Iowa capitol reporter. [volume] (Iowa City, Iowa) 1841-1855, 1852-03-24
From Dickens Household Words.
The way 1 made lMy Fortune.

The way I made my Fortune.
Three Of us were sitting in small room and
complaining of the hardships Of our destiny.
Without money one can do nothing, said
George: were l to hit upon speculation that
would have done honor to Ro.hschild com.
ing from pauper like myself, no one would
think it worth attending to
~ said Albert, have actually finished O
work which would establish my reputation as
al author. if could only 6Id bookseller t.
buy it,
L have peti,i-ned my employer for an in
crease Of salary.'I exclaimed. anxious to con
tribute to the chorus Of lamentation; and he
told ne that for forty louis year he could ge,
more c'erks than he wanted
1t would not SD much natter said George
thoughtfuly, If besides being poor. We did no,
seem poor Could one Of us only be thought
rich
what is the use Of the shadow without ffs
substance | asked.
'O' every use.' said Albert. I agree with
George--ihe shadow sometnes makes the sub
stance. The next best thing to capital is cred
it,
Especially returned George. the credit Of
having good fortune. Have none of Us rich
uncle in lrdar
"A cousin of mine went to Jamaica or Mar,i.
nique. forget which, said, innoccntly. and
he never came back
Capital that is all one requires. exclaimed
George; we wi conjure up his cousin Of yours
or could we not kill him? Yes. James Me-
ran. of Martinique. deceased. leaving n sugar
plantation, q hundred negroes, aud a fortune of
a hundred thousand louis to his we'll beloved
cousin, Louis Meran
We laughed at the joke. and thought no
more of il; but George and Albert-slighly ex-
cited by the fumes of bowl of punch which !
had sent for tn do honor to the te>tator--lost no
time in connecting and afterwards publishing
full account in a local newspaper. Of the for.
tune that had been left me.
The mex, day. sundry friends dropped in to
con p iment me. OF course. l pndcavored to
updeceive them. but they would not take 'ie-
niai. In vain assured them it was hoax; it
was Of no use. Several peop remembered my
cousin James very well. and had seen him at
Nantes before he embarked in 1889. Among
others came my tailor. to whom owed a small
sum which it was not quite convenient for me
to paw at that moment. No doubt the rumor OF
my cousins decease had sharpened his memo.
ry I wished my two friends at place that
shall be nameless.
Good morning. Mr. Mayer; suppose you
are come for those fifty francs"
i hope. sir. you don't think came for such
a trfle as that. No sir; came to take your
orders for a suit Of mourning
"A suit of mournngg'
Yes sir +: cousins mourning. Dark bronze
frock for morning wear. black trousers aud
waistcpat.'
AT the present moment. Mr. Mayer -
Il hope, sir, have done nothing to forfe
your patronage
But repeat, have received no money a
al.'
Il hope. sr, you won't mention such thing
there is no sort of hurry, exclaimed the tailor
who busily employed himself at taking my
measure with slips Of paper.
After al. my wardrobe did want some add
tions. and said nothing more.
MY dear sir said the next visitor, = have
a very great favor to request Of you. Buy my
house. You are very rich; you must be on th'
look out for safe and lucrative investments
Sixty thousand francs are nothing for you-i
mere fraction of your income. With me tht
Ease is different. thought Mr.. Felix had made
made up his mind to purchase the premises
and now I hear he has changed his intention
What is to become of me? have heavy de-
mands to meet. and don't know where thu
money is to come from
Il buy your house? Why. it would be mad
| ness to think Of such thing
| Madness? no such thing; you could not find
| a better investment anywhere. In two years
with triAing repairs, it will be worth double it,
present value; you will never see such good
opportunity again. Say done and I'm off,
Aud he was off without leaving me time t.
| put In word. ........... ..... . -.
| Two hours after. in walked Mr. Felix. evi
dsnsly not in the best Of tempsrs.
Really, SIR be began, you hare taken mi