persons as directors, agents, and -co-partners in the business; and, until the people are reformed, it is -doubtful if Crockford, in London, and the brokers in Wall-street, are -not more honest and respectable than their supporters. - - SECRETS LET OUT. - -Stock gamblers of very small capital, often have contracts pending, -of many hundreds of thousands of dollars—they sometimes operate for -a rise, sometimes for a fall, of prices. In the first case they buy -deliverable at a future time, at a certain price. In the second, can -they sell in the same way. And, in either case, their profit or loss -depends on the rise or fall of the stock bought or sold; as, indeed, -all their profits do; for there is no such thing as a dealer’s profit -for the labor and risk of distribution, as in merchandise. The whole -process is a mere betting upon the future value. In this way, it will -be seen that the number of chances for gain or loss is just doubled, -as compared with dealers in merchandise, who always get what they buy, -and sell only what they have got. They frequently make a condition to -their time-contracts of “buyer’s option,” of “seller’s option,” which -means, that the person to whom the option is given, may, at any time -within the period of the term of sale, by giving one day’s notice, -call for the stocks, and this enables them to take advantage of any -temporary fluctuation which may happen, or which the parties interested -may be able to create. These circumstances easily explain the reason -why fortunes are often so suddenly made or lost in stocks. No system -could be devised better calculated than this is, to excite a gambling -propensity, and afford an opportunity for the exercise of ingenuity and -cunning. - -“But,” said my friend, “lest I should weary your patience, by too much -generalizing, and seriousness, I will inform you how Mr. Tell-it got -out of a bad speculation.” - - A NO. 1. CHARACTER. - -Mr. T. is a regular descendant of Mr. Jacob Broker, of the seventh -generation, and one that does honor to his ancestral renown. No greater -contradiction of terms can possibly be used, than exists between -his name and character, for he was never known to tell a thing that -he knew, however trifling. His conversation and answers are wholly -by interrogatory. When asked at what price he will sell, his answer -is, “what will you give?” and he never commits himself in a promise, -without first receiving a promise of another, or, what suits his taste -much better, something tangible in its stead. This peculiarity of mind -has led to one great virtue, to which I bear willing and honorable -testimony—he was never known to tell a lie. If people take false -impressions, it is because they assume false premises—if they indulge -in wrong opinions, it is because they have not been diligent enough -in search of truth—and, as he is a competitor for the great prize of -life, he cannot spend his time to correct other people’s deficiencies. - - HIS CHARACTER. - -His knowledge of men and things is regulated by their _properties_, -and his estimate of the proper pursuits of life has received a bias -from his literal construction of the Apocalypse, in which the streets -of the new Jerusalem are described as being of pure gold; and he -appears to regard the possession of it here, as the surest passport -on his way there. In exactness and punctuality, he is a model for -imitation. He generally operates “for a fall,” and, like his great -progenitor, his interest compels him to take pleasure rather in -demolishing than in building up. His assiduity and skill are such, -that, united with his great physical force, mechanically denominated -“_a purchase power_,” he can tear down more in one week, than the whole -fraternity can build up in a year; and he has been known to topple a -Bank, an Insurance company, a Railroad, or a whole bevy of brokers, by -a single application of his lever. - -But such is the variety and opposition of interests created by the -multitude of heads, and the multiform opinions entertained by them, -the circumstances of which are varied by every transaction that takes -place, of which none but those concerned in them can have any control, -that the wittiest sometimes get outwitted, and the strongest outdone. - - GETS TRAPPED. - -Not long since, a squad of Bull-backers, had for some months been, -secretly, and unknown to Mr. T., getting control of a certain stock, -intending to “corner” some one with it; and, aware of Mr. T.’s tearing -down propensity, after due consultation, they laid a scheme whereby to -entrap him. Deputing an agent of well known paucity of dollars, they -sent him to Mr. T. to get a loan of money on a large amount of the -aforesaid stock. The loan was completed for the term of 90 days, Mr. -T. advancing two thirds the nominal value. Whether he had any ulterior -object, or not, in lending the money is not known; but, as he seldom -made such loans when such object did not sooner or later disclose -itself, it is suspected, that in this case, he looked beyond the -present bargain, and, believing that his debtors would be obliged to -sell the stock he held, for what it would bring, to pay his loan when -due, he commenced his operations for a fall in the stock, by selling -it all out. It so happened, however, that the Bull-backers aforesaid, -were the buyers of it, and this was just the snare into which they -desired to lead Mr. T., knowing that when their agent should pay up -his loan, and call for the stock, T. would be obliged to buy it of -them, at such increased prices, as they should dictate. And Mr. T. was -soon made sensible of his condition, by his debtor calling long before -the time, and offering to pay up the loan, and withdraw the Stock. He -was certainly surprised, but his quiet and collected manner betrayed -no emotion. And here I must render another tribute to his character. -He certainly bears his profits and losses well; as great men are said -to bear their honors and misfortunes, with unassuming and unrepining -philosophy. - -The discovery of his situation however, called for the exercise of his -sagacity, and he modestly declined receiving the money, only saying, -that he preferred it should rest for the time agreed on. - - IN A QUANDARY. - -As soon as his debtor had gone out, he thrust his hands in his pockets, -his eyes resting on the floor in front, and sticking out his lips, -in a way which no other man does, he muttered to himself “I’m in a -bear-trap—this won’t do. The dogs will ‘come over’ me. I shall be -mulct in a loss. But I’ve got time—I’ll turn the scale, I’ll help the -bulls, operate for a rise, and draw in the flunkies.” - -These men, I should have said before, have no other rule of judgment -for their operations than to follow in the wake of some great and -successful speculator. Mr. T. very properly regards them as sheep for -the slaughter; and although the milk of human kindness certainly is a -component of his heart, he makes no scruple of sacrificing a score of -them at a time. Why should he? for killed and eaten they certainly will -be by somebody: but they are a genitive race, and re-produce as fast as -destroyed. - - WORKS OUT BY DRAWING OTHERS IN. - -Mr. T. had need of no further exertion, to accomplish his purpose, than -to make his course _manifest to them_, they all followed his apparent -lead, as sheep will follow one another over a wall, if they all fall -into a ditch on the other side. Even the wise man of Israel, by his own -confession, did not know every thing. “The way of the serpent on the -rock was too wonderful even for _him_,” and so in this case; the way -of their leader was to them, “past finding out.” But the secret of the -management necessary, in this case, is, to do just the opposite of what -one appears to do. Mr. T. therefore continued to operate visibly for -a fall, by selling out small sums for future delivery, which he took -care to have trumpeted by another, while he was very reserved himself. -He thus drew all the “flunkies” after him, as _they_ supposed, while -he was in reality the purchaser, through his agents, of all that they -contracted to sell, and by this means, before the expiration of the -loan, he was in possession of the stock to deliver, with a difference -of ten thousand dollars in his favor, against the flunkies. - - EVILS OF TALKING IN SLEEP. - -These things would never have been known, but that T. sometimes talks -in his sleep, and while chuckling over the ruse de guerre, he recounted -the whole story, and was overheard by his chum, who thought the joke -too good to be lost. - - HOW BROKERS SOMETIMES FAIL. - -And now, said my friend, as I am in the way of story telling, I will -tell you how money has been made, by doing a losing business. It -will have been seen already that the failure of a stock broker, does -not involve commercial dishonor. It is a mere acknowledgment, of his -inability to pay his _bets_, for debts they are not. When this has -happened, he suffers the penalty of being expelled from the board. -It then becomes the interest of those to whom differences are due, -(the term used for stock debts,) to get what they can and discharge -him. The amount he will be willing to pay, depends on three-fold -circumstances—the amount of means he possesses—his own sense of -obligation—and the credit and advantages he is to gain, by being -reinstated. And a settlement once made with his creditors, it becomes -the interest of all, to reinstate him; for society becomes disjointed, -by losing its prominent members. - -When a broker operates for others, as his principals, he usually -requires a deposit of ten per cent., as security against loss. They -generally operate in different kinds of stock, some of which turn -favorably for their interest, and the differences are in their favor. -In others the difference is against them, according as their risks, or -their judgment, may have proved favorable, or unfavorable. Commonly -their operations are very large in amount, and it sometimes happens, -that the fluctuations are greater than the security, and by the -occurrence of some unforeseen event, like the recent failure of the -United States Bank, a fair adjustment of the differences against them, -would ruin all the parties, consequently, one or all of them must be -sacrificed. - - HOW THEY GET UP AGAIN. - -Expediency, and interest dictate that it shall be but one, and that -one the broker. He consents, because it involves less dishonor with -him than the others. They can be screened by his defalcation, and, it -is equally his interest to take care of his customers, as himself. And -if he has not too delicate a conscience, (and all men have not,) the -way is now open for the following management. When differences are in -his favor, he may avow his principals, and the losers must pay, or -themselves suffer expulsion from the board. Where the differences are -against him, he may keep the responsibility to himself, and as they are -very large, he will be able to compromise them, for the ten per cent. -deposited, and perhaps less, if he has not been careful to exact the -security. And when the whole is adjusted, if the differences collected -exceed the ten per cent. paid, there is a profit to divide, among them -all. And, if these operations are not sometimes performed with a less -scrupulous regard to figures, suspicion has been guilty of a libel. I -do not say, that this is a common practice among the brokers, but the -power of doing, and the facility of screening it, are equivalent to an -invitation to rogues to embrace it, and all the world knows, how ready -_they_ are to seize an opportunity. - - AMUSING OPERATIONS. - -Although stock-speculators, generally, affect to be very secret, as -well as very cunning, in their dealings, they frequently contrive -to find out each other’s business, and the manner in which their -liabilities sometimes develope themselves is amusing. It lately -happened that two speculators, Mr. A. and Mr. B., had been operating -in different kinds of stock, and each of them thought he had a -considerable amount of profits to collect, and losses to pay; and -the whole having passed through a broker’s hands, neither of them -was supposed to know who the principals were. Circumstances led to a -comparing of notes, when it was found that their claims on each other -were so nearly balanced, that they settled it by offset. It is believed -that at least one of them intended to collect his profits, and back out -of his losses; but that the other, more cunning than he, had contrived -to take the place of a third party, (Mr. C.,) who was the real seller -of the winning stock on his side, and when a settlement had been made -between A. and B., that B. and C. divided the amount of profits on C.’s -stock between them. By these means, the third party, C., was enabled -to collect half of a profit, which he would never have got otherwise, -and the other, Mr. B., was saved paying half a loss, which he would -otherwise have had to pay, or to sacrifice his broker, who, between -them both, was saved from a dilemma. - - WALL-STREET NOT A SAFE PLACE. - -“And now,” said my friend, “unless you can follow all these windings, -and are ready to turn as sharp a corner as the rest of them, let me -advise you not to stay long in Wall-street; for, depend upon it, while -you are here, you are in the midst of temptation, and no man ever -trifled long with that, and came off with his honor unscathed, and his -heart not indurated.” - -I thanked my friend for his advice, and replied, “that I had already -determined, that I could never aspire to a professorship, nor even a -pupillage, in a school requiring such active energies of body and mind.” - -But my friend continued, and, taking out his watch, remarked, that, -as he had yet time to spare, if I pleased to listen, he would tell me -something about the manner in which discounts were sometimes made, and -obtained. And, willing to be informed of all particulars, in which I -had now become deeply interested, I signified my wish to hear how these -important appendages of trade are managed. - - FICTITIOUS CREDIT. - -“Young men,” said he, “often mistake the basis of their own credit, -and are flattered by the freedom and liberality with which money is -sometimes lent them. They could not possibly commit a more fatal error, -and this arises in a great degree, perhaps, from the false estimate of -what is commonly called money.” - -The system of Bank credit, which has so widely obtained in this -country, and which allows of a circulation of their notes, or bills -of credit, as a substitute for money, has been productive of untold -benefits. But its long success has led to its abuse; and the manifest -advantage, to those who held the privilege, has led designing men to -seek an influence in its control. In times of ease and plenty, these -gentlemen are ever ready to exchange their credit for the substantial -securities of the merchant, receiving therefor the premium of interest, -as their profit. These Bank credits, being readily convertible for the -payment of debts, entice men of small means into an enlarged business. - - COMMON MISTAKE. - -The error of young merchants seems to have been, an appreciation of -Bank issues, to be the same as money, instead of an equivalent in -credit, and a discount obtained, as an exchange of securities for -cash, instead of a new debt contracted. They have overlooked the -fact, that the same circumstances that will cause distress to them, -will also cause it to the Bank, and bring with it a curtailment of -their accommodations, just at the time when their wants require their -enlargement. Their independence is gone, as soon as they are obliged -to solicit a favor, and if in the hands of heartless and designing -men, this is just the time when advantage will be taken of their -necessities, as long as their securities are good; and they will find, -when it is too late, that they have leaned on a broken reed. - - HOW THEY GET SERVED. - -The habit of merchants leaning on a Bank credit, and considering it -better than their own, with the dependence growing out of it, has -enabled the latter, by common consent, to throw around it a sacredness -of character that does not attach to credit in any other place or -form; and instances are of daily occurrence, where men do injustice -to a neighbor, to enable them to pay a note at the Bank; while the -latter, to protect themselves, will sacrifice a score or two of their -customers, without mercy or compunction. When men become necessitous, -they are afraid to let it be known out of doors, because it will injure -their credit; and they will make almost any sacrifice in private, to -save such a mortification. And to this fact, designing and unprincipled -men, who, in times of pressure, convert the capital of a Bank into a -means of preying upon their customers, owe their security in doing -it; when, if the undisguised particulars could be known, they would -immediately lose their charter and their reputation. - -The way these things worked a few years since, in the Stork Bank and -the Water Works Bank in this city, is worthy of being told by way of -illustration. - - HUNGRY BEGGARS. - -The cashiers of these banks thought themselves so firmly seated in -power, that nothing could move them. By way of brevity, I will call -them Jack and Bob; but let no one suppose that the impudent familiarity -of using these barbarous corruptions of a Christian name, was ever -permitted to any but themselves. The bad times—which in business -parlance, in its proper construction, means, that period of time when -the mischiefs designed by one party, or arising from the follies and -imprudences of the other, are in course of developement—brought crowds -of anxious applicants daily to the counter of the bank. They arranged -themselves in rows along the walls, or by the side of the counter, with -anxious faces, each one waiting for his turn, and as each received -a negative, his eye flashed with anger, or his cheek blanched with -despair; and while others would march up, to prefer their own claims, -in the vain hope of better success, those behind occasionally peered -out from the long line in which they stood, and cursed the gravity -and self-possession of the cashier, while he held a long parley with -his customer; and the last in the line sometimes betrayed, by the -uneasiness of his limbs, that the vulgar saying of “the d——l take -the hindmost,” was uppermost in his thoughts. - - MONEY MADE BY FEEDING BEGGARS. - -When men of business become dependent on borrowing, to meet their -engagements, the daily supply becomes as necessary as daily food. The -proverb tells us that a hungry man will break through a wall; and, to -use a fashionable phrase, of some who do not understand their mother -tongue, the cashiers were “_au fait_,” in this principle of natural -philosophy. Their eager eyes scanned with solicitude the cadaverous -countenances of the hungry applicants, to see where their scanty means -of supply might be most _profitably_ applied, and when occasionally, -some one received _permission_ to call again when the press was over, -hope at once beamed in his eye, a smile played gently about his mouth, -and had the cashier been a lady, he would have fallen on her neck and -kissed her. Punctual to the hour, he returns and receives from the -complacent lips of the cashier, the joy-giving intelligence—“Mr. A., -we have so great a press upon us just now, that we find it impossible -to meet the demand for discounts; but, if it will oblige you, I will -take your notes at seven per cent. interest, and give you a check on -Mobile at sight, and at par, in payment.” - -“But I do not know what to do with it,” says Mr. A. “How will that -relieve me?” - -“Well, I don’t know, Mr. A., but I have understood that the Waterworks -Bank is buying at a discount of five per cent. That is rather a large -sacrifice to make, but it is the best that I can propose.” - - THE DEATH-STRUGGLE. - -“Hang the five per cent.,” thought A. to himself, “it will cost me -but a hundred dollars, and I can pay my note;” and, to him, a day’s -salvation from bankruptcy, was an age of happiness. The proposal was -eagerly embraced, and while the Waterworks was buying the checks of the -Stork on Mobile, Savannah, Columbus, &c., the Stork was buying those of -the Waterworks; and mischief-makers have reported that they were all -exchanged in the afternoon. - -Mr. Eavesdropper, whose name implies that he attends more to other -people’s business than his own, reports having overheard the following -dialogue between the cashiers, at their afternoon meeting. - - A BRACE OF JACK-ALLS. - -JACK. Well Bob, this business works well yet, I have pocketed five -hundred dollars, to day. - -BOB. Yes, Jack, sure, and it works well at present; but, upon me soul, -I don’t see the end of it, and if we were exposed, we should make a -dangling appearance, if we were even in the ould country. - -JACK. Never fear, Bobby—a man never dangles here, as long as he has -got money; and besides, the dogs dare not whisper a word; their lives -depend on their credit, as the only means of supporting them, and they -would be cut up like mutton-chops in the market, the moment they lisped -their own secret.