Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1861-02-28
The Banker of Antwerp.

4
In 1914, there lived at Antwerp banker
who had passion of speculation, but who in-
variably was unsuccessful, This ilf-luck be-
came proyerbial; his affairs fell into confusion,
and all Antwerp looked to see him become
bankrupt and retire from the precincts Of the
Exchange, when suddenly his luck changed
and he gained in every operation he under
| took as invariably as he had formerly lost
| No matter how suddenly or how violently the
funds went up or down in Paris, London,
Vienna, or elsewhere, the Antwerp banker
was always a gamer by every movement Of the
money market, no matter how capricious
In the course of two years he realized large
! fortune, Quilted Antwerp with his wife and
! family, and established himself for the rest Of
| his life in charming country seat, where he
abandoned himself to the delights of rural ex-
istence and the cultivation Of flowers, which
| latter branch of horticulture he pursued with
an abiding enthusiasm worthy of Dutchman
The electric telegraph was unknown at the
period in question, and the clumsy signals by
which statesmen contrived to communicate with
one another were only worked by the heads OF
the State, and for their own behOof ; and
Antwerp puzzled its brains for some time in
vain efforts to ascertain by what mysterious
art the ex-bsnker had managed to turn the
tide, and to win over to his interests the fsvors
of the blind goddess who had hitherto been so
decidedly against him In these speculations
upon the changed fate of the speculator, Ant
werp simply lost its trouble nor was it until
several years afterwards that the seeming mys-
terry was explained.
1t had been noticed in Antwerp as a singu-
lar fact that two drivers Of stage-coaches be-
longing to that city had made, during the
lucky period of the bankers career, fortunes
which in proportion with their means, were as
considerable as that amassed by the specula-
tor But no one thought of attriOuting the
improved position of the two coachmen to the
operations of the fortunate speculator. Yet all
three owed their good luck to the same simple
expedient.
Ii any Of the townspeople had bethought
them Of watching the dongs of the banker,
they would have seen that every evening, about
nine o'clock, the latter betook himself TO lit
tie lonely cottage of his, standing in the m DIST
os a garden, few miles from the town. There
in silence and secresy, the banker received the
visits of one or other Of the two coachmen, to
whom, after the exchange Of few words, he
handed basket, carefully covered over with a
bit of tarpsulin and which was at once de-
posted by the coachman at the bottom of 3
great hamper Of poultry, collected BY him from
the neighboring farms and to be sold by him
at the towns through which he drove his coach
As soon as the coachman had taken bis de-
parture, the banker locked the cottage door,
and went up stairs to a room fitted up aS a
pigeon-house, OF whose existence no one else
was aware in which number Of pigeons soon
began to make their appearance with tagging
wings, impatient to drop into their nests. The
banker, having stroked aud petted the weary
birds, and given them corn, gently lifted their
wings and detached the little billet conveyed
to him by each unconscious messenger. These
birds brought TO the speculator news OF the ex-
change on all the principal markets of Europe
Sent off daily from London, Paris, Vienna,
Brussels, &c., about four in the afternoon, the
hOne-loying little Mercuries never failed to
reach their nests about midnight. After re-
ceiving the intelligence thus sent to him By
trusty confederates in each capital, the banker
locked the door OF the cottage and returned TO
his own dwelling, ready to operate next day
on the Antwerp Exchange with certain sue
cess
The carrier,pigeon is now superseded By
electricity; but the Belgians have not renouHe-
ed the old partiaiity for this bird, and pigeon
races still give rise among them to numerous
gatherings and heavy bets. On these occa-
siOns the pigeons are carried in basket to
certain distance, aud are then waited for at
given spot by their oEners-the bird which
arrives first winning the prize, exactly as 10 the
case Of horSe-races Recently, at one Of these
pigeon-races held ST Maiines, feathered cour-
ser, let loose at six, a. m at TonneTre, in the
department Of the Youne, France, reached
Aalines at tEenty-six minutes past eleven =
Not quite so quick as light or sound. but very
much quicker than steam could have made the
journey -Nt1 York Pest.