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The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Week in Wall Street, by One Who Knows.
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<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 62012 ***</div>
<div class="coverimg center-img-portrait">
<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="coverpage" />
<hr class="chap" />
</div>
<div class="transnote">
<a id="top" name="top"></a>
<p class="center bold small">Transcriber’s Notes</p>
<p class="small">The cover image was created from the title page by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p>
<hr class="r10" />
<p class="small">The eponymous street of the title appears in three guises:
“wall-street” (once), “Wall Street” (twice) and most commonly
“Wall-street”.</p>
<p class="small">“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”.</p>
<hr class="r10" />
<p class="small">See the <a href="#TN">end
of this document</a> for a full list of corrections and changes.</p>
</div>
<hr class="chap" />
<h1><br /><span class="x-large letter-spaced">A WEEK</span>
<br /><br />
<span class="small">IN</span>
<br /><br />
<span class="xx-large letter-spaced">WALL STREET.</span>
</h1>
<p class="center small bold p4">BY</p>
<p class="center large bold p3 letter-spaced">ONE WHO KNOWS<br /><br /></p>
<hr class="r10" />
<p class="center large letter-spaced"><br />NEW-YORK:</p>
<p class="center large">PUBLISHED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS.</p>
<hr class="r5" />
<p class="center large">1841.</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<p class="center small"><br />Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1841,<br />
BY FREDERICK JACKSON,<br />
In the Clerk’s office of District Court of the Southern District of<br />
New-York.<br /><br />
</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<div class="chapter">
<h2 class="bold nobreak">TABLE OF CONTENTS.</h2>
</div>
<p class="hangtoc narrow">
CHAPTER I.—Introduction—The origin of
Joint Stock Companies, and
Brokers.
</p>
<p class="hangtoc narrow">
CHAPTER II.—The History of the Morrison
Kennel—Nicholas the 1st.—A
Stock Speculation.
</p>
<p class="hangtoc narrow">
CHAPTER III.—State Stocks—History of the
Morrison Kennel continued—Introduction
of new characters—The
U. S. Bank.
</p>
<p class="hangtoc narrow">
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.
</p>
<p class="hangtoc narrow">
CHAPTER V.—The Defaulter.
</p>
<p class="hangtoc narrow">
CHAPTER VI.—A Panic.
</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<div class="chapter">
<h2 class="bold nobreak">PREFACE.</h2>
</div>
<hr class="r10" />
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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,
<a id="FNanchor_1_1" name="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>
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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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 <span class="nowrap">himself—</span></p>
<p class="align-right">
<span class="right-indent-6em">Respectfully,</span><br />
<span class="right-indent-2em"><span class="smcap">The Author</span>.</span>
</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<p>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 <a class="deco-none" href="#P129-7">129th page, 7th line</a>, of “<i>stewardship</i>”
for “<i>friendship</i>.”</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<div class="chapter">
<h2 class="bold nobreak">CHAPTER I.</h2>
</div>
<p class="center narrow small bold">INTRODUCTION.—THE ORIGIN OF JOINT STOCK
COMPANIES AND BROKERS.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HOW BOOKS ARE WONT TO BE MADE.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HOW NEW-YORK BECAME SO POPULOUS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">THE OLD WALL BROKEN DOWN.</div>
<p>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 <i>city
wall</i>, 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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">MR. SOLOMON SINGLE-EYE.</div>
<p>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 <span class="smcap">HIS</span> <i>whole fortune</i>, 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.</p>
<p>At this juncture, Mr. Jacob Broker opened an
office near the wall-street, that was to be, for the
sale and purchase of shares.</p>
<div class="sidenote">MR. JACOB BROKER.</div>
<p>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
<i>entirely disinterested</i>—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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HONESTY AND DISINTERESTEDNESS.</div>
<p>He was of course a man of substance, made so
by his wits, and at the expense of the burghers
of New-York.</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">PRINCIPLES OF TRADE.</div>
