Vandalia Whig and Illinois intelligencer. [volume] (Vandalia, Ill.) 1832-183?, 1832-11-21
THE MERCHANTS DINNER.


"There lived once at Marseilles rich merchant who
received morning, through the hands of young
man, letter strongly recommending the bearer to bis
notice; the young of good fortune, and wanted
only introduction to society he brought also letter
of credit to large amount, The merchant after hav
ing read the letter of recommendation instead of either
throwing it aside waste paper, or shutting it up in
drawer, examined it, and finding that it covered
lily OF the four sides of the Sheet tore it in two, placed
the written half in leaf of his portfolio, and then, fold
ing the other haso that twoud serve for writing note
put it into another portfolio which already contained
number of similar papers. Having completed his little
of economy, he turned towards the young man
and invited him to dinner for that very day. The youth,
accustomed life of elegance and luxury felt but lit
tie inclination for diniug with rho could thus ap-
propate the privileges of the chfoner, by deprvng
him of his waste paper he accepted the invitation how
ever, and promised to return at four O'Clock. But
he descended the staircase from the counting
house of his banker his mind rapidly reverted to the
servatOns he had made upon that small gloomy
With the two long offices that led to it, encountered with
iegers that half smohered in dust and smoke and
where ten or dozen young persons were working in 81
ence, whose faces appeared to his Jaundced eyes like
perfect skeletons He thought of the windows plaster
ed with thick coat of mud, through which ray of
the beautiful of Provence could penetrae the
little bowl of lockwood filed with saw-dust, to for
POWDER the broken wrtngdesk the dressing gown Of
the banker; and all these recoectons rushing at
upon his mind, produced the reflection, Il have done
foolish thing in accepting this invitation but matter
day passed. the duties of the toilette dis
JcnarSeu rathef MS own Satisfaction tnan IN cOmpl
ment to the host,who expected him and that done, he
proceeded to the street of Rome, where his bankers
house situated As the latter had told him his wife
did not live in the part of the mansion occupied by the
ghouse, he begged arriving, to be conducted
to the lady number of Wallets in rich veres led him
across small garden filed with and exotic plants,
and after conducting him through several apartments
sumptuously furnished, introduced him to handsome
drawing room, where he found his banker who present.
ed hin. to his wife and MOTHER the former young
and pretty the latter not yet old and both dressed
in rich stufs and adorned with fine pearls and spark
ling diamonds, which atesed the wealth Of the honest
and laborious head of the famiIy he himself no
longer the parsonage his guest had in the morning
he seemed to have left behind amongst the dirty ledgers
and portfolios the OF the black velvet and WOOL
en- dressing gown while the and conversation
of some fifteen twenty visitors who assembled in
the drawing led to the inference that his house
of the BEST if not the very best in the CITY, Dinner
was served and the young Stranger became convinced
that was The vands excellent, the wine
quisite the table covered with abundance of
sy silver plate; in Short the young traveller obliged
mentally to admit, that he had partaken of
delicate fare seena greater display Of magncence
and he was COMPOUNDED than ever, upon ascertain
ing from one of the persons him, that the banker
gave similar entertainment twice week. While cof-
fee was serving he rumnated on all that he had witness
ed but his young ideas had to arrange themselves into
that mutual dependanceo canse aud effect which would
easily have brought the whole to the level of his under
standing young man, said his host, tapping HIM upon
the shoulder, you absent, and almost penve: have
you made bad dinner! But the expresson of his eyes
and the infection of his voice pronouncng these words
seemed to mean HAS not your fear of bad dinner yet
vanshed? The young man bushed. as if he had really
heard the latter sentences but the good nancer under
stood his blush, and laughing, said mo oence you
too young to understand how formed the true
and only power whether composed of money, water
men, it is all alike. an immense centre of mo-
tion but it must be begun it must be kept up. Young
the little bits of paper which excited your derisioI
this morning, among the means employ for at
tanning it, "A fine story this, that you have been tell
ling u.s. Bonaparter said Josephine, smiling; ito me the
marvellous part Of it is that you have been speak
only Il did not forget that, you, replied he
winkng to do you think should have preached in