attack. At last, intelligence reached
them that the rioters were moving to-
ward their locality. As a pious mob
was no more to be trusted, pecuniarily,
than a political one, the court, assem-
bled to " concert measures proper to be
taken," and sent to the principal Secre-
tary of State for a guard to prevent any
attempt they might make on the bank.
When the message was received the
Earl of Sunderland made its tenor
known to the queen, who immediately
ordered both horse and foot out to quell
the tumult, leaving her own person
without protection. " God will be my
guard," was her ready reply, when re-
minded of her danger. A detachment
under Captain Horsey was immediately
ordered into the city to prevent the
meditated attack on the alarmed direc-
tors. "Am I to preach or fight?"
was the question of the blunt soldier,
on receiving his instructions. There
proved, however, to be no occasion for
either. The rioters retreated in alarm ;
the ~bank was saved from pillage, ~by the
self -sacrifice and devotion of the queen.
Rendering- Bank Notes Serviceable.
THE uses of bank notes are manifold ;
but the following is a novel mode of
rendering them serviceable. One of
these for 5 came in the course of busi-
ness to a mercantile house in Liverpool.
On the back of it was written : " If this
note gets into the hands of John Dean,
of Longhill, near Carlisle, his brother
Andrew is a prisoner in Algiers." The
circumstance was interesting and ap-
peared in a newspaper, in which the
paragraph was perused by a person in
Carlisle, who had known in past years
one Andrew Dean, and was still ac-
quainted with his brother John Dean,
of the place named in the note. The
son of the latter happened to be in
Carlisle, and hearing the intelligence,
gave such a report of his uncle that
there was every reason to believe he
was the Andrew Dean whose captivity
became thus singularly known to his
friends in England. Of these things
are formed the romance of life ; and
the impossibility of assisting the Alge-
rine slave must often have been a
painful remembrance to the prisoner's
brother.
Supposititious "Will of the Bank-of-
England Directors.
THE success which attended the op-
erations of the Bank of England, in its
early history, naturally provoked com-
petition. A bank was proposed by Dr.
Hugh Chamberlain, to advance money
on the security of landed property, and
though the Bank of England had no
occasion to fear rivalry, they petitioned
against it, and were heard by their
counsel. All that the proj ectors required
was money ; and as that was not ready
at the appointed period, " the roman-
tic Land Bank " failed. A war of most
sarcastic pamphlets ensued between the
friends of the new scheme and those of
the old institution, one of these pam-
phlets being entitled : " The Trial and
Condemnation of the Land Bank, at Ex-
eter 'Change, for murdering the Bank of
England at Grocers' Hall." A will, by
no means complimentary to the ^rec-
tors of the latter, is supposed to be pro-
duced at the trial. It runs as follows :
118
COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS ANECDOTES.
" Know all our creditors by these
presents, that we, the Governor and
Company of the Bank of England, be-
ing weak in body through the wounds
received from the Land Bank at Exeter
Change, to whom we lay our death,
but of as good sense as ever we were,
finding ourselves impaired in our credit
and reputation, and despairing of re-
covery, do make our last will and testa-
ment.
" 1st. We bequeath our soul to the
devil, in order to serve the public out
of our creditors' money ; and as to the
qualities of our mind, we dispose them as
follows, namely, all our skill in foreign
exchanges, and our probity and candor
in making up the accounts of the loss
thereof, we give to all and every of our
directors, except four or five, jointly
and severally, to hold to them, and
to their successors, as heirlooms, and
imperishable monuments of their skill
and probity forever. All our obstinacy
and blunders we give unto our present
governor, upon trust, that he shall em-
ploy one equal third part thereof as one
of the lords of the Admiralty, and the
other part thereof as Governor of the
Bank of England. All our oaths, im-
pudence, &c., we give unto our present
deputy governor and our dear Sir Hen-
ry Furnese, to hold in joint partner-
ship during their lives, and the survivor
to have the whole. All our shuffling
tricks we give to our dear Sir "William
Gore. All our cynicalness and self-
conceit we give to our directors, Sir
John Ward and Sir Gilbert Heathcote,
equally to be divided betwixt them,
share and share alike, as tenants in
common. All our blindness and fear
we give unto our dear Obadiah Sedg-
wick, and we also give him 5 in mon-
ey to buy him a new cloth coat, a new
half-beaver hat, a second-hand periwig,
and an old black sword to solicit with
in the lobby, and also to buy him a
pair^>f spectacles to write letters to
lords with.