<p>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 <i>did</i> 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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">MORAL REFLECTIONS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">VIRTUE OF CORPORATIONS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">DISCOVERY IN NATURAL HISTORY.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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<a id="FNanchor_2_2" name="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> 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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">SIMPLICITY OF THE GOVERNMENT.</div>
<p>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, (<i>vide the great state of Pennsylvania
and the U. S. Bank.</i>)</p>
<div class="sidenote">WHAT A DIRECTOR SHOULD BE.</div>
<p>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 <i>surveillance</i> 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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">DEGENERACY OF OUR DAYS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">STOCK COMPANIES.</div>
<p>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 <i>moderate</i> income. Accordingly,
whenever a company is started, and
the stock <i>all</i> 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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">EVIL TO HIM WHO EVIL THINKS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">A DIRECTOR A WEASLE.</div>
<p>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 <i>shrewd</i> 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 <i>bi</i> and <i>quadru</i>.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">COMMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HONORABLE END OF SINGLE-EYE.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">THE MORRISON KENNEL.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<div class="chapter">
<h2 class="bold nobreak">CHAPTER II.</h2>
</div>
<p class="center narrow small bold">THE HISTORY OF THE MORRISON KENNEL—NICHOLAS
THE 1ST—A STOCK SPECULATION,
&C.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">ONE HONEST MAN IN WALL-STREET.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">THE VALUE OF A NAME.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">WHY THIS WAS CALLED KENNEL.</div>
<p>“This company would probably never have attained
the <i>soubriquet</i> 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 <i>not</i> last as long as the second
<i>did</i>.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">MR. FRIENDLY AND HIS APPETITE.</div>
<p>“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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">FRIENDLY’S CAUTION.</div>
<p>“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.”</p>
<div class="leftnote">CALLS ON BOTTOMLY.</div>
<p>“Good morning, John,” said he, “how are
you?”</p>
<p>“Pretty well Dan, how are you?”</p>
<p>“Hard up.”</p>
<p>“Hard up,” eh!—“No cornering, I hope”—“No,”—“dull
times, no movements, things are
paralysed, very much.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“John,” said he, “the Morrison stock is very
low, what do you think of it?”</p>
<p>“That it sells for more than it is worth.”</p>
<p>“That may be, but a thing is worth what it
will bring.”</p>
<p>“The seller always thinks so, but the buyer
sometimes finds that he has paid too dear for the
whistle.”</p>
<div class="leftnote">TWO WISE HEADS TOGETHER.</div>
<p>“What would you think, John, to see the
Morrison at 75.”</p>
<p>“I should think very strange.”</p>
<p>“Stranger things have happened though, John.
I have a mind to move in the Morrison, what
say you to join me?”</p>
<p>“What do you propose?”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>“That would be too much power to get in
our hands, Dan, would it not?”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>“What amount of exaction do you think
would be an abuse of such power?”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>“But that would be using force to appropriate
other people’s money to our own use. I think it
would not be justifiable.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">PLAN CHANGED.</div>
<p>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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">THE BANK PARLOR.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Mr. Friendly disclosed his errand at once, and
was well received.</p>
<div class="sidenote">EAVESDROPPERS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">EAVESDROPPERS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">MR. SPRIGGINS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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:</p>
<p>“Dan, what does all this speculation in the
Morrison mean?”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">THE FEVER UP.</div>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">LOAFERS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">DEEP IN FOR IT.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HOW SOME PEOPLE NEGOTIATE LOANS.</div>
