possessed ninety-nine houses in Hanau,
was ambitious of rounding his number
to one hundred, but the jealousy of the
citizens opposed his whim, unless he
consented to pave a path to the church,
some hundred yards long, with rix-dol-
lars. He declined this exorbitant tax
to gratify their " whim ; " but unwil-
ling to forego the distinction of owning
one hundred houses, he contented him-
self with a hundredth placed on the top
of one of the ninety-nine.



Stock Broker and his Family in the
Studio of Hoppner.

A WEALTHY stock broker once drove
up to the door of Hoppner, the cele-
brated painter and who was one of
the genus irritdbile and two carriages
emptied into his hall, the party com-
prising a gentleman (the said broker)
and lady, with five sons and seven
daughters, all samples of pa and ma,
as well fed and as city bred and comely
a family as any within the sound of
Bow bell.

" Well, Mr. Painter," said the stock
broker, " here we are a baker's dozen.
How much will you demand for paint-
ing the whole lot of us prompt pay-
ment for discount ? " " Why," replied
the astonished painter, who then might
be likened to a superannuated ele-
phant. " why, sir, that will depend
upon the dimensions, style, composi-
tion, and " " Oh, that is settled,"

quoth the enlightened broker: "we
are all to be touched off in one piece



476



COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS ANECDOTES.



as large as life, all seated upon our
lawn at Clapham, and all singing ' God
save the King.' "

"These things," said Hoppner, in
relating the circumstance to his edito-
rial friend and crony, Gifford, " these
things and be hanged to you scrib-
blers ! are part and parcel of the delec-
tables of portrait painting."



The Merchant and his Distinguished
Valet, John Philpot Curran.

ONE morning, at an inn in the south
of Ireland, a gentleman who was travel-
ling on mercantile business, came run-
ning down stairs, a few minutes before
the appearance of a stage coach, in
which he had taken a seat for Dublin.
Seeing an ugly looking little fellow
leaning against the door post, with
dirty face and shabby clothes, he hailed
him, and ordered him to brush his coat.
The operation proceeded rather slowly ;
the impatient merchant cursed the lazy
valet as an idle, good for nothing dog,
and threatened him with corporal
punishment on the spot, if he did not
make haste and finish his job well
before the arrival of the coach. Terror
seemed to produce its effect ; the fel-
low brushed the coat, and then the
trowsers, with great diligence, and was
rewarded with sixpence, which he re-
ceived with a low bow.

The merchant went to the bar, and
paid his bill just as the expected vehi-
cle arrived at the door. Upon getting
inside, guess his astonishment to find
his friend, his quondam valet, seated
snugly in one corner, with all the look
of a person well used to comfort. After
two or three hurried glances, to be sure
his eyes did not deceive him, he com-
menced a confused apology for his
blunder, condemning his own rashness
and stupidity ; but he was speedily
interrupted by the other exclaiming

" Oh, never mind ; make no apolo-
gies ; these are hard times, and it is
well to earn a trifle in an honest way.



I am much obliged for your handsome
fee for so small a job. My name, sir,
is John Philpot Curran ; pray what is
yours ? "

The merchant was thunderstruck by
the idea of such an introduction ; but
the drollery of Curran soon overcame
his confusion, and the traveller never
rejoiced more at the termination of a
long journey than when he beheld the
distant spires of Dublin glittering in
the light of a setting sun.

Polly Kenton and Girard's Doctors.

CONSCIOUS, on one occasion, of being
overtaken by a violent disease, Girard
called to him Miss Polly Kenton, who
had lived with him for upward of
thirty years, and said to her, " Polly,
I am about to be sick. I shall proba-
bly become deranged or delirious, and
the doctors will be called in, and they
will stuff me with medicine. Now, I
wish you to swear that you will taste
everything they prescribe, before giving
it to me, and don't allow me to take
anything except camomile tea, and
senna and manna." She was accord-
ingly sworn ; and in the result the
patient recovered.

A short time before his death, Miss
Kenton, in putting up a curtain, fell
and dislocated her wrist. Upon Girard
being informed of it, he directed her to
place her arm in a bucket of ice water,
which she did; but the pain became
so excessive, that she was induced in
her situation to send for a physician ;
unluckily, Girard returned, discharged
the physician, and followed that up by
discharging Miss Kenton, who had been
so many years his indispensable attend-
ant. He afterward, it is true, left her,
in his will, three hundred dollars a year,
but he never forgave the disregard of
his orders.