" As to the residue of our temporal
estate (besides the said 5) we dispose
thereof as followeth : Imprimis, we de-
vise to our own members (when they
shall have paid in our 100 per cent.)
our fund of 100,000 per annum, charg-
ed and chargeable, nevertheless, with
the sum of 1,200,000, for which it
stands mortgaged, by bank bills, in full
satisfaction of all their great expecta-
tions from the probity and skill of our
directors, advising them to accept a re-
demption thereof by Parliament, when-
ever they can have it.
" Item all our ready moneys, before
any of our debts are paid, we give to
our executors, hereinafter named, in
trust, that they shall, from time to
time, until 1st August, 1696, lend the
same into the exchequer, upon condi-
tion to defeat the establishment of the
Land Bank ; and from and after the 1st
said August, then to lend out the same
into the said exchequer, upon security
of premises to establish our executors
the next session, instead of the Land
Bank, and for such other premiums as
our said executors can give to them-
selves, for doing thereof. And we do
direct our said executors to continue
the stock and pensions already allowed
to our past friends they know where.
And after all our ready moneys so dis-
posed, we leave the residue of our effects
for payment of bills and notes, at such
days and hours, and in such manner and
proportion, and with such preferences,
as our said executors shall see fit. And
we do hereby constitute our directors
executors of this our will, giving each
of them power, out of our cash, to
discount their own tallies, bills and
notes, at par ; and the bills and notes
of other of our creditors at the highest
discount they can get for the same.
" And our Ijody we commit to ~be Iwrned,
with all privacy, lest our creditors arrest
our corpse. In witness wherof, we
have hereunto set our common seal, 4th
May, 1696."
The epitaph was as follows :
" Here lies the body of the Bank of
BUSINESS PURSUITS IN THEIR MONEY RELATIONS.
119
England, who was born in the year
1694, died May 5th, 1696, in the third
year of its age. They had issue legiti-
mate by their common seal, 1,200,000,
called bank bills, and by their cashier
two million sons of called Speed's
notes." . t
Immense Consignment of Gold to a
New York House.
THE great business crash in 1837 was
attended by a universal suspension of
specie payments by the banks through-
out the country. Under these circum-
stances, and in view of the extensive
business relations between the United
States and England, application was
made to the bankers and capitalists of
the latter country, for such aid as would
encourage Americans then struggling
to extricate themselves from embarrass-
ments, and enable them to return to
specie payments. To effect this, Mr.
James Gr. King, of the house of Prime,
Ward & King, New York, proceeded
to England, and was warmly received
and eagerly consulted by bankers and
merchants in London. His calm and
assured tone and judgment did much
to allay the apprehension which panic
and ignorance of the extent of resources
possessed by the American commercial
community and banks, had produced.
He startled the bank-parlor in
Threadneedle-street by a suggestion,
that instead of embarrassing American
merchants by discrediting, as they had
been doing, paper connected with the
American trade, it nearly concerned the
solvency of many of their own cus-
tomers, and thtis their own interests,
that liberal aid should rather be ex-
tended to that trade. He finally
brought them over to these views, and
proposed that the Bank of England at
once send over several million dollars
in coin, to strengthen the American
banks and enable them to resume. In
conformity with Mr. King's opinions
and plan, the bank consigned to his
firm the immense sum of one million
pounds sterling in gold, upon the sole
responsibility of that house and the
guaranty of Baring Brothers & Co.
The receipt of this coin in America pro-
duced at once a realization of the re-
sult anticipated by Mr. King, and the
transaction constitutes one of the most
important events in the financial his-
tory of the United States, nor is it ne-
cessary to state that Mr. King added
much to his already high renown as a
merchant and banker, by the part he so
grandly enacted. The affair was wound
up without loss and with great prompt-
ness.
"Accommodation" offered at the
Bank.
A CAPITAL example of what is often
termed " taking the starch out," hap-
pened in a country bank in New Eng-
land. A pompous, well-dressed indi-
vidual entered the bank, and, address-
ing the teller, who is something of a
wag, inquired :
" Is the cashier in ? "
" No, Sir," was the reply.
" Well, I am dealing in pens, supply-
ing the New England banks pretty
largely, and I suppose it will be proper
for me to deal with the cashier."
" I suppose it will," said the teller.
" Very well ; I will wait."
The pen peddler took a chair and sat
composedly for a full hour, waiting for
the cashier. By that time he began to
grow uneasy, but sat twisting in his
chair for about twenty minutes, and,
seeing no prospect of a change in his
circumstances, asked the teller how
soon the cashier would be in.