—We are safe. - -BOB. Troth Jack, you’re always awake, but I’ve gone so deeply already, -that I couldn’t pay a draft to day from the Secretary at Washington, -an’ if it were not for that brother of mine, with the Scotch christian -name, who is busy at Washington, hang me if I think I could stand this. - -JACK. Mr. Cashier, excuse my departure from our usual friendly -familiarity, but, depend upon it, the authorities of the country will -never oppress, in their individual circumstances, those who are -legitimately engaged in support of their authority. - - HOPES AND COMPLIMENTS. - -BOB. Arragh, Jack! and you’re complimentary—but the marquis cares -nothing about your ragamuffin authorities. - -JACK. No Bobby, true, but he cares about your dividends, and that is -what you are to take care of. - -BOB. Sure and I’ll take care of that, by the faith of me, and how much -shall _we_ make, Jack, by this management? - -JACK. Why at least fifty thousand a piece, if nothing occurs till the -excitement is over. - -BOB. If nothing happens, aye, and there’s the rub, Jack. I’m afraid -you’ll bleed some of the patients to death. - -JACK. Never mind, Bob, if we see them fairly gasping, give them another -dose, and take double fees before hand. We have good security for the -past already. Good evening Bob. - -BOB. Good evening to ye Jack. Long life to ye. And when ye die, may ye -have an uncommon long funeral. And as Jack departed, he muttered, “and -if them ye murther are mourners, by me sowl it will be long enough.” - - A PROBLEM. - -These things may be all slander, but still, there are some who believe -that a bank, which in the course of twelve months, divides ten per -cent. profit to its stockholders, and accumulates a nominal surplus of -twenty per cent. more, could never have done it by loaning money at -seven. And it certainly is a problem in arithmetic, which requires some -new devise of figures to solve. - -The interest of description, would be lost in sameness of character, -should I attempt to describe all the ways in which the dependent -borrowers are made the chief sufferers, to gratify an undue propensity -of the lenders to accumulate. - - A DEFAULTER. - -And I will only add what is well known here, as a warning for the -future to those whose avarice outruns their integrity, that these -banks, like the repentant harlot, have long since “wept by the -willows,” for their departure from their first love; and the only -thing I know against their present government or officers is, that -the president of one of them, in paying over about one hundred and -fifty millions of dollars, was detected by General Jackson in being a -defaulter of eleven cents, but as the general could not tell exactly -where the default lay, he escaped all other punishment, but the natural -one of being removed from his office, to make room for others; who, if -they were in default at all, would make it sufficiently palpable to -avoid the necessity of searching out these contemptible digits. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - HISTORY OF A DEFALCATION. - - -On meeting my friend again to day, I was as much amused as ever with -his humor, in describing a public defaulter. And as he makes his own -reflections upon it, I will without farther preface give his own words, -as near as I can recollect. - - PUBLIC DEFAULTERS HONEST MEN. - -“When we parted yesterday” said he, I was speaking of defaulters. The -history of a public defalcation, beginning with its inception, and -carried through its “rise and progress” to a final developement, is -full of amusement and instruction, and if more thoroughly understood, -the public mind would be disabused of its prejudice against the -innocent authors of them. A public defaulter, is the most honest man -in the world. If any other proof were necessary, there is abundance at -hand. But the law of the land declares all men honest, until convicted -of guilt, and its argus eyes would surely discover the truth, if it -were otherwise. The history of the country gives no instance of a -defaulter ever being tried, or committed. A public defaulter, is a true -republican, an advocate and supporter of the people’s rights, who scorn -to be controlled by laws, not of their own choosing. He is in favor of -the distribution of surplus revenue, and he takes the best and shortest -method to accomplish it. He saves congress the trouble of legislating -about it, and the people from quarrelling about its appropriation. He -is a public benefactor, and distributes his wealth without stint to the -poor, especially if they have a vote to give; provides accommodations -for public meetings, at his own expense, is a leader in their debates, -a firm supporter of the government, a liberal supporter of trade, a -patron of the arts and sciences, and a leader in fashion. He promotes -the interests of commerce, and sustains stocks, in his untiring -efforts to make up the deficiencies, which his liberality has created, -and when he has done all the good he can here, he goes abroad at his -own cost to acquire new treasures of knowledge wherewith to benefit his -countryman. - -The baseness of ingratitude, and the malice of envy, could never be -more manifest, than in the persecution of such a man. Yet, how strange -it is! There are some men living, who do not hesitate to heap calumnies -on his head. But if we go strait onward, those prejudices will soon be -done away. The frequent occurrence of default in this age proves its -enlightened character, and that intelligence is fast dissipating the -benighted superstitions of ignorance. - - THE TRUE LIGHT. - -The people of Wall-street, are more enlightened in this matter, than -the croaking herd of business men, and property owners are, who are -always afraid of being taxed to make up deficiencies. They regard -such a thing as the husbandman does the rain from heaven, watering -the parched earth, causing verdure and blossoms to spring forth, in -all their beauty, and timely fruit to satisfy their hungry souls. And -when the wisdom of government is exercised, in the appointment to the -emoluments of office, and the care of public monies, of one of their -true friends, who is ready to sacrifice every thing, even his “sacred -honor” to promote _their_ success, the event is hailed with little -less than a bacchanalian triumph. They know their men, and they know -enough of human nature to know, that, he who has once been a stock -gambler, will be again, as soon as he has the means of becoming so. -And, although they may have plucked him to his last pin-feather, and -then left him exposed to the cold frosts of a world’s charity, as soon -as his commission is in his pocket, their respect and gratulations know -no bounds. - - MORE OF DEFAULTS. - -A public default, is a thing which seldom stands by itself. There are -many inwoven secrets, which do not meet the public gaze. The first -stimulating cause,—the arts to prevent disclosure, and the natural -sympathy between the friends of the appointor, and appointed, are -rarely scanned. When truth bears rule, and honest men are in power, the -checks, and balances are such, that one alone would not long maintain -his secret. And as this seldom happens, the next point of wisdom is, -when disclosures are made, so to arrange matters, that the crimes of -all may be visited on the head of but one; and he, instead of suffering -by the unrelenting knife, and having his carcass roasted on the altar -of sacrifice, may, like the scape-goat of the Mosaic law, be turned -into the wilderness, to bear all their sins beyond the camp. - - JACK DOWNING IMPLICATED. - -I cannot better describe to you, the beginning and conduct of a -great default, than by reading a detected letter, from a notable -correspondent of General Jackson’s, who, from his great personal -intimacy, could not have failed to know the truth. - - JACK’S LETTER TO —— - -Perhaps, as this letter somewhat implicates, the redoubtable major in -an infidelity to the bank, and the government, should it ever come -to his notice, he may insist that it is “Kounterfit;” but as it was -by mistake, inclosed in a package, and directed to a friend, by the -first recipient, when he was leaving in haste, I have no doubt of its -genuineness. And as the major’s fortunes are known to have risen nearly -in inverse proportion to the fall of the bank, and Apalachi lands, -even his friends will find it difficult to disbelieve it. Never having -had an opportunity to return this letter, I make it public now, that -justice may be rendered to all the parties. - - _Washington_, 1835. - - To squire S—— - in New-York. - - DEAR SIR. Your letter to the ginral, was received in Washington, as - quick as the mail could fetch it. As soon as it got to the P. O. here, - Amos Kindle came right over to the white house with it, and says - he—“Ginral, here’s a letter from York, and I raither guess—there’s - some news in it.” As soon as the ginral took the letter in his hand, - he knowed by the outside, that it was from you. The ginral is plaguey - cunnin, and he knowed as quick as a weazle’s scent, that Amos wanted - to find out what was in it. So, says he to me, major, says he, these - ere friends of Mr. Van