He had an agent and a confidential
clerk, Mr. R, who had been years with
him, and who was what might be called
his right-hand man. Mr. R. was sick



DOMESTIC RELATIONS OF MERCHANTS, BANKERS, ETC.



477



with typhus fever. Of course Mr.
Girard was his only doctor also; he
prescribed, as a cure, Holland gin, and
of course the patient died.



Italian Banker's Bargain for a Fish.

A WEALTHY banker in Italy was
about to celebrate his marriage feast.
All the elements were propitious to his
purpose, except the ocean, which had
been so boisterous as to deny the very
necessary appendage of a fish " course."
On the very morning of the fete,
however, a poor fisherman made his
appearance, with a turbot so large,
that it seemed to have been created for
the occasion. There was much satis-
faction at its appearance, and the fisher-
man was ushered with his splendid
prize into the saloon, where the banker,
in the presence of his gay visitors, re-
quested him to put any price he thought
proper on so rare an object, and it
should be instantly paid him.

" One hundred lashes," said the fisher-
man, " on my bare back, is the price of
my fish, and I will not bate one strand
of whip-cord on the bargain."

The banker and his guests were not
a little astonished, but our chapman
was resolute, and remonstrance was in
vain. At length the banker exclaimed,
" Well, well, the fellow is a humorist,
and the fish we must have, but lay on
lightly, and let the price be paid in our
presence."

After fifty lashes had been adminis-
tered, "Hold, hold!" exclaimed the
fisherman, " I have a partner in this busi-
ness, and it is fitting that he should
receive his share."

" What ! are there two such mad-
caps in the world ? " exclaimed the
banker; "name him, and he shall be
sent for instantly ! "

" You need not go for him," said the
fisherman ; " you will find him at your
gate, in the shape of your own porter,
who would not let me in until I prom-
ised that he should have the half of



whatever I might receive for my tur-
bot."

"Oh, oh!" said the banker ; "I now
see through it bring him up instantly ;
he shall receive his stipulated moiety
with the strictest justice."

The ceremony being finished, the
porter was discharged, and the banker
amply rewarded the fisherman.



Dress and Personal Peculiarities of
Long-worth.

MB. LONGWORTH was of small stat-
ure, his height being five feet and one
inch, an evident stoop in his figure
making him appear shorter than he
really was. His hair was partially gray,
thin, and scattered over the sides and
back of his head. It was to him a
matter of thorough indifference wheth-
er his clothes were new or old, or in
any possible resemblance to style and
fit ; and if they became s.omewhat over-
worn, or soiled by labor in his garden,
or here and there torn a bit, it was to
him no matter. He might, when the
dilapidation was a little excessive, and
the company more elegant than he ex-
pected, get off a sly joke or two about
his appearance in such fashionable
company, and say that his wife would
scold him for not brushing up a little
when he was going out among gentle-
men ; but he felt not the slightest per-
sonal concern about it, and the very
consciousness of it would pass away
with the quizzical smile that always
accompanied his apology.

He was always regular and temperate
in his habits, vigorous and active in
body, and gave daily personal atten-
tion to Ms business, spending much of
his time with strings and pruning knife
in his grapery and garden. Until a few
years before his death, when a stroke
of disease somewhat impaired the fac-
ulty, he was possessed of a remarkably
comprehensive and tenacious memory,
forgetting nothing he ever knew, and
nothing he ever said. He repeated his



478



COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS ANECDOTES.



quotations and told Ms stories, of
which a varied and endless store
seemed at his command, always in the
same invariable words. He finally
found frequent occasion to complain,
when at a loss for a name or a date,
that " Old Longworth has got so for-
getful." To aid his memory in matters
relating to his business and his daily
engagements, he usually carried a mis-
cellaneous assortment of papers in the
crown of his hat, and a small paper
memorandum pinned upon his coat-
sleeve.

Mr. Longworth was exceedingly
talkative and companionable, perfectly
sincere, and in his hospitality knew no
distinction of persons. He was sharp
and sarcastic in repartee, thoroughly
informed in his facts, facetious and
cheerful in his humor which was one
of his most characteristic traits and
abounded in quizzes and anecdotes of
the most enlivening description. He
was particularly fond of banter, and
sly, jocular personalities, and of speak-
ing of himself in the third person
most commonly as " Old Longworth."

