Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1840-06-16
A TINE OF UNEXAMPLED PROS
PERITI.
BIZ Washington I.rjng

/
IL once fell in with CONVOY of merchant
ships bound for the West Indies. The
weather was uncommonly bland; and the
ships We'd with each other in spreading sail
TO catch light, favorable breeze, until their
bulls were almost hidden beneath a cloud
] of canvass. The breeze went down with
the sun, and his last yellow rays shown
upon a thousand sails idly tapping agains,
the masts.
| cxuted in the beauty of the scene, and
augercd prosperous voyage; but the yc
teran master of the ship shock his head,
and pronouncedthis halcyon calma 'wcath-
er BREEDER And so it proved. A storm
burst forth in the night: the sea roarcd and
ragged; and when the day broke beheld
the late gallant convoy scattered IN every
directions; some dismasted, others scudding
under bare poles, and many firing signals
ef distress
| have since been occasionally remind
cd of this scene by those calm sunny sea-
sons in the commercial world, which are
known by the name of "times Of uncxam-
pied prosperity" They are the sure wealth
er-breeders Of traffic. Every now and
then the world is visited ly one of those
! delusive seasons, when "the credit SYSTEM"
as it is called, expands 10 full luxuriance;
every body trusts 20 every body; bad debt
is thing unheard OF; the broad way TO
certain and sudden wealth lies PLATA and
open; and men arc tempted to dash forward
boldly, from the facility of borrowing
PromIssory notes, ifftcrchanged between
scheming individuals, are literally dis
counted at the Banks, which become so
many minis to coin words into cash; and
as the supply of words is incxhaustblc, it
may readily be supposed that vast amount
OF promssory capital is soon in circulation.
Every one now talks in thousands; nothing
is heard but gigantic operations in trade;
| great purchases and sales of real property,
and immense sums made at every transfer.
| All, to be sure, as yet exists in promises;
! but the believer in promises calculates the
aggregate as solid capital, and falls back
in amazemcnt at the amount Of public
wealth, the " uncxamplcd state Of public
prosperity"
Now is the time for speculative and
dreaming or designing men. They relate
their dreams and projects 10 the ignorant
and credulous, dazzle them with golden
visions, and set them madding after shad-
ows. The example Of one stimulates an
other, speculation rises on speculation:
bubble rises on bubble; every one helps
with his breath to swell the windy super
structure, and ad hires and wonders at the
magnitude of the Initiation he has contriJu-
ted to produce.
Speculation is the romance Of trade, and
casts contempt upon ali its sober realities
1t renders the stock Jobber Il mag iciGn, ana
the exchange region of cnchantmont. 1t
clcvates merchant into u kind Of knight
| GRANT, or rather a commercial QuiXotte.
The slow but sure gains OF snug percent
age become dcspicablc in his eyes; no sop
Grafton is thought worthy Of attention that
does not double or treble The Investment
No business is worth following that does
not promise an immediate fortune AS he
sits musng over his ledger. with pen be-
hind his ear, he his like La Mancha' S hero
IN his study, dreaming over his books Of
chlvalry. His dusty counting house fades
before his eyes, or changes into Spanish
mine; he gropcs after diamonds, or dives
erpearls The subterranean garden Of
that break upon his imagination.
Could his dclusion always last, the life
OF merchant would always be a golden
dream; but it is as short as it is brilliant
Let but doubt enter, and "the season of
unexampled prosperity" is at an end. The
coinage OF words is suddenly curtaiIcd; the
promissory capital begins to vanish into
smoke; panic succeeds, and the whole
supcrstructure, built upon credit, and rear
cd by speculation, crumbes to the ground,
leaving scarce q wreck behind
80 1t is such stuff as dreams are made Of
When man Of business, therefore,
hears on every side rumors Of fortunes,
suddenly acquired; when he finds banks
liberal and brokers busy, when he secs adj
venturers flush Of paper capital, and full
OF schemes and enterprise; when fe sees
greater disposition to buy than to sell when
trudc overflows its accustomed channels
and deluges the country; when he hears Of
new regions Of commercial adventure; of
dsta Mt and disiant mines swallowing
merchandise and disgorging gold; when
he finds Joint stock companies Of all kinds
forming railroads, canals, and locomotive
engines springing up on every side; when
iders suddenly become men Of business,
and dash into the game of commerce as
they would into the hazards of a faro table
when he beholds the streets g'ittering with
new cquipages, palaces conjured up by the
magic of speculation; tradesmen flushed
with sudden success, and vieing with each
other in osten.atious expense; in a word,
when he hears the whole community ioin-
ing in the theme of unexampIed prospc-