Buren in York, pester me amazinly. And then - he laid the letter down on the table, and lit his pipe, and went to - talkin politics. And it warnt long afore he drove Amos away, by tellin - a story about a man, who turned traitor to his patron. The ginral all - the time meant Mc Lane and him, but he told the story so cutely, that - it suited Kindle and Clay, just as well. As soon as Amos was gone, - says the ginral to me, says he, “Major”—now we’ll read this ere - letter from Swartwout. That Kindle, “says he,” wanted mightily to know - what was in it, but though he’s sharp as a needle, it wont do to trust - him with secrets, unless he has a hand in making on em; and then we - read your letter all over, backwards, and forwards, side ways, and - cross ways. And when we got through, says the ginral to me, says he, - “Major, this ere letter is amazin puzlin.” - - GENERAL JACKSON “RILED.” - - He was considerable riled; and says he, major, this looks mighty like - your game of hocus pocus, that you larnt me to play with the cups and - balls. What does Swartwout mean by being flunked? Why says I, that’s - a Wall-street word, and means that he has been outwitted, in tryin to - make up the money he was behind. And the ginral riz right up, and says - he, major, I knowed Swartwout in New Orleans, in Burr’s time, and I - know he’d stand a shot with every one of them fellows in Wall-street, - as quick as he’d wink, if they tried to play hocus pocus with him, so - dont tell me any more of your stories, major, and as you know, says - he, that to-morrow morning I’m off to the rip raps, you must send - Swartwout an answer, but remember, for by the Eternal,[4] and then he - ketched off his specks with one hand, and he smashed the other hand - down on to the table so, he broke his pipe in ten thousand shivers, - and his eyes looked like coals of fire, and I looked round to see if - the door was open, and just then Woodbury came in, and the ginral, - was quiet as a lamb in a minit. But I warnt in sorts to talk about - the treasury then, so I went to bed, and the ginral he was off afore - day-light this mornin. - - HIS PASSION—AND OPINIONS. - - The ginral always said you did right in payin for printin things agin - Biddle and the bank—because says he—as you say major, what is sass - for goose, is sass for gander, and the only discounts, I’ve lately - heard tell on by the bank, is to pay for printin things agin us. When - he was in York, he was a good deal consarned to know that you had been - obliged to take money, that ought to gone into the treasury. And I - raly believe, if it had’nt been for that, he never would have moved - the deposites, without Congress to back him. But when I tell’d him - that you could make it all up, and three times over by speckilation on - the money, he was as chipper _as a bird, and says he, major_, seein as - the deposites are moved, we can play them double game. - - JACK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MISCHIEF. - - In respect of the loss you made, by the bank stock, that I recommended - you to buy of my cousin Zekiel Bigelow, in Wall-street, I did’nt tell - the ginral any thing, because the deposites bein moved that proved a - bad spickilation. But in respect of the Apalachi land co., I advise - you to vest more largely, for the ginral says, that if I think best, - he’ll establish a knavy depo there, and then it will be worth double. - - J. DOWNING, MAJOR - 2nd brigade. - - CAUSE OF JACK’S DISGRACE. - -It is proper to observe here, that the major was the owner of the -stock above alluded to, as sold by his cousin, and that he was also a -director and proprietor in the Apalachi land company. He was never -publicly accused of being either a coward or janus faced, but his -confession in this letter, with the unraveling it gives to the default, -lays him open to the charge of both; for it seems that, while he was -professedly the firm supporter of the bank, he was speculating on its -stock, based on the expected removal of the deposites. And while the -defaulter was consulting with his patron, how to get out of a dilemma, -into which his personal devotion had led him, he was “flunked” by the -major, his patron’s confidential adviser, in a “spickilation” which he -had recommended to him as a means of relief, which made his situation -much worse. And when we consider, that these things were done in the -face of General Jackson, who was deeply interested, and his most -devoted friend, we cannot wonder that the major looked round to see if -the door was open, nor that he was shortly afterwards relieved from his -high responsibilities. - -Although the characters of public men, are public property, they should -not be sported with, too rudely, and it is to be hoped, that for the -honor of the major’s past reputation, he will be able to clear his -skirts of this. - - NON PLUS’D. - -When the defaulter found himself deceived by the major, and his -Wall-street operations all going against him, and he thereby involved -in still greater pecuniary embarrassment, his soldier like spirit was -roused within him, and as the general said, he would have “stood a shot -with every man in the street, if that would have relieved him from his -difficulties.” But he had been long enough there, to know that cold -lead, although the heaviest of metals, was in fact but the lightest -kind of argument, and his discretion, the better part of his valour, -discovered to him, that if, among them all he should chance to meet a -good shot, and himself receive a quietus, it would establish no truth -but that of his real condition, and default. When this truth stared him -in the face, he is said to have uttered horrid imprecations, and with -alternating curses and relenting, to have bewailed his fidelity to his -long loved friend and companion in arms, the general. - - A GOOD FINANCIER. - -Not that the general ever prompted him to such acts; they were -volunteered by himself, out of pure love, from old companionship, and -he never thought of the wrong, much less of his inability, to pay -his expenditures, until the fatal truth was pushed upon his notice. -How could he think of such a thing, when money was flowing through -his hands, like water through a mill-race? how could he tell that -there would be a balance against him? he had never kept an account -in his life, nor even examined one. He was too liberal to be exact. -When his shoemaker presented his bill, he looked at the foot; and if -money was in his pocket he paid it, and if not, he kicked the impudent -fellow out of the house, if he presumed to urge his suit, by any -word of expostulation, or plea of necessity. It was unsoldier-like, -and ungentlemanly to be exact in any thing, but the point of honor, -viz.—if a man should say his coat was brown, when he knew it was -black, call him out, and settle the truth by an exchange of shots. - -And here I cannot forbear the remark, that, when government wants -soldiers, they should look for fighting men. When they want judges and -attornies, they should seek for those learned in the law, and when -they want some one to take charge of financial affairs, they should -seek those whose habits of exactness, promptitude, and experience in -finance, give them some fitness for the duty. - - IN A DEEP STUDY. - -But the die was now cast with the defaulter, and no repentance could -make atonement to offended justice. Thus far, his attempts to relieve -himself from the first deficiency, had not only been unavailing, but -had led him deeper into difficulty. Something more must be done, or the -fatal hour of disclosure must come. The general would soon lose all -patience, as well as all confidence. Should he implicate him, and clear -his own skirts? No—that thought was too repugnant to his honorable -feelings, it would be unjust, for if the general knew his default, he -had no hand in creating it, and if, he allowed him time to escape its -consequences by retrieving it, it was the kindliness resulting from old -associations. It was his own want of prudence in the first place, and -of skill in the second, that placed him where he was. But something -more must be done. And what should he do? The finale of his Apalachi -land stock, was not yet realised; he thought well of it—he thought -well of all land speculations. Yes, the landed interest, must, in this -country, as in every other, in time, become the wealthiest—cities were -springing up every day—fortunes were made in a moment—there could be -no loss—the land would not run away—the Wall-street sharpers could -not “flunk” him there. - - RESOLVES—AND GOES AHEAD. - -Yes, he’d try a land speculation, east and west—honest man!