His house was a plain, capacious,
home-looking building, its fine locality
and beautiful garden and surrounding
grounds rendering it the most popular-
ly attractive spot in the city univer-
sally known throughout the western
country, and freely used by citizens
and strangers as a place of visit and
promenade.



Extravagance of French Bankers in
Private Life.

THE enormous accumulations of the
French bankers and financiers of the
old school were, in many instances,
dissipated in a manner which, at least,
showed the easy method by which
their gains were obtained. M. de Ca-
lonne, one of the great bankers of his
day, furnishes a notable example of
this. For a New Year's gift, he gave
a favorite lady a handful of pistachio



nuts, wrapped up in papillotes ; and in
presenting them, he warned her not to
destroy the papillotes without proper
precaution. The lady wanted a comfit-
box to contain the pistachios. The ex-
travagant and enamored financier offer-
ed her, for the purpose named, a superb
gold box enriched with diamonds ; but
what was the surprise of his mistress
when, opening the box, she found it
full of new louis, and, unfolding the
multitude of papers, discovered each
of them to be a cash note for three
hundred livres.

Another banker, M. Baudard de
Saint James, affords a similar case of
reckless prodigality in his personal
habits. This renowned financier, hav-
ing more money than taste or principle,
spent enormous sums on the noted cy-
prian, Mademoiselle de Beauvoisin,
who had long held his heart by her
captivating spell. The weak-minded
millionnaire gave her, in jewels and
other presents, nearly two million
livres, besides an annuity of sixty
thousand livres. At her death, the
sale of her effects, derived from her
connection with the banker, furnished
some curious developments touching
her past relations to that monarch of
the money mart. Among the number-
less articles pertaining to her toilette
were some two hundred rings, each ri-
valling the other in value ; there were
above one hundred suits of the most
elegant dresses ; linen of choicer qual-
ity than any known in court circles;
and her collection of loose diamonds,
like the shop of a jeweller, were amas-
sed in papers. This sale made a great
noise in Paris ; and every frail one as-
pired to become the mistress of the be-
reaved millionnaire. But M. de Saint
James whose real name was Saint-
gemme, which he had thus anglicized
shortly afterward became bankrupt,
and finally insane.



DOMESTIC RELATIONS OF MERCHANTS, BANKERS, ETC.



479



Magnificent Residence of Rothschild
in Paris.

THE French chateau or palace of M.
Rothschild the Ferrieres domain, once
the property of Fouche was built by
Sir Joseph Paxton; it covers an im-
mense surface, and is all in a style of
kingly splendor.

The internal decorations have all
been executed after the designs of Eu-
gene Lami, architect. Independent of
the auxiliary buildings and stables,
which are all that wealth can make
them (the stables being made to ac-
commodate eighty horses), the chateau
is a magnificent establishment, the ser-
vice of which is carried on by one hun-
dred and fifty servants. Besides the
private apartments of the Rothschilds,
there are eighteen complete suites of
apartments for visitors.

An extensive porch, remarkable for
candelabra in Italian earthenware,
forms the entrance. A winding stair-
case leads into the hall a room which
is always unique in France and which
occupies the grand centre of the build-
ing ; it is about one hundred and thirty
feet long, and of nearly the same width,
seventy feet high, and is covered in by
a glass roof. It is in this vast apart-
ment that the chief portion of the artis-
tic riches of the chateau is to be found,
and the number and value of which is
so great, that it has as yet been found
impossible to catalogue them. A li-
brary containing thousands of superb
volumes, Italian cabinets, a collection
of gems and medals, noble canvases
by Velasquez, Vandyke, Giorgione, etc.,
are arrayed round the walls, the upper
part of which is surrounded by a gal-
lery hung with tapestry from the Gobe-
lins. This gallery is reached by an
immense stone staircase, protected by a
richly-carved ebony balustrade, and
decorated with pictures by Snyders.
Underneath runs a frieze of Limoges
enamels, let into the wall.

The staircase leads to the hall gallery
on one side, and on the other to a



sumptuously decorated lobby, which
communicates with the private and
reception rooms, the splendor of these
latter being almost beyond description.
The style of the dining room is similar
to that of the great Garter Room at
Windsor Castle, only it is more splen-
did, and in better taste. It opens into
a smaller family dining room, decorat-
ed with fresco-paintings by Rousseau.
It would fill a volume to describe the
grandeur of the furniture, the gold and
silver plate, and other appointments of
this palace of wealth and luxury.

Louis d'Ors and Razors; or, Bankers

and Barbers.