<p>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 <i>loan</i>,
as fast as the greedy purchases of Mr. Spriggins
could command the large amount necessary.</p>
<div class="sidenote">FRIENDLY’S PLAN CONSUMMATED.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">THE DIRECTORS STUCK FAST.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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
<i>when</i> they are <i>finished</i> it will improve the value
of his stock fifty per cent.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">A WISE SUGGESTION—ITS RESULT.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">OLD NICK’S SHREWDNESS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HOW THE OPERATORS CAME OUT.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">RESULTS OF GAMBLING.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">GOOD LESSONS TO THOSE WHO WILL HEAR.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<div class="chapter">
<h2 class="bold nobreak">CHAPTER III.</h2>
</div>
<p class="center narrow small bold">STATE STOCKS—HISTORY OF THE MORRISON
KENNEL CONTINUED—INTRODUCTION OF
NEW CHARACTERS—THE U. S. BANK, &C.</p>
<div class="sidenote">BUBBLES.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HOW WISE MEN HAVE BEEN DUPED.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">BUTTONING UP.</div>
<p>“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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">NICK’S TALENTS AND COURTESY.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">THE <span class="nowrap">D——L</span> NOT TO BE FEARED.</div>
<p>“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
<span class="nowrap">D——l</span> is to pay, and we have no money. True,
answered Nicholas, you owe <i>me</i> a good deal
of money, but if that is all, it can no doubt be
arranged.</p>
<p>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 <span class="nowrap">to—to—<i>you</i></span>, sir.</p>
<p>“Sit down, Mr. Faintheart,” said Nicholas,
“your wit amuses us.”</p>
<p>Mr. Faintheart sat down, but was unable sufficiently
to master his disturbed, and mortified
feelings, to utter another word.</p>
<div class="sidenote">EVERY MAN HAS HIS PRICE.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">FIGURES MAY BE MADE TO LIE.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">NEW CHARACTERS.</div>
<p>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 <span class="nowrap">d——l</span> 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 <i>can</i> 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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">A WESTERN FINANCIER.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">DINING PRELIMINARY, &C.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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:</p>
<div class="leftnote">DIRECTORS’S WIT AND CHAMPAGNE.</div>
<p><span class="smcap">Prest.</span> Gentlemen: in conformity with your
request, I have attended to the duty imposed on
me, and my report <span class="nowrap">is—that</span> in stubbornness, one
Hoosier is more than a match for us all.</p>
<p>“Ha, ha, ha!” all around the board.</p>
<p>G. Well, in cunning how does he stand, Mr.
President?</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Prest.</span> Simple as a doe.</p>
<p>T. Then he can’t escape, G., if we turn him
over to you.</p>
<p>G. Leave off your jokes, T.; this is not a
place for them. Mr. President, what says he to
our proposal?</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Prest.</span> He likes it not; he wants more ready
money than we possess—he won’t budge.</p>
<p>S. But, if we could get possession of the
bonds, I think I could make a private advance.</p>
<p>T. (<i>aside.</i>) Yes, no doubt, and a private profit,
too.</p>
<p>G. Does he object to our credit, Mr. President.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Prest.</span> Not at all; he has the most perfect
confidence; that was cared for at Philadelphia,
before he came here.</p>
<p>J. Can’t we come over him with champagne?</p>
<div class="leftnote">PLANS, HARD NAMES, AND FLOORING.</div>
<p>T. If we had less sham here, I think it would
be better.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>T. And, if you are not quick about it, John-of-the-Field
will outwit you all.</p>
<p>J. What says Mr. Bold Eno?</p>
<p>G. He is throwing cold water, and I suspect
he is attacking our credit.</p>
<p>J. Tell the commissioner, then, that we will
mortgage the Kennel to him.</p>
<p>G. But, it is mortgaged already.</p>
<p>S. No matter, tell him it is only for 700,000,
and cost two millions and a half.</p>
<p>T. Yes, and you can tell what became of
some of the money, eh?</p>
<p>S. Mr. T., you are impertinent; do you accuse
me sir, at this board. Sir, you are a <i>scoundrel</i>.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="leftnote">AVOID INDIVIDUAL LIABILITY.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Prest.</span> Gentlemen, I must use my prerogative!
