The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1851-01-15
AS11s3DGSuuAnlI
Tie Force of Fear.

Attic close Of the winter of 1879
--26, about dust in the forenoon, just
as the wealthy dealers in the Palais-
Royal at Paris were lightning their
lamps and putting up their shutters,
(the practice of the major part Of
them at nightfall,) a we'll known mo-
ney changer sat behind his counter
alone, surrounded by massive heaps
Of silver and gold, the glittering and
sterling currency of oil the kingdoms
of Europe. lie had wcll-nigh closed
his operations for tho day, and was
enjoying in anticipation the prospect
Of q good dinner. Between the ca
sY chair upon which he reclined in
perfect ~satisiactionr and tho door
which opened into the north eide of
h,einmlensc quadrangle . (which tho
splend;H editiee above mentioned is
composed, arose a stout wire partition,
reaching nearly to the ceiling, and
resting upon the counter, which ira.
versod the whole length of the
-yoom. Thus he was effectually cut
eff from all possibility Of unlriend-
ly contact from any of his occa'
sional visitors; while a small sliding
board that ran in and out under the
wire partition served as the medium
of his peculiar commerce. Upon
this he received every coin, note, or
draft presented for change; and hay
ing first carefully examined it, re-
turned its value, by the same con
vcyancc, in the coin Of France. or
indeed Of any country required. Be.
hind was a door communicating with
his domestic chambers, and i'll the
middle Of tho counter was another,
the upper part of which formed a
portion of the wire partition above
described.
The denizcn Of this little chamber
had already closed his outer shutters,
and was just on the point Of locking
up his doors and retiring to his rcpast,
when two young men entered. They
were evidently Italians. from their
costume and peculiar dialect. Had
it been earlier i'll the day, when there
would been sufficient light to have
disccrned their features and express
sion, it is probable that ii merchant
would have defeated their plans, for
he was we'll skilled in detecting the
tokens of fraud or design in the hu.
man countenance. But they had
chosen their time too appropriately.
One Of them, advancing to the coun.
ter, demanded change in the French
coin for an English sovereign, which
he laid upoa the sliding board and
passed through the wire partition.
The moncychangcr rose Immediately,
and having asccrtaincd that the coin
was genuine, returned its proper cqui-
valcnt by the customary mode of
transfer. The Italians turned as if
to leave the apartment, when he who
had received tho money suddenly
dropped the silver, as though acct.
now nearly dark, it was scarcely to be
dentalIy, upon the floor. AS it was
expected that they could find the
whole Of the pieces without the as
sistance of a light. This the uncon-
scious merchant FASTENED to supply;
and, unlocking without suspicion, the
door Of the partition between thom,
stopped with a candle ovcr the floor
in search of the last coin. In this
position the unfortunate man was i'm
mcdiately assailcd with repeated stabs
from a poinard, and at length fell, af:
ter n feeble and Intellectual struggle,
scnsc!css, and apparently lifeless, at
the feet of his assassins.
A Considerable time elapsed ere,
by the Tos!ultoys ENTRANCE OF a strang.