" Well, I don't know exactly," said
the waggish teller, " but I expect him in
about eight weeks. He has j ust gone to
Lake Superior, and told me he thought
he should come back in that time."
Peddler thought he would not wait.
" Oh, you may stay if you wish," said
the teller, very blandly. " We have no
objection to your sitting here in Aie day-
time, and you can probably find some
120
COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS ANECDOTES.
place in town where they will be glad
to keep you nights."
The pompous peddler disappeared
without another word.
Pennsylvania Bonds.
AT the time when Sidney Smith, the
reverend canon of St. Paul's, was de-
nouncing the " drab-coated men of
Pennsylvania" for neglecting to pay
the interest on their State stock, of
which he held a considerable amount,
he was visited by a young author, ex-
ceedingly lavish in his compliments and
flattery, and who declared that if he
could only hope to attain to even a
small degree of the fame and honor
which he (Sidney) enjoyed, he would
be the most happy man on earth. " My
dear young friend," said the canon,
" I would that you were not only al-
most, but altogether such as I am, ex-
cept these lands," laying his hand at the
same time on the certificates of his
Pennsylvania stock lying on the desk
before him.
PART THIRD.
ANECDOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF TEE SUCCESSFUL
BUSINESS QUALITIES.
PAET THIKD.
Anecdotes and Illustrations of the Successful Business Qualities.
INTEGRITY, ENTERPRISE, ENERGY, PERSEVERANCE, COURAGE, SHREWDNESS, PUNCTILIOUSNESS,
PRUDENCE, AMBITION, GRATITUDE, BENEVOLENCE, GENEROSITY, ECONOMY; WITH PEN-
CILLINGS OF STRIKING BUSINESS ADVENTURES, VICISSITUDES, EXPLOITS, AND ACHIEVE-
MENTS, BOTH SERIOUS AND COMICAL.
'Tig not in mortals to command success ;
But we'll do more, Sempronius, we'll deserve it. ADDISON'S " CATO."
In all negotiations of difficulty, a man may not look to BOW and reap at once ; but must prepare
business, and so ripen it by degrees. LORD BACON.
It is in vain to put wealth within the reach of him who -will not stretch out his hand to take
it. JOHNSON.
A merchant who always tells the truth, and a genius who never lies, are synonymous to a
saint. LAVATER.
Of plain sound sense life's current coin is made ;
"With that we drive the most substantial trade. YOUNG.
Making Conditions King- James and
the Corn Merchants.
DURING the reign of James the First,
a great dearth of corn happened, which
obliged his majesty to send for the
celebrated Eastland Company of mer-
chants. He told them, that to obviate
the present scarcity, they must load
their homeward-bound ships with corn ;
which they promised to do, and so
retired. One of the lords of the coun-
cil, however, said to the king, that such
a promise signified little, unless they
agreed at what price it should be sold ;
on which they were all called back, and
acquainted that the king desired a more
explicit answer. The deputy replied :
" Sir, we will freight and buy our
corn as cheap as we can, and sell it
here as we can afford it; but to be
confined to any certain price, we can-
not." Being still pressed for a more
distinct answer, the deputy, who was
not only a princely merchant but a
great foxhunter, said to the king:
" Sir, your majesty is a lover of the
noble sport of hunting so am I, and
I keep a few dogs ; but if my dogs do
not love the sport as well as we, I
might as well hunt with hogs as with
dogs." The king replied : " Say no
more, man, thou art in the right; go
and do as well as you can, but le sure
you String the corn."
Shaking One's Business Credit.
A good story is told of old Mr. Ful-
ler, once the famous banker of Cornhill,
London founder of the firm now loca-
ted in one of the splendid bank palaces
in Moorgate street, shining with plate
glass, polished mahogany, brass railings,
and bronze candelabra, a glance at
which would have half driven its head
and originator into Bedlam.
Mr. Fuller not only lived at his bank,
but even had his washing done on the
spot. On such days, for many a revolv-
ing year, every one who passed his
door at or about noon might have seen
124
COMMERCIAL AXD BUSINESS ANECDOTES.
a single pint of porter placed at the
foot of the staircase; that was the
washerwoman's allowance. In process
of time this constant pint, so long a
pint, became a pot, and forthwith there
was a sensation at the bank, in Corn-
hill, and all along Lombard street !