order—gentlemen, order!</p>
<p>W. Gentlemen, this is not what I expected; I
must retire.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Messrs. W. and T. here retired, and the rest
again took their seats.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Prest.</span> Suppose, gentlemen, we send for
Nicholas?</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Prest.</span> 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.</p>
<p>G. Suppose, then, gentlemen, that we resolve
ourselves into a committee, and call the commissioner
in to-morrow.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="leftnote">BREAKING UP—COLLOQUY.</div>
<p>As they went out, J. said, “Mr. G., look well
that the commissioner has not another interview
with Bold Eno.”</p>
<p>“Never fear,” answered G.; “I have provided
employment for him.”</p>
<p>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:</p>
<div class="leftnote">PALAVER.</div>
<p><span class="smcap">John.</span> Mr. Commissioner, your State is one
of great resources, I think.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Com.</span> Undoubtedly, sir; surpassing that of
any other State in the Union; <i>i. e.</i> when they are
fully developed.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">John.</span> 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 <i>here</i>, which is our great advantage.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Com.</span> 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.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">John.</span> 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.</p>
<p>Here John, perceiving a stare of surprise and
doubt in the eye of the commissioner, added, “<i>i. e.</i>
provided they could turn their lands to a better
account, by the cultivation of products more
congenial to the poverty of their soil.”</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Com.</span> 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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">FEELING HIS WAY.</div>
<p><span class="smcap">John.</span> 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.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Com.</span> Perhaps the best introduction to such
an arrangement, would be, for you to take up the
loan now offered.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">John.</span> Well, my investments, latterly, have
been very large, which I would not like to disturb
at present, but if it would <i>accommodate</i>
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 <i>when</i> 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>i. e.</i>, 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.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Com.</span> 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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">JOHN OVERSHOOTS HIS MARK.</div>
<p><span class="smcap">John.</span> 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.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Com.</span> 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.</p>
<p>As soon as the commissioner had left, John
held this soliloquy with himself:</p>
<div class="sidenote">HIS SOLILOQUY THEREUPON.</div>
<p>“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
<i>small debt</i> 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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">HIS GAME UP.</div>
<p>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 <i>him</i>, whom the
State has adjudged to possess a wiser head than
mine.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HOW TO “COME OVER” A MAN.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">GOOD EFFECTS OF HOSPITALITY.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">A WORD ABOUT THE WEST.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">THE BUBBLE WELL BLOWN.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">MYSTERIES LEFT UNEXPLAINED.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">CHARITY BEGINNING AT HOME.</div>
<p>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 <i>reward</i>. <i>Their</i> 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. <i>They</i> had a facility for raising
money that other people had not, and duty required
that <i>they</i> 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 <i>commercial</i>
<i>interest</i>.</p>
<div class="sidenote">A CURE FOR HYPO.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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, <i>nobody</i> 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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">CRISIS APPROACHING—NICK RETIRES.</div>
<p>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 <i>them</i>.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">SKULKING.</div>
<p>In this dilemma, the curs of the Morrison, perceiving
that although they had paid the debt to
Nicholas, contracted under the old direction,
<i>they had, in another shape, just doubled it under
the new</i>—that each of them had served <i>his
own</i> 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">A TOUCH OF THE PATHETIC.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">A SHOW OF REASON.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.<a id="FNanchor_3_3" name="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> 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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">DISEASE—ITS NATURE AND CAUSE.</div>
<p>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, <i>corruption</i> took place long before
death, and <i>mortification</i> 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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">PRACTICAL HINTS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">THE WAY OF SAFETY.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">WHAT EXPERIENCE SAYS ABOUT IT.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<div class="chapter">
<h2 class="bold nobreak">CHAPTER IV.</h2>
</div>
<p class="center narrow small bold">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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">THE LAWLESS HAVE LAWS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">BULL-BACKERS AND BEAR-TRAPS.</div>
<p>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 <i>cornering</i>—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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HOW TO QUALIFY FOR WALL-STREET.</div>
<p>“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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">FANCIES BETTER THAN SOUND STOCKS.</div>
<p>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 <i>depreciated</i>