SHORTLY before the French Revolu-
tion, a perruquier attending a banker
in Paris, had dressed his hair, and was
proceeding to shave him, when he sud-
denly quitted the room in great haste
and apparent embarrassment. After
waiting some time, the banker sent to
the house of the hair dresser, to inquire
why he had left him without finishing
his dressing. The poor fellow was with
much difficulty induced to go back,
when at last he consented, and was in-
terrogated as to the cause of his quit-
ting the room so suddenly. " Why,
sir," said the poor fellow to the banker,
much agitated, " the sight of those
rouleaus of louis d'ors on your table,
and the recollection of my starving
family, so wrought upon me, that I
was strongly tempted to murder you ;
but I thank God that I had resolution
to quit the room instantly, or I fear
I should have committed the horrid
crime." The banker, sensible of the
danger he had escaped, inquired into
the circumstances of the barber's fam-
ily, and, finding them embarrassed, set-
tled an annuity on him of one thousand
livres.

Bleeding- a Banker by the Job.

MONSIEUR VAUDEVILLE, the banker,
was one of the most remarkable men in



480



COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS ANECDOTES.



Paris on the score of avarice, though
rated at one million sterling. At the
age of seventy-two he contracted a fe-
ver, which obliged him to send the
first time in his life for a surgeon to
bleed him, but who, asking him ten-
pence for said operation, was forthwith
dismissed. He sent for an apothecary,
but he was as high in his demand. He
then sent for a barber, who at length
agreed to undertake the operation for
threepence each time. " But," said the
stingy old fellow, "how often will it
be requisite to bleed ? " " Three times,"
answered the barber. "And what
quantity of blood do you intend to
take ? " " About eight ounces," was
the reply. " That will be ninepence
too much, too much" said the miser ;
" I have determined to adopt a cheap-
er way: take the whole quantity you
design to take at three times at once,
and it will sare me sixpence." This
being insisted upon, he lost twenty-
four ounces of blood, which caused his
death in a few days. He left his im-
mense property to the king.



Marriage Suit by Colston, the
Millionnaire.

THE well known charitable inclina-
tions of Colston, the English million-
naire and merchant, were put to a very
peculiar test, at a time when he enter-
tained some thoughts of " changing his
condition" as even rich men will,
sometimes. He paid his addresses to
a lady with whose attractions he had
become somewhat smitten, but being
somewhat timorous lest he should be
hindered in his favorite charitable de-
signs, he thought he would once for all
make a trial of her temper and disposi-
tion ; he therefore, one morning, filled
his pockets with gold and silver, in or-
dar that, if any object presented itself
in the course of their tour over London
Bridge, he might satisfy his intentions.
"While they were walking near St. Mag-
nus' church, a woman in extreme mis-



ery, with twins in her lap, sat begging;
and, as he and his interested lady were
arm in arm, he beheld the wretched
object, put his hand into his pocket,
and took out a handful of gold and sil-
ver, casting it unhesitatingly into the
poor woman's lap. The lady, being
greatly alarmed at the profuse generos-
ity, colored prodigiously ; so that, when
they had gone a little further toward
the bridge, she turned to him and said,
" Sir, do you know what you did a few
minutes ago ? " " Madam," replied Mr.
C., "I never let my left hand know
what my right hand doeth." He then
took his leave of her, and for this rea-
son he never married to the day of his
death, although he lived to the age of
fourscore and five.



Gideon Lee and His Library.

WHEN Gideon Lee commenced busi-
ness in New York, on his return from
the South, nis health was impaired and
feeble, yet he was compelled to labor
by the strong law of necessity. "I re-
member," said he, " one day, while
lifting and piling up leather, my
strength failed me, and I fell on the
floor. I wept. My spirits were so
broken by the thought that I must die
in the day-spring of life, and leave my
family unprovided for ; it seemed to be
so cruel a fate. I got home and sent
fbr my physician. He was a man of
sound sense, and knew me well. I
asked him if he thought I could recov-
er ? ' Why, yes, if you choose.' ' Well,
I do choose.' ' Then send that library
of yours to the auction that will stop
your reading ; eat a fresh beefsteak
every day, and with it drink a glass of
brown stout ; buy yourself a horse '
' Why, doctor, I am unable to incur the
expense.' ' Then die ; for die you will,
if you don't do so.' I sent every book
in my possession, except the Bible, im-
mediately to the auction. I bought an
old horse, and lived as he had directed.
I did not suffer myself for years to look



DOMESTIC RELATIONS OF MERCHANTS, BANKERS, ETC.