The twelve o'clock pint of beer that
had stood so long, at Fuller's bank,
had been increased to a pot! Every
one talked of the event ; and at last
one customer whether a dull, hard-
hearted, unhappy miser, or some solemn
mocker, pleased to trifle with the infir-
mities of poor human nature, cannot be
told drew the senior partner's atten-
tion to the circumstance, in this formal
manner : Entering the bank, one morn-
ing, and finding the old gentleman
fixed, as usual, woodwork ; like to his
desk, as if he was a component part of
that article, he drew near and thus be-
gan:
" I have banked with you now, Mr.
Fuller, for a good many years."
Mr. Fuller hereupon bowed, not his
head, but head, shoulders, and half his
body, smirked, and replied : " Yes,
many thanks for your favors ; you have,
sir."
" I have, Mr. Fuller," continued the
other, " and have always felt great satis-
faction in keeping my account with
you until lately."
"Indeed, sir," interrupted the old
gentleman, with quick anxiety, laying
down his pen, and pushing his spec-
tacles from his eyes up to his forehead ;
" pray, what has happened ? we are
the same as ever."
"Pardon me, Mr. Fuller; I have
noticed for many a year, that on a cer-
tain day in the week a pint of porter
has regularly stood at the foot of your
stairs. I always could tell, when I saw
that pint, that it was washing-day with
you, and greatly pleased I used to be at
that proof of your economy; for, Mr.
Fuller, the man who is intrusted with
the keeping of other men's money,
should know how to take care of his
own ; and he cannot give any better or
stronger proof of what he is capable of
in that respect, than by being moderate
and abstemious in his housekeeping.
Therefore I was always, as I have just
said, well pleased to see you were not
wasteful with your washerwoman. I felt
sure, while that continued, that my de-
posits in this house were safe perfect-
ly safe, sir. (This was said with an em-
phasis that weighed all of thirteen
pounds, and with a look that set the
tips of Mr. Fuller's fingers a-twirling,
as if a small electric battery had been
brought to play upon his nervous sys-
tem.) But I see you are changing you
are breaking loose, Mr. Fuller; you
now allow your washerwoman not a
pint, but a whole pot of beer, every
washing-day ; and I must say, sir, that
if you go on doubling your expenditures
at that rate, it may be time for your
customers to be looking after their bal-
ances."
Mr. Fuller, it is said, took this re-
buke quite seriously, and with humble
thanks, assuring his customers that
business had increased that more
resident clerks were now employed
than formerly and that, as there was
more washing to be done, helpers had
been hired, and an extra allowance of
beer permitted. But this he promised
to retrench at once, and he kept his
word. The pot of beer was counter-
manded, the " standard " pint replaced,
and this was never afterward exceeded
during the old banker's lifetime.
Yankee Shrewdness Handsomely
Illustrated.
WHEN the prospect of founding a
large manufacturing town on the Merri-
mac River was in contemplation, some
of the persons interested in that great
commercial enterprise sent up Mr. B., a
young gentleman skilled as an engineer,
and who was also fond of sporting, to
view the water privilege carefully, and
to make inquiry as to the prices of land
in the vicinity. He went with his dog,
SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS QUALITIES.
125
gun, and fishing tackle, and obtained
board in a farmer's house, a Mr. F. He
spent his time in viewing the falls, the
canal, the river and grounds, with occa-
sional fowling and fishing.
After spending some time there, in
talking with the farmer, one evening
he told him " that he liked the place
very well, and thought he should be
pleased to come and live there." The
man said " he should be pleased to
have him." " Well, Mr. F., what will
you take for your farm ? " " Why, I
don't want to sell it, Mr. B. ; nor would
I, unless I can get twice what it is
worth, as I am satisfied here, and don't
want to move." " Well, what do you
say it is worth, Mr. F. ? " " Why, it is
worth fifteen hundred dollars, and I
can't sell it for less than three thousand
dollars." "That is too much," said
Mr. B., "I can't give that." "Very
well, you need not." Here the conver-
sation ended.
Mr. B. continued his sporting, and,
having received his instructions in the
course of a few days, renewed his talk
with Mr. F., and said to him, " Well,
Mr. F., I have made up my mind that I
should like to live here very well, and
though you ask so much, I will take
up with your offer, and give you three
thousand dollars." " Why, as to that,
Mr. B., you did not take my farm when
I offered it to you, and I am not willing
to sell it now, for anything less than
six thousand dollars." " You are jok-
ing, Mr. F. ! " " Not so, Mr. B., I am
in earnest, and I shan't continue my
offer more than twenty-four hours."