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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HOW FALSE LIGHTS ARE SHOWN.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">WHO IS TO BLAME.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">SECRETS LET OUT.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">A NO. 1. CHARACTER.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HIS CHARACTER.</div>
<p>His knowledge of men and things is regulated
by their <i>properties</i>, 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
“<i>a purchase power</i>,” 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">GETS TRAPPED.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">IN A QUANDARY.</div>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">WORKS OUT BY DRAWING OTHERS IN.</div>
<p>Mr. T. had need of no further exertion, to accomplish
his purpose, than to make his course
<i>manifest to them</i>, 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 <i>him</i>,” 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 <i>they</i> 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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">EVILS OF TALKING IN SLEEP.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HOW BROKERS SOMETIMES FAIL.</div>
<p>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 <i>bets</i>, 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HOW THEY GET UP AGAIN.</div>
<p>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 <i>they</i> are to seize an opportunity.</p>
<div class="sidenote">AMUSING OPERATIONS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">WALL-STREET NOT A SAFE PLACE.</div>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">FICTITIOUS CREDIT.</div>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">COMMON MISTAKE.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HOW THEY GET SERVED.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HUNGRY BEGGARS.</div>
<p>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 <span class="nowrap">d——l</span> take
the hindmost,” was uppermost in his thoughts.</p>
<div class="sidenote">MONEY MADE BY FEEDING BEGGARS.</div>
<p>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 “<i>au fait</i>,” 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 <i>profitably</i>
applied, and when occasionally, some one
received <i>permission</i> 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.”</p>
<p>“But I do not know what to do with it,” says
Mr. A. “How will that relieve me?”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">THE DEATH-STRUGGLE.</div>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="leftnote">A BRACE OF JACK-ALLS.</div>
<p><span class="smcap">Jack.</span> Well Bob, this business works well
yet, I have pocketed five hundred dollars,
to day.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Bob.</span> 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.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Jack.</span> 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.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Bob.</span> 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.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Jack.</span> 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.</p>
<div class="leftnote">HOPES AND COMPLIMENTS.</div>
<p><span class="smcap">Bob.</span> Arragh, Jack! and you’re complimentary—but
the marquis cares nothing about your
ragamuffin authorities.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Jack.</span> No Bobby, true, but he cares about
your dividends, and that is what you are to
take care of.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Bob.</span> Sure and I’ll take care of that, by the
faith of me, and how much shall <i>we</i> make,
Jack, by this management?</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Jack.</span> Why at least fifty thousand a piece,
if nothing occurs till the excitement is over.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Bob.</span> If nothing happens, aye, and there’s the
rub, Jack. I’m afraid you’ll bleed some of the
patients to death.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Jack.</span> 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.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Bob.</span> 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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">A PROBLEM.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">A DEFAULTER.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<div class="chapter">
<h2 class="bold nobreak">CHAPTER V.</h2>
</div>
<p class="center narrow small bold">HISTORY OF A DEFALCATION.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">PUBLIC DEFAULTERS HONEST MEN.</div>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">THE TRUE LIGHT.</div>
<p>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 <i>their</i> 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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">MORE OF DEFAULTS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="leftnote">JACK DOWNING IMPLICATED.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">JACK’S LETTER <span class="nowrap">TO ——</span></div>
<p>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.</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="align-right right-indent-2em">
<i>Washington</i>, 1835.
</p>
<p>To squire S——<br />
<span class="pad-left">in New-York.</span>
</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>. 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.”</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="sidenote">GENERAL JACKSON “RILED.”</div>
<blockquote>
<p>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,<a id="FNanchor_4_4" name="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a>
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.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="sidenote">HIS PASSION—AND OPINIONS.</div>
<blockquote>
<p>The ginral always said you did right in payin
for printin things agin Biddle and the bank—because
says <span class="nowrap">he—as</span> 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 <i>as a bird,
and says he, major</i>, seein as the deposites are
moved, we can play them double game.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="sidenote">JACK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MISCHIEF.</div>
<blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
<p class="align-right right-indent-22pc">
<span class="smcap">J. Downing, major</span><br />
2nd brigade.<br /><br />
</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="sidenote">CAUSE OF JACK’S DISGRACE.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">NON PLUS’D.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">A GOOD FINANCIER.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">IN A DEEP STUDY.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">RESOLVES—AND GOES AHEAD.</div>
<p>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 <i>not wrong</i>, he <i>must</i> be <i>right</i>, was the