481



into a book, nor did I omit to take my
exercise each day. I gradually got
better, but I liacl a long and tedious
time of it."

The independence and steadiness of
Lee's character were manifested on a
tour of travel which he had undertaken
on foot, when wanting a supper and
night's lodging, and having no money
to pay for them. He knocked at the
door of a farmer, and, after explaining
his circumstances, he proposed to chop
enough wood to pay for his meal and
lodging; which, being assented to by
the farmer, he went to work and earned
what his self-respect forbade him to ac-
cept as a charity.

Jewish Banker's Free Table.

IT is one of the many interesting an-
ecdotes told of the domestic life of
Abraham Goldsmid, of London, so
eminent as a banker in the last century,
that he was unstinted in the hospitali-
ties of his house, manifesting this trait
sometimes in a peculiar manner. Being
an extraordinary early riser generally
the first in his family it was his con-
stant habit to call up his numerous vis-
itors by four o'clock on summer morn-
ings, and after taking a refreshment of
the choicest tea and coffee, etc., he
would take them round his grounds
and garden till the hour of breakfast,
after which he dressed for the day, and
was in his town counting house gene-
rally by ten o'clock.

Notwithstanding the vast extent and
responsibilities of his business, no man
seemed to take more delight in domes-
tic pleasures and hospitalities. Accord-
ing to the tenets of his religion, he
strictly observed the Jewish Sabbath ;
and that of the Christians, on the fol-
lowing day, was kept by him, at his
country house, with a general and lux-
urious hospitality, open to all who had
ever been once introduced to him.

On these occasions, the table was fur-
nished with everything in its season,
31



cooked both according to the Dutch
and English fashions, the latter of
which he never partook of himself, but
his visitors generally as many Chris-
tians as Jews were at liberty to in-
dulge themselves either according to
fancy or religion ; and the great bank-
er seemed never happier than when,
mingling in this social company, he
divested himself of all ideas of "five per
cent. ! "

Pleasant Parlor Voyages.

A MERCHANT well known for his
facetiousness, was dining with an Eng-
lish nobleman, and as the company
were talking of a voyage to India,
some glasses of Cape wine were handed
round the table. All the guests ex-
pressed their praises of its exquisite fla-
vor, and wished much to have a sec-
ond taste of it. When the merchant
found it was in vain to indulge this
hope, he turned to the person who sat
next to him, and, happily alluding to
the voyage to India, said, " As we can-
not double the Cape, suppose we go back
to Madeira,"

Rothschild's Purchase of a Painting-.

THAT Kothschild's liberality was not
commensurate with his wealth, is at-
tested by an anecdote related by Mar-
goliouth, who had a particular knowl-
edge of the great Hebrew. There was,
he says, a Mr. Herman, in London, an
Israelite, who dealt in fine pictures and
paintings. He used to know Roths-
child, when in Manchester. They
used frequently to meet together at the
same dining rooms. When Mr. Herman
subsequently established himself in
London, he called upon the then chief
rabbi, Dr. Herschell, and asked him
for a line of recommendation to Koths-
child, with a view to disposing of a
couple of most valuable paintings.
The rabbi vouchsafed the recommen-
dation. Mr. Herman called upon the



482



COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS ANECDOTES.



millionnaire, his co-religionist, with the
precious objects of art. Rothschild
seemed startled when Mr. Herman
asked 300 for a picture, which was
really cheap at that price. " What !
three hundred pounds ! I cannot afford
to spend so much money on pictures ;
I must buy ponies for my boys, and
such like things, which are either use-
ful or profitable ; but I cannot throw
away money on paintings. However,
as the rabbi recommends you to me, I
will buy a picture from you for one
hundred and thirty pounds. I do not
care what sort of a thing it is I want
to make it a present to some one.
Choose one from among your collec-
tion for that amount."



"The Stone that was Rejected :"
Judah Touro's Benefactions.

AN instance of the disinterested
character of Judah Touro's religious
benefactions is thus related : Some
poor wandering Orientals, professing
to be agents to collect funds for the
relief of the persecuted Christians in
Jerusalem, had applied in vain to sev-
eral rich men in New Orleans. At last,
a gentleman, of rather a jocular turn of
mind, suggested, as a joke, that the
poor Christians, who desired to raise
funds to build up their church in Jeru-
salfem, should seek the aid of Mr. Touro
(who, though a most wealthy and be-