B., finding he was determined, went
off for instructions, and the next day
told Mr. F. he would give him six thou-
sand dollars. The purchase was made,
deed passed, and money paid.
Some time afterward, Mr. B. asked
the farmer what reason he had in the
course of a few clays to double the price
for his farm, and to insist upon it.
" Why, Mr. B., I will tell you ; a day
or two after I offered you the farm for
three thousand dollars, I saw two men
on the opposite side of the Merrimac
River, sitting on a rock, and talking
for some time ; then they got up, and
one went up the river, and the other
down, and after some time they re-
turned, seemed in earnest conversation
for half an hour or more, when they
arose and went away. I did not know
what it meant, but I thought something
was in the wind, and I determined, if
you asked me again to sell my farm,
I would demand double the price."
Thus began the purchase, by Boston
merchants, of the land upon which the
city of Lowell has been erected.
'Q,ueen Jane's Opinion of Merchants.
JANE, of France, wife of Philip the
Fair, while residing a few days at
Bruges, was mortified at the splendor
of the appearance of the merchants'
wives, judging by that of her own.
" I thought," said the elegant and royal
visitor, " I had been the only queen
here ; but I find there are above six
hundred queens in this city ! "
Boyhood Struggles of a Merchant.
" I REMEMBER," said Gideon Lee, in
after life, " when I was a lad living
with my uncle, it was my business to
feed and milk the cows. . And many a
time, long before light in the morning,
I was started off, in the cold and snow,
without shoes, to my work, and used
to think it a luxury to warm my frozen
feet on the spot just before occupied by
the animal I had roused. It taught me t>
reflect, and to consider possibilities ; and
I remember asking myself, "Is it not
possible for me to better my condition ? "
Lee and His Travelling- Companion.
BEFORE establishing himself perma-
nently as a leather merchant in Kew
York, Gideon Lee made a voyage to
St. Mary's, Georgia, taking with him
126
COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS ANECDOTES.
some small ventures of leather. On
returning to New York, the vessel in
which he took passage was wrecked
off Cape Fear, and he barely saved him-
self, with the few clothes he had on.
Accompanied by a faithful friend,
named Smith, who had nursed him
while sick at St. Mary's, he had no
other means of getting to the. North
than to trudge it on foot. The journey
was a most tedious and dismal one ;
several days of it were through the
pine barrens of North Carolina, not
meeting with a house in a day's travel.
Smith was a brother Yankee, and bore
the hardships with great courage and
good humor. Mr. Lee used to relate
an anecdote of him, illustrating this
latter trait, as well as the dismal char-
acter of the country through which
they were travelling. " One day," said
he, " we had been trudging along,
nothing to be seen but the pitch-pine
forests, before and behind, and on both
sides of us ; shoes worn out, and our
feet bleeding, myself before, and Smith
following after ; neither of us had ex-
changed a word for some time, when
Smith suddenly spoke out in his nasal
twang "Mr. Lee!" "Well, Smith,
well, what about it?" "I wish I
could hear it thunder ! " " Hear it
thunder ! why do you wish so ? " " Be-
cause they say thunder is God's voice,
and if I could only hear it thunder I
should know I was on God's earth ; as
it is now, I don't know where I am."
First Penny Gained by a Millionnaire.
w AN eminent English millionnaire, who
rose as most of that class have from
obscurity, says that the first money he
ever recollects possessing, was gained
in the following manner : I went, he
says, to school, a distance of three
miles. One day, on my way, I picked
up a horse-shoe, carried it about three
miles, and sold it to a blacksmith for a
penny. That was the first penny I ever
recollect possessing ; and I kept it for
some time. A few weeks after, the
same man called my attention to a boy
who was carrying off some dirt oppo-
site his door ; and offered, if I would
beat the boy, who w T as somewhat big-
ger than myself, to give me a penny. I
did so ; he made a mark upon the pen-
ny, and promised that if I would bring
it to him that day fortnight, he would
give me another. I took it to him at
the appointed time, when he at once
fulfilled his promise, and I thus became
possessed of three pence ; since which
I have never been without money, ex-
cept when I gave it all away. It is
hard to tell which point involves the
most difficulty the art of first obtain-
ing a little " nest egg," or the use and
management of it when once possessed.
Benevolence of G-oldschmid, the Old
Jew Banker.
GOLDSCHMID'S wealth seemed, on
some occasions, hardly greater than