result of his logical reasoning; and certainly, no
more self-evident conclusion was ever drawn
from premises.</p>
<p>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 <i>respectable</i>
companies, and from the handsomest
drawn maps he could find.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">ANECDOTE.</div>
<p>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.”</p>
<div class="leftnote">A YANKEE.</div>
<p>“Well mister, what will you take now, for that
are land?”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“Did you say a thousand dollars, mister?”</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>“That’s raither high. Jest let me see them are
papers, mister.”</p>
<p>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, <span class="nowrap">asked—</span></p>
<p>“Won’t you take no less, Mister?”</p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p>“Well, I’ll take it, just make me the title.”</p>
<div class="leftnote">COME OVER BY A YANKEE.</div>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>“Why,” said the Yankee, “there’s a darned
good lead mine on it.”</p>
<p>“There is, eh!—how much is it worth?”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>“The <span class="nowrap">d——l</span> you do?”</p>
<p>“Yes—good bye, Squire.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">DOCTRINE OF CHANCES.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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 <i>aggregate</i> 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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">TRUE SECRET OF SUCCESS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">DEFAULTER IN DESPAIR.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">FINDS A FRIEND.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">BOTH IN THE SAME BOX.</div>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>“So did mine!” was the full and sonorous
response.</p>
<p>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 <span class="nowrap">arch-fiend—</span></p>
<blockquote>
<p class="quotation">Ten paces huge he back recoiled;<br />
The tenth on bended knee.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">THEY TAKE COUNSEL TOGETHER.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">THEY ABSQUATULATE.</div>
<p>But the day of retribution always comes
sooner than we expect. The government <i>had</i>
changed hands—new interests <i>had</i> arisen—new
applications for office <i>had</i> been made. They
<i>had</i> 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 <a id="P129-7" name="P129-7">friendship</a>, they were both compelled
to fly in disguise and disgrace, from the
presence of their countrymen, and from the joys
of home.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<div class="chapter">
<h2 class="bold nobreak">CHAPTER VI.</h2>
</div>
<p class="center narrow small bold">SHOWING WHAT A PANIC IS—ITS CAUSES—ITS
BEGINNING—ITS ADVANTAGES, AND ITS
CONSEQUENCES.—WITH THE AUTHOR’S
LEAVE-TAKING.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">A PANIC—WHAT IS IT?</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>What could it be for? says one.</p>
<p>Sure enough <i>what could</i> it be for? says another.</p>
<div class="leftnote">A PANIC IN THE COUNTRY.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>What is Mrs. Toddle running about the street
for? says one.</p>
<p>I expect she has gone to enquire about the
school mistress. Says another.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">PANICS AND PANIC MAKERS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">NATURAL PANICS—A RUSH.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">A MONEY PANIC.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HOW IT WORKS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">MONSIEUR IN A FRIGHT.</div>
<p>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 <i>que vous me devez</i>.”</p>
<p>Ah! I thought it was to remain, we have paid
you interest for it, when it was of no use to us.</p>
<p>“Eh! mon Dieu! I shall lose.”</p>
<p>“If you are alarmed for its safety, we have no
objection to paying you.”</p>
<p>“Sare, I must have.”</p>
<p>The merchant directed a check to be drawn,
for the principal and interest, which he handed
to him, with a receipt for his signature.</p>
<p>“What is dis, monsieur?”</p>
<p>“That is a check for the money.”</p>
<p>“Den you pay?”</p>
<p>“Yes, you demanded your pay.”</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">FOLLIES OF A PANIC.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>These are some of the follies of the panic.
The villainies also deserve some notice.</p>
<div class="sidenote">VILLAINIES THEREOF.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">A CASE IN MORALS.</div>
<p>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 <i>them</i> in also.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">CHARACTER IN, AND OUT, OF WALL-ST.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">MONEY, KNOWLEDGE AND HONESTY.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<div class="sidenote">SOMETHING BY WAY OF CONTRAST.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">ADVANTAGES OF PANICS.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Its advantages, also, to the separate classes of
dealers, who inhabit Wall-street, deserve each a
passing notice.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">WHY SOME MEN LOVE PANICS.</div>
<p>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, <i>he</i> 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 <i>their</i> interest advances
exactly in proportion as they can discredit them.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">CONSEQUENCES OF PANIC.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">HOW TO PREVENT PANIC.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">A WORD TO CERTAIN EDITORS.</div>
<p>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, <i>some</i> 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, <i>some</i> of them have published
things contrary to their better judgment, and
perhaps their own knowledge.</p>
<p>They can all point to the right quarter, and
none of them will consider this a slander, but
such as know they deserve it.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">A DARK PICTURE.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>But the mind sickens at the picture, and I
turn it with pleasure to a better light, to bring
out its now hidden colors.</p>
<div class="sidenote">ENCOURAGEMENT AND KINDLY ADVICE.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">AUTHOR’S LEAVE-TAKING.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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—</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="quotation">Nor set down aught in malice.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="sidenote">MORE YET TO COME.</div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.