—he -never thought how much easier it was for one of these landlopers, -to make a city in the woods on paper, than to be at the trouble of -cutting the timber all down, and building it up again into houses, -stores, churches, and academies. And that even a flowing river with -beautiful falls, and “mill privileges,” with fertile valleys skirting -its chrystal waters, could be made, where nature had never taken -that trouble, in a thousandth part of the time that De Witt Clinton -could make a sluggish canal. In short he wanted the experience, which -has proved these Yankee land speculators to be the genuine breed of -land-sharks, which sailors so much detest for their cunning, and -voracious propensities, and who, to use one of their own descriptions -of themselves—“are as much sharper, than a Wall-street sharper, as -a Wall-street sharper, is sharper than a needle.” But the decision -once made by the defaulter, his practice was to go ahead, and he -usually left out the preliminary of the renowned Crocket, as implying -a disagreeable necessity. If he was _not wrong_, he _must_ be _right_, -was the result of his logical reasoning; and certainly, no more -self-evident conclusion was ever drawn from premises. - -With the accuracy of judgment, therefore, which might be expected -in such a case, he bought lands, to a very large extent, in various -sections of the country, along with the most _respectable_ companies, -and from the handsomest drawn maps he could find. - -An anecdote occurred about this time, which I believe has once got into -the newspapers, but it is too good not to be repeated here, especially, -as it will show to future generations, the value of a clean and -handsomely drawn map—in other words, that it is better to do things -well, than to do them clumsily. - - ANECDOTE. - -The defaulter had in his possession, a title to an old soldier’s -patent, the papers of which had been carried in a dirty pocket book, -and handled with dirty hands, until the location of the patent could -hardly be distinguished on the map. It had been “thrown in to him,” to -bind a bargain with some speculators, much the same as a huckster woman -puts on to the measure too peaches more, when she sees her customer -about to depart. He esteemed it of very little value, and thought no -more of it, until one day a stalwart Yankee, with slouched hat, came -into his office, and, says he, “mister hain’t you got a piece of land -there in Miss-soori, up on the Black river. Yes, was the reply, after a -moment’s reflection.” - - A YANKEE. - -“Well mister, what will you take now, for that are land?” - -The defaulter, who had begun to understand, a little of the mode of -bargaining practiced by these men, answered “a thousand dollars,” -though he would have accepted five hundred. - -“Did you say a thousand dollars, mister?” - -“Yes.” - -“That’s raither high. Jest let me see them are papers, mister.” - -The papers were handed to him, and, after being critically examined, -and found to be all right, the Yankee, still holding on to the papers, -from fear of not being able to bind his bargain otherwise, asked— - -“Won’t you take no less, Mister?” - -“No.” - -“Well, I’ll take it, just make me the title.” - - COME OVER BY A YANKEE. - -The title was made out, and the money paid, when the defaulter, -surprised at the bargain, asked, “what did you buy that land at such a -price for? I would have sold it to you for half the money.” - -“Why,” said the Yankee, “there’s a darned good lead mine on it.” - -“There is, eh!—how much is it worth?” - -“Well, I don’t know, but I’ve dug out ten thousand dollar’s worth -a’ready, and I expect to get a great deal more.” - -“The d——l you do?” - -“Yes—good bye, Squire.” - -Report says that this was the only valuable piece of land the defaulter -ever bought, and that this was all the money he ever got back again, -from all his investments. I have even heard it whispered that this -same Yankee was one of the speculators concerned in making the large -sale to him, in the first place, and that the “throwing it in,” was -but the cast of a die, to bind a profitable bargain, trusting to their -ingenuity to get it back again; and, having cheated him at any rate, -whether they should get it again, or not. - - DOCTRINE OF CHANCES. - -A mind as cool, even, as the defaulter’s, could hardly retain its just -balance, under such accumulations of misfortune, and accordingly, we -find him sometimes afflicted with gloomy forebodings of the future, -sometimes brooding over the disappointments of the past; and always -taking that course that will lead him deeper into difficulty. - -Whether it is right or prudent for a man involved in embarrassment -to attempt to relieve himself by a single coup de main, may be a -very fruitful theme for those who like to calculate the doctrine of -chances; but, in my opinion, a chance, which may be operated upon in -so many ways, as may the rise or fall of property, or the success of -speculation of any kind—and, instead of being governed by any such -natural laws as may be supposed to belong to chance, wherein the -_aggregate_ results must be always the same, although we do not know -before hand how they will come up particularly, is overruled and -affected, more or less, by the changing opinions and volition of almost -every one in the community—deserves not the name, even of chance, -and, in my opinion, involves the certainty and necessity of failure. -And, although such a thing hath been as success in this way, yet all -my experience goes to show me, that the “chance,” so called, is not as -one in the hundred. The fact that a man is embarrassed signifies, also, -that he is unable to control his affairs, and, if he cannot control -them in the state they are, their expansion, out of his legitimate -course, will not help him much. - - TRUE SECRET OF SUCCESS. - -I believe every successful man will tell me, that the secret of his -success has been, the preserving this ability to himself; and my own -experience has shown me, that whenever the case is otherwise, one -not only has the caprices of chance against him, but the caprices, -cupidity, and contrary interests of his fellow men, to contend with, -and the sooner he comes to a stand, the better for himself, and his -friends. These reflections are not suggested by a default, when viewed -in any other light, than as a pecuniary embarrassment; and, in this -particular, they are alike applicable to all embarrassed men. - - DEFAULTER IN DESPAIR. - -When men, for insufficient reasons, have raised their hopes too -high, their disappointment commonly brings with it a corresponding -depression; and so with the defaulter—he now despaired. But let me not -be understood that despair took away his appetite; far otherwise—there -was no sickliness in his despair. He merely gave up all hope of being -able to save himself from that very small modicum of attainture -to his honor, which is comprehended in the name of a defaulter; -and, as despair, in all its shapes and degrees, is always rash and -unreasonable, he is said to have given himself up to an unaccountable -fondness for those fashionable, yet too animating amusements, where -gentlemen are supposed to stake largely. Here he met many pleasant -companions, but among them, one particularly, a public functionary, -who, although he had met him every day for years, in his attention to -the duties of his office, he never before esteemed his acquaintance -to be a jewel of such Price and value as he now found it to be. An -intimacy of course grew up, which led to the denouement that must form -the conclusion to this chapter. - - FINDS A FRIEND. - -This friend of great Price had every requisite of character for a -gentleman. He would eat heavy, drink deep, and play high, and not the -least of his accomplishments was, that he had no respect, whatever, -for the character of Joseph, as claimed by the Hebrews. To add to his -value, as a friend, these excellent qualities were made more seductive, -by an agreeable exterior, and manner. He was also a man of business -withal, and never gave more than an occasional hour of relaxation, to -those refined pleasures. - -As they chatted, and talked, and drank together, the defaulter -sometimes looked at him with unmingled pleasure, sometimes with -feelings akin to envy. What would he not give to possess the quiet -and unruffled mind and temper of his friend? to be as free from any -danger of exposure—from the haunting, disturbing influence of self -accusation. Alas! the first step from the path of duty inevitably leads -to ruin, unless immediately retraced. - -Sometimes the thought would arise in his mind, “Is it possible that, -like myself, he comes here as a relief to his burthened spirit?—to -seek a solace for the cares of an anxious mind!” He banished the -thought at once; but who is there that has not often found these random -suggestions of thought were in fact the premonitions of truth?—and to -this fact we are about to come. - - BOTH IN THE SAME BOX. - -One night, when the stakes had run high, and were swept by their -opponents, and the two friends had set themselves down to the solace of -their wine; and its inspiring qualities had heightened into extacy the -love that glowed in the bosom of each, with that mellow frankness which -wine always inspires, and the longing which friendship always feels, -to make its loved object the co partner of its cares, the defaulter -whispered in the softest accents, “Bill, I am ruined—the money I lost -belongs to the Treasury.” - -“So did mine!” was the full and sonorous response. - -Had the thunder-bolt, which Abdiel let fall on the crest of Satan, -struck the defaulter, he could scarcely have received a greater shock, -and almost like the arch-fiend— - - Ten paces huge he back recoiled; - The tenth on bended knee. - -But, recovered in some degree from the shock, the friends were both -astonished at their own imprudence, and, shaking hands, they separated -for the night; the one to go home and ponder his lot, the other to -regret his folly. - - THEY TAKE COUNSEL TOGETHER. - -But the disclosure had been too mutual to rest here—something must be -done for their protection. It could only be done by concert, for each -had the power to ruin the other, any moment; and, as a result of this -necessity, it was the part of wisdom to extend their mutual confidence. -If both could not be saved, one of them might. The government was -passing into new hands, new interests would arise out of it, new -applications would be made for office—perhaps they would both lose -theirs. If they did not render their accounts promptly, they would be -suspected, and lose their offices of course. They must, therefore, work -speedily. - - THEY ABSQUATULATE. - -But the day of retribution always comes sooner than we expect. The -government _had_ changed hands—new interests _had_ arisen—new -applications for office _had_ been made. They _had_ become more than -suspected, before they could possibly arrange, out of the chaos of -their affairs, and the wilderness of their crimes, any such jumbled up -accounts of interchanged receipts, costs, &c. &c., as could save even -one of them. And, as a consequence upon the unfaithfulness of their -friendship, they were both compelled to fly in disguise and disgrace, -from the presence of their countrymen, and from the joys of home. - -And now, if I have not given a true account of a default which -cost the government more than a million of dollars, solely in -consequence of a few thousands wrongfully spent in the first place, -for electioneering purposes—if this account does not prove the total -unfitness of gambling politicians to hold offices of trust—and if -these circumstances will not apply in more quarters than one, public -and private—it is because my powers of description are feeble, and not -because the truth is wanting to establish these facts. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[4] The secret of the major’s disgrace at Washington has never been -publicly known. But this passage of his letter, taken with the results -of his subsequent advice to the defaulter, and his almost immediate -discharge from employment afterwards, leave little doubt as to the -cause. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - SHOWING WHAT A PANIC IS—ITS CAUSES—ITS BEGINNING—ITS ADVANTAGES, - AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.—WITH THE AUTHOR’S LEAVE-TAKING. - - -A panic is one of those things in nature, which have existence without -entity—something which may be felt, but can neither be traced nor -followed. It has the power of motion and flight exceeding that of all -cognoscible beings—for it can pass from city to city, on the wings of -a single rumor. It has the power of making itself invisible, and can -stalk through the streets in the day time unseen, frightening every -body by its presence. It has the advantage of Archimedes’ lever, for -it has a fulcrum in the credulity of the man; and you may easily turn -the world upside down with it. It is, in fact, a kind of moral element, -and, like the fire, a single spark may kindle into a conflagration, -which the whole nation cannot extinguish; and it must be left to go out -of itself, when it has no more fuel to nourish it. It may be called -forth by a whisper, but a multitude cannot bind it. It is, therefore, -one of the most important of agents, but like fire also it is dangerous -to handle. It is a very good servant, but a very hard master, and -sometimes consumes those who kindle it. - - A PANIC—WHAT IS IT? - -The causes of panic, must not be sought for among natural phenomena—no -science of alchymy is necessary to compound it. It may be made up of -truth, composed of falsehood, or combined from both. It may be produced -by hatred, jealousy, or envy. It may arise from curiosity, or the love -of the marvellous, or, from a more villainous cause still, the desire -to profit by its effects. And with this knowledge of its causes, if men -were wise, they would give less heed to it. - -The beginning of a panic in a small country town, is usually indicated -by the doctor’s riding through the village, without stopping to -recognise his acquaintance, or an old woman hastily putting on her -shawl, to run across the street to her neighbors. - -What could it be for? says one. - -Sure enough _what could_ it be for? says another. - - A PANIC IN THE COUNTRY. - -Don’t you think there is some bad disease about? says a third, and -before long, the interrogatory assumes the shape of a declaration, and -if not explained, and in less than a week, half the people of the town -are sick, through fear that they may be worse. - -What is Mrs. Toddle running about the street for? says one. - -I expect she has gone to enquire about the school mistress. Says -another. - -I expect the school mistress will run away with that fellow yet, says -a third, (she ran away once herself.) And before the week is out, the -whole neighborhood is in a panic, for fear the school mistress should -run away, and their dear daughters be corrupted, by her example—while -the innocent subject of their fears is attending to her duties, all -unconscious of the commotion she has occasioned. - - PANICS AND PANIC MAKERS. - -In great commercial cities, a panic is a different thing, and first -indicates its approach in a different way. The subjects to which it -generally points, are politics, and money, chiefly the latter, and -never the first, except as it may have a bearing on the last. Like -great and pestilent diseases, it generally has premonitory symptoms, -which commonly exhibit themselves in plethora, and a wasteful -indulgence in luxury. And like those diseases also, it never attacks -or alarms those of regular habits, and an equal mode of living. In the -city there are regular panic makers! some of them work on their own -account, as Donald said he fought, when it was found that he had killed -more of his own clan, than of their enemies—and some of them work for -hire, as the penny-a-liners do, in fabricating marvellous stories; and -hence the opportunity and inducement for making panics in the city, far -exceed those in the country. - -Political panics, and money panics, are like electric bodies, one is -positively charged, the other negatively, and the effect of this kind -is, that when they approach each other, they produce an explosion, like -the breaking of the Banks, &c. These are properly termed compound. A -simple panic is more harmless, and like the Simoon, if a man can stand -still, and hold his breath, it will pass by without harming him. - -There is also another kind, called natural panics. These are such -as sometimes happen in churches, theatres, &c.—and, although they -have nothing to do with the subject about which I am writing, yet a -description of one of them may aptly illustrate the reasonableness of -the others. - - NATURAL PANICS—A RUSH. - -When I was a young man, I went to a popular lecture in an old wooden -church, which was very much crowded. During the service, as it appeared -afterwards, some boys without, threw a handful of small gravel stones -against the clap-boarding of the house, which made such a rattling, -that a general rush took place, and the church was tenantless in less -than a minute. Imagination pictured to some the tumbling walls. The -noise of the rush, stunned every one. Some smashed the windows, and -leaped to the ground, others, and some of them females, impatient to -reach the door, and as they supposed a place of greater safety, strode -over the heads of the dense crowd, making the most grotesque figures -imaginable. Some were trodden down, but none were killed; and when -all were safely out, with the exception of crushed hats, torn shirts, -sore bones, and lost reticules, the enquiry began to be made, what has -happened? I don’t know says one. Did you see any thing? asked another? -No—did you? No—Nor I, said a fourth, and a fifth—and when all were -satisfied that nothing had really happened, except a fright, they -began, one by one, to approach the house again, and cautiously peeping -in at the door, lest the walls might suddenly tumble about their heads, -they saw the light burning brightly, and the honest clergyman sitting -in his desk, the only man in the house, convulsed with laughter, at the -fright of his late audience. - -And so, when a panic comes in Wall-street, if any man will take a -position, a little above the heads of the multitude, where he can see -their folly, he may safely enjoy a hearty laugh, instead of suffering a -fright. - -A money panic, in the city, sometimes begins with a mere question of -doubt, as, what do you think of the condition of the banks? and this -question, handed from one to another, assumes new shapes, and gathers -strength and importance as it flies. - - A MONEY PANIC. - -Sometimes, it begins with a rattling noise, like the movement of -specie, upon which the panic makers immediately conjure up the ghost -of an earthquake, that is about to take place. Sometimes it is the -price asked, or the refusal of a broker to buy a foreign bank note, -for which he has no current money to give in exchange, which runs from -mouth to mouth, and from hand to hand, until half the people in the -town think their bank notes are worthless; and they will put them off -for apothecary’s physic, rather than keep them. And sometimes it is the -mere sympathy of suspicion, when every man suspects his neighbor to be -in possession of some secret, which he is not. And all, or any one of -these causes, is sufficient to make three fourths of the population of -the town tumble over each other in fright, while the rest laugh, and -scramble after the loose coppers, which they may let fall in the fray. - - HOW IT WORKS. - -When a panic proceeds from any matter of fact, it is commonly such as -this. The bank turns away some bad customer, who then spreads a report, -that the banks are “very short;” when, immediately, every one applies -for twice as much as he wants. In Wall-street phrase, “The offerings -become very large,” and then they all fight and jostle each other, to -see who shall stand first at the counter. - -These are the incipient stages, which follow the first symptoms. Its -increase is only a multiplication and enlargement of the same things; -but when it is at its height, there is the greatest fun and fright, -frolick and fight, imaginable. But as I cannot get up a pantomime show -on paper, I will only relate a few anecdotes of actual occurrence, by -way of illustration. - - MONSIEUR IN A FRIGHT. - -In the panic of 1837, a merchant of high standing in Broad-street, -was indebted to a son of Johnny Crapeau, in the sum of three thousand -dollars, money deposited with him on interest. One morning, while the -merchant was busily engaged in his correspondence, Johnny came in in -great trepidation, and announced the object of his visit, by saying; -“Monsieur, I ver much want dat moneys _que vous me devez_.” - -Ah! I thought it was to remain, we have paid you interest for it, when -it was of no use to us. - -“Eh! mon Dieu! I shall lose.” - -“If you are alarmed for its safety, we have no objection to paying you.” - -“Sare, I must have.” - -The merchant directed a check to be drawn, for the principal and -interest, which he handed to him, with a receipt for his signature. - -“What is dis, monsieur?” - -“That is a check for the money.” - -“Den you pay?” - -“Yes, you demanded your pay.” - -“Eh! monsieur, (handing back the check)—I was alarm. If you pay, den I -dont want. If you no cant pay, den I must have.” - - FOLLIES OF A PANIC. - -Another instance quite as reasonable, and of equal notoriety, was a -French gentleman of respectable property, entirely out of business, and -out of debt. His sympathies were so much wrought upon, by the reported -distresses of the