East Saginaw courier., 1864-08-31

came to beg me to purchase it; and
it appears that the house is now mine.
As it suits you, and any other will do
as well for me, l accept your offer"
"You shall be paid in fortnight,
in paper on Paris" exclaimed the pur
chaser, delighted with my prompti-
tude in business.
Paper on Paris / was SO little
accustomed to that currency, ais to inn
agine that it would be necessary to
send to the cupitol for payment, and
therefore wrote to a commercial
house, the only one whose address /
knew, as from that / received regular
ly an annuity of five hundred francs
left me by one of my uncles, and
which formed welcome portion Of
my income.
With what impatience / waited the
expiration of the time, when / wrote
to Messieurs Huges g. Bergeret that,
having certain funds to invest, /
begged their advice as to the safest
mode. 1t appeared that the words,
certain funds" have very different
acceptations in commerce, according
to the name and position of him who
used them. The news Of my inherit
ance must have reached Paris. Ger
tain funds, situated as / was, was a
modest manner Of specifying con-
siderable sum - at least supposed so
ON receiving an answer from the
firm that my letter had been re-
ceived just before the close of the
Cortes loan, in which they had pur-
chased to the amount Of twenty thou
sand dollars that if i thought it too
much, large profit might be imme-
diately realized, as the stock had gone
up. A postscript in the hands of the
principal, congratulated me on my ac-
cession to fortune.
Twenty thousand dollars The
letter fell from my hands; the amount
frightenen me. 1 wrote instantly to
my correspondents, informing them
that SO large a sum went beyond my
means adding that no remittances
having been receid from Martinique,
as they supposed, / was unable to sat
isfy their claims.
The answer came in day or two,
stating as l did not appear to have
confidence in the Cortes loan, they
had sold out my stock at a profit of
eighty thousand francs; and begged
me not to feel uneasy, as remittances
were always slow in coming from dis
tant plantations; in the interim, my
signature would furnish me with all
the money l could want. The pros
pectus of a German bank was en-
closed, in which fifty shares had been
secured for me.
Eighty thousand francs Either |
understood nothing of commercial
matters, or the clerk had written one
or two noughts too many. My situa-
ton became embarrassing. / was
overwhelmed with congratulations,
especially when put on my new suit
of black. The editor of a newspaper
thought himsAlf obliged TO give a BIZ
dgraphy Of my cousin Jaques, and
asked me for additional particulars -
l was beseiged with annoying ques-
tons. In what way would furnish
my house? What would / do for
public establishments? Some. benev-
olent young ladies wrote to recon-
mend the institution under. their guar
dianship. / was ruined in postages,
for in the midst of all my riches,
whether real or imaginary, had no
money. Fortunately, from the mo-
ment i was TO be rich, no one would
take sous from me, and tradesmen
oourted the honor Of giving mo
credit.
At last / decided on going to Paris.
Immediately on my arrival l went to
my bankers, who received me as an
inheritor of great wealth.
81 regret" said Bergeret, "that you
mistrusted the Spanish loan, for the
Stock has again gone up. No mat
ter, however; you have some left"
"Will you have the goodness, Mon
sieur," said /, ''to tell me precisely
how much all these funds are worth,
which you have bought for meP"
"The calculation is easy. Twenty
thousand dollars, at so much the dol
lar-and the sum already paid. If
you sell to day, you will put about
two hundred and twenty thousand
francs into your pocket"
lopened my eyes.
"You say Monsieur, two hundred
and twenty thousand? Are you quite
certain ?"
CAS- certain as any one can be,
within few hundred francs"
"That is well. You spoke also of
bank ?"
"Yes, tho establishment of this
bank has met with some difficulties I;
but the affair is not less good we are
on the eve of terminating it, and the
scrip is well up"
"Could that scrip also be sold p l
inquired.
"You hold fifty shares replied the
banker, "which have advanced four
hundred and fifty forms, making to-
gether nearly sixty thousand francs"
Although as yet | have paid moth
ingp'
''Without a doubt" was the an
swer.
"That is singular, but since you
say so 1 submit. l should like to
make safe investment of the whole,
will you be so kind as to specify one 2
"Our five per cents-I know of
nothing safer. At the present rate
the gain will be six. / understand
that all these little matters worry you
You will soon have to deal with much
larger sums
"By placing all that I. hold in the
! five per cents, i shall have an income