</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<div class="footnotes">
<div class="chapter">
<h2 class="bold p2 nobreak">FOOTNOTES</h2>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p><a id="Footnote_1_1" name="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a>
We intend to refer to Major 2nd., the bosom friend of
General Jackson, not the original major, down east.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p><a id="Footnote_2_2" name="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a>
See Boswell’s posthumous edition.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p><a id="Footnote_3_3" name="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a>
Since the above was written, the affairs of the U. S. B.
have been examined by a committee.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p><a id="Footnote_4_4" name="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a>
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.</p>
</div>
</div>
<hr class="end-of-book" />
<div class="transnote">
<p class="center bold small"><a id="TN" name="TN"></a>Transcriber’s Notes (continued)</p>
<p class="small">The original text contains errors and many inconsistencies in spelling, hyphenation
and capitalisation. The author
acknowledges this in a light-hearted <i>nota bene</i> to the Preface, adding that he “thought it best
to leave their correction to the intelligent and good humored reader”.</p>
<p class="small">In that spirit, minor punctuation errors have been fixed. Other typographical errors have
been corrected as follows:</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“bim” changed to “him” (enabled him to slide)</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“both-shores of the atlantic” changed to “both shores of the Atlantic”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“ceriificates” changed to “certificates” (bonds or certificates)</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“cheqners” changed to “chequers” (like children at chequers)</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“esconce” changed to “ensconce” (he was fain to ensconce himself)</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“fortuitious” changed to “fortuitous” (fortuitous circumstances)</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“He” capitalised (He banished the thought at once; but who is)</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“suthers” changed to “authors” (against the innocent authors of them)</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“there” changed to “three” (three hundred and fifty thousand dollars)</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“two” changed to “too” (the too frequent gorging of stocks)</p>
<p class="small">Inconsistencies have been fixed
where a consensus usage was obvious. Hence the following changes
to the original text:</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“abreviate” changed to “abbreviate”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“Apalache” changed to “Apalchi”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“accomodations” changed to “accommodations”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“Bank-credit” changed to “Bank credit”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“controled” changed to “controlled”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“embarrasment” changed to “embarrassment”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“fancy-stocks” changed to “fancy stocks”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“general Jackson” changed to “General Jackson”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“indorsing” changed to “endorsing”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“land lopers” changed to “landlopers”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“major Downing” changed to “Major Downing” (but “the major”, etc., used as per American style)</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“mastadon” changed to “mastodon”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“Mr. Eaves-dropper” changed to “Mr. Eavesdropper”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“Mr. Single-eye” changed to “Mr. Single-Eye”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“negociating” changed to “negotiating”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“negociation” changed to “negotiation”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“negociator” changed to “negotiator”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“panic-makers” changed to “panic makers”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“post mortem” changed to “post-mortem”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“rail road” changed to “railroad”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“Rail-Road” changed to “Railroad”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“state-bonds” changed to “state bonds”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“stock-holders” changed to “stockholders”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“to-day” changed to “to day”</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“United States bank” changed to “United States Bank” (but “the bank”, etc., used as per American style)</p>
<p class="p1 small indent-1em">“wholestock” changed to “whole stock”</p>
<p class="small">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.</p>
<p class="small">The page headers of the book have been inserted in the transcribed
text as sidenotes placed next to 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.</p>
<p class="small">Footnotes have been re-indexed using numbers and collected together at
the end of the book.</p>
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</div>
<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 62012 ***</div>
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