community, that he began to be alarmed for himself; -and accordingly applied to his bankers for a loan, which being granted, -he suffered the money to lie on deposit: but his excitement growing -warmer, he applied again and again, when being expostulated with by -the cashier, that he did not want the money, and that others did, he -replied, “sare I am afraid dat dis ting will me ruin. Sare, I must have -moneys. I shall starve, if I have not moneys. I must have de loan.” His -request was complied with, and when the excitement was over, without -ever having drawn a dollar from the bank, he paid his debts with the -loss of interest, and the gain of a good deal of mortification. - -These are some of the follies of the panic. The villainies also deserve -some notice. - - VILLAINIES THEREOF. - -A notable whig, and a friend of the banks, who thought nothing so good -as bank notes, so long as their circulation yielded him interest, is -reputed to have borrowed all he could, and then to have drawn the -specie, which he hid away in his cellar, and stood sentry at the door -himself. Some supposed that he was alarmed for the safety of his -property, but more are of opinion, that his object was, to assist in -breaking the banks, and then pay his debts in their notes at a large -discount. - -But I should trespass too largely on time and paper, to give one in -a thousand of the instances which may be cited, and I will therefore -illustrate the truth, by relating a few of the exploits of a notable -individual. - - A CASE IN MORALS. - -Mr. S. was a merchant of wealth and large business. Mr. A. his -debtor, was erroneously reputed to have failed, and being angry and -grieved withal by the slander, he went to his friend S. for advice -and consolation, and told him that so far from having failed, with a -very little sacrifice, he could pay all his debts on demand. Mr. S. -always governed by that cunning, which supreme selfishness and want -of principle dictate, advised his debtor to make the sacrifice, and -advertise for his notes, to be brought in for payment, as a means of -substantiating his credit beyond all doubt in future. His advice was -followed, and it so happened that Mr. S.’s was the first note sent in; -and report says, moreover, that having enquired of A., to whom he was -indebted, he went to the persons before the advertisement appeared, and -bought A.’s notes at a large discount, and sent _them_ in also. - -This same gentleman had many customers in his business, and of -course many debtors. Their notes were always lodged in the bank for -collection, and when some of his customers came to him for partial -aid, to help take them up, his reply was, that he had no money to lend; -but, said he, “you can get the money for my note, and I will lend you -that for the ordinary commission of 2½ per cent., if you will secure -me for it.” The security was willingly given, and the customer was -told, if the bank don’t discount the notes, the brokers will; and as -soon as the customer was gone, instructions were sent to the brokers, -“if such a note appears, buy it for me at double rate of interest.” He -usually got possession of his notes again in this way, for be it known -that he was a director in the bank, and to add to the virtue of his -liberality, the money which should have been lent to his customers in -the first place, was lent to himself, with these views and for these -purposes. - -I know not under what class of morals you will place this kind of -sagacity, but in Wall-street it is denominated “shrewdness,” and adds -greatly to one’s respectability and consequence. - - CHARACTER IN, AND OUT, OF WALL-ST. - -But that you may not be deceived in your judgment, I will go farther -and say, that what makes a character in Wall-street, does not make one -out of it. Here the standard is money, but elsewhere, it requires some -other ingredients to arrive at any level much above the lowest; and a -man destitute of education, intellect, genius, principle, morals and -religion, (though last here, yet not least,) can hardly arrive at a -condition of respectability, much beyond his own conceit of himself. - - MONEY, KNOWLEDGE AND HONESTY. - -I never knew such a man as Mr. S., who was not deficient of education -in every thing, except how to get money. The sum of his knowledge -is limited to the first rule of arithmetic—addition; and although -his wealth and credit may enable him to enlarge the sphere of his -observation, still, it is all brought to the same practical use, -addition. - -Such a man always owes his little elevation to one of two things, to -fortuitious circumstances, or to his own villainy; and his mind is -incapable of appreciating any higher standard of morals than his own. -As I once heard one of them say, (inadvertently no doubt, but yet -in the honesty of his soul) when another was recommended to him for -credit, on the ground of his honesty, he replied, “a very good thing -for the owner, but a very poor commodity in the market.” - - SOMETHING BY WAY OF CONTRAST. - -It is not against the people of Wall-street, or Pearl-street, or -South-street, or any particular branch of business that I would be -understood to aim the bitter shaft of sarcasm, but against those -individuals of known delinquency, and against those principles and -practices, which have, of late, obtained a tolerance that, in times -gone by, would not have been suffered. And were it proper for me to -do so, by way of contrast, I would here sketch a portrait of some -among the many I know, who hold a just balance, and the even tenor -of their way, whether in peace or in panic; but I could not do it -faithfully, without pointing too clearly at those who have no need of -my commendation, and who would choose that their reputation should rest -on their own unaided merits. - -Perhaps you have already anticipated some of the advantages which may -arise from a panic, but my description would be incomplete, were I to -omit to sketch a few of them. - - ADVANTAGES OF PANICS. - -The spirit of our institutions does not admit of the concentration or -entailment of property. And here, if a man has property, and will act -honestly, he need not wait the term of his mortal existence, for his -children to ruin themselves afterwards, by spending it. He can ruin -himself, and them too, by simply placing himself in the vortex of a -single panic. But, on the contrary, if his tastes lead him to choose -the former expedient, this affords him an ample field, for no scheme -can be devised better calculated to make the rich richer than this is. -It places the dependent debtor wholly in the power of the creditor, -and he may take his pound of flesh with interest, without extracting -a groan or a sigh from his patient. Nay, he will rise up from the -operation, and thank him for not taking two. A panic, then, serves -to hasten changes of property from one to another, and thereby acts -in accordance with the spirit of our institutions, which encourages -rotation. - -Its advantages, also, to the separate classes of dealers, who inhabit -Wall-street, deserve each a passing notice. - -It enables the stock-dealer, who has heavy contracts to fulfil, to -complete his engagements at a great profit to himself. It is of no -consequence that what he gains, another must lose; the advantage to -him is unequivocal, and, accordingly we find that these gentlemen are -great panic makers on their own account. - - WHY SOME MEN LOVE PANICS. - -It enables exchange dealers to demand double rates on all distant -places, and, although the effect is to reduce the value of all debts -due from those sections to citizens here in the same proportion—yet, -_he_ is benefited, and if people will not pay him his rates, they have -the option to go and collect their money themselves. The greater and -the more frequent the panic, therefore, the better for the exchange -dealer. It also enables those Banks which have a speculative turn, -to divert their capital from the paltry business of discounting, -to speculating on their customers’ wants, by becoming dealers in -exchange. It greatly increases the profits of the Bank-note dealer, -by enabling him to increase the rates of discount, and one peculiar -beauty of his business is, that the more discount he asks, the more -ready his customers are to sell. This class of dealers are deserving -the particular regards of the country Banks, since _their_ interest -advances exactly in proportion as they can discredit them. - -I have passed hastily over all these classes, although the ways -and means by which each one of them contrives to turn a panic to -their advantage, contain a fund sufficient for a long evening’s -entertainment. But my descriptions are not intended to be wire-drawn, -and, besides, I wish to leave room for future lucubrations, without the -necessity for gleaning too closely. - - CONSEQUENCES OF PANIC. - -The consequences of a panic are those portions of it which “may be -felt;” and they begin to be felt, when people begin to count their -losses, I have before said that a panic was like fire, and the simile -holds good, except in one particular. The fire destroys—the panic only -changes property. In both cases people are prodigiously frightened; -many wounds and bruises are received, and not a few are driven from -their business, and made houseless, and homeless. In the panic, as in -the fire, also, there are both incendiaries and thieves, and it is a -matter of doubt, which requires the most vigilance to protect one’s -self from. - - HOW TO PREVENT PANIC. - -The scenes exhibited when a pestilence has passed through the -city—bringing suffering and bereavement to hundreds—when a storm -has swept along the coast, strewing its shores with the ships and -the treasures, which the day before floated securely on the bosom -of the waves—when the locusts have passed over the fields, leaving -nothing but the ravages of destruction behind—and when business men -have passed through the ordeal of a panic—are of one and the same -character, with this difference only; the first are events directed -by Providence, which men have not the power to avert, and the last is -the result of their own folly, or the wicked designs of a few. But it -will be said that no single voice, nor even many voices, can control -the multitude—very true; but when a mob takes place, if every man -would go straight about his own business, instead of stopping to join -in the hue and cry—there would be no mob. And if the magistrates -join in the mob themselves, there is no authority left by which to -control it. When a panic in money matters begins, there seems to be a -predisposition in the bystanders, either from want of employment, the -love of story-telling, or the desire of mischief, to aid all they can -in spreading it. - - A WORD TO CERTAIN EDITORS. - -I might add, too, that many newspapers are not among the least, in -bestowing their influence in this way. Some of them wish to appear wise -above their fellows—and I consider it not at all derogatory to the -general character of ability which they possess, to say that, in money -matters, _some_ of their editors really know very little of the things -about which they prate. I believe it often happens that what they -publish, is but the proclamation of those who design to increase the -panic—and if they are to be believed themselves, _some_ of them have -published things contrary to their better judgment, and perhaps their -own knowledge. - -They can all point to the right quarter, and none of them will consider -this a slander, but such as know they deserve it. - -If, therefore, when a panic begins, men would improve what they know -for themselves, instead of giving their neighbors the benefit of what -they don’t know, but have only heard or surmised—If the magistrates, -the leaders and controllers of the money market, would consult -something else besides their own interest, in promoting it, or their -immediate safety, by escape—we should have a less frequent occurrence -of panic. And, being convinced of these facts, every man can easily -understand, and no doubt does understand, what he ought to do in such a -case. - - A DARK PICTURE. - -But I perceive I am getting wide from my subject, and prating about -the causes of a panic, instead of its consequences. If we would follow -these out to their end, we must leave the disorganized condition of -business, and follow men into their secret communings with themselves; -and mark the anguish of despair, the bitterness of cursing and -disgust with their fellow men, occasioned by their blasted hopes—we -must follow them in their principles, and see how many are corrupted -by example, and how many have done their first act of villainy, in -the vain hope of escaping from its consequences. We must follow -them in their morals, and see how many have, by the excitement of -circumstances, lost their self-respect and control. And we must follow -them to their homes, and see the desolation wrought by a sheriff’s -levy, or a bill in chancery, and witness the broken repose, and see the -tearful eyes of loved ones: and then let any one make a levy or file a -bill, or aid in a panic, who chooses. - -But the mind sickens at the picture, and I turn it with pleasure to a -better light, to bring out its now hidden colors. - - ENCOURAGEMENT AND KINDLY ADVICE. - -Every man must have felt, many times in his life, that it is better -to laugh than to cry. In this case, it certainly is, the proverb of -Solomon to the contrary notwithstanding; and among the many who, in -the last few years, have been the victims of panic, not a few I trust -are, by this time, ready to agree with me. Many an oak has been shorn -of its boughs, and lived to withstand a hundred storms; many a ship, -dismantled of her spars, has gained her port,—and floated again as -gallantly as ever; and many a man bereft of his fortune, has lived to -dispense large bounties of charity from his store; many a one too, who -has long fainted beneath the load of his griefs, has lived to command -those who oppressed him. - -Experience is sometimes a very hard, but always an efficient teacher; -and those who have suffered will have the satisfaction to know better -hereafter, who to trust and what to trust, and taught to rely more on -themselves. And if afraid of a panic in future, he will be able to -prepare himself on the first appearance of the “premonitory symptoms,” -and when he sees it coming on the wings of the wind, like the man in -the simoon, he may then safely turn his back, hold his breath, and let -it pass by. At any rate, like the people I described in the church, -he will find himself more comfortable and happy to return, and take -his seat, than to be wandering about in the cold, among the multitude -without, to find out what has happened. - - AUTHOR’S LEAVE-TAKING. - -I have now finished six days in Wall-street, which, by the only book -of Ethics that I have ever learned, are the whole of the week that is -at my disposal. I can hardly suppose that any man in his senses, has -followed me through all the descriptions of truth and villainy, fact -and fiction, sense and nonsense, which I have here given; but if any -one has been so patient, I am bound to take a courteous leave of him. - -First I am bound to thank him for the “high consideration” given me. -And should his better feelings tell him that I am too severe, I only -request him to ponder what is true— - - Nor set down aught in malice. - -But if when he shuts this book, he shall say, amen, he is entitled to -my thanks for his patience and a double congee for his approval. No -one will of course take any thing that is here written to himself, -unless he discovers in it some features of his own portrait, and to -those who can make such discovery, we owe neither apology nor sympathy. - - MORE YET TO COME. - -I have now taken leave of my venerable friend the Chronicler; but -I have no doubt that while he lives, he will continue to visit -Wall-street daily, as he does also some other popular places of resort, -to “catch the manners living as they rise.” And although I shall not -be favored with his oral communications any more, yet he has promised -me the free use of his diary while he lives, and of his manuscripts -when dead, which are said to contain many important histories, not -only of things long past, but also of the current events of the day, -together with many valuable reminiscences intended only for posthumous -publication. - -But should the good people of Gotham, take so lively an interest in -these revelations, as to invite their continuance, by buying this -book, I can not say that such inducement will not call forth another -compilation, from the mass of materials now at my disposal. - - * * * * * - -Transcriber’s Notes (continued) - -The original text contains errors and many inconsistencies in spelling, -hyphenation and capitalisation. The author acknowledges this in a -light-hearted _nota bene_ to the Preface, adding that he “thought it -best to leave their correction to the intelligent and good humored -reader”. - -In that spirit, minor punctuation errors have been fixed. Other -typographical errors have been corrected as follows: - - “bim” changed to “him” (enabled him to slide) - “both-shores of the atlantic” changed to “both shores of the Atlantic” - “ceriificates” changed to “certificates” (bonds or certificates) - “cheqners” changed to “chequers” (like children at chequers) - “esconce” changed to “ensconce” (he was fain to ensconce himself) - “fortuitious” changed to “fortuitous” (fortuitous circumstances) - “He” capitalised (He banished the thought at once; but who is) - “suthers” changed to “authors” (against the innocent authors of them) - “there” changed to “three” (three hundred and fifty thousand dollars) - “two” changed to “too” (the too frequent gorging of stocks) - -Inconsistencies have been fixed where a consensus usage was obvious. -Hence the following changes to the original text: - - “abreviate” changed to “abbreviate” - “Apalache” changed to “Apalchi” - “accomodations” changed to “accommodations” - “Bank-credit” changed to “Bank credit” - “controled” changed to “controlled” - “embarrasment” changed to “embarrassment” - “fancy-stocks” changed to “fancy stocks” - “general Jackson” changed to “General Jackson” - “indorsing” changed to “endorsing” - “land lopers” changed to “landlopers” - “major Downing” changed to “Major Downing” (but “the major”, - etc., used as per American style) - “mastadon” changed to “mastodon” - “Mr. Eaves-dropper” changed to “Mr. Eavesdropper” - “Mr. Single-eye” changed to “Mr. Single-Eye” - “negociating” changed to “negotiating” - “negociation” changed to “negotiation” - “negociator” changed to “negotiator” - “panic-makers” changed to “panic makers” - “post mortem” changed to “post-mortem” - “rail road” changed to “railroad” - “Rail-Road” changed to “Railroad” - “state-bonds” changed to “state bonds” - “stock-holders” changed to “stockholders” - “to-day” changed to “to day” - “United States bank” changed to “United States Bank” (but “the bank”, - etc., used as per American style) - “wholestock” changed to “whole stock” - -However “New York” and “New-York” have been left unchanged as are -other instances of inconsistent hyphenation and capitalisation or -archaic/obsolete spelling. The latter includes colloquial usage in -quoted conversations and correspondence. - -The page headers of the book have been inserted in the transcribed -text as centred section headers placed above the start of an -appropriate paragraph. On pages of the book without any paragraph -breaks it has been necessary to create a new paragraph at an -appropriate location on the page and the page header placed there as -above. This was required at 16 places in the transcribed text. - -Footnotes have been re-indexed using numbers and collected together -at the end of each chapter. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's A Week in Wall Street, by Frederick Jackson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A WEEK IN WALL STREET *** - -***** This file should be named 62012-0.txt or 62012-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/0/1/62012/ - -Produced by Quentin Campbell and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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