The Iowa transcript. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1858-1866, 1866-09-14
New York IKisers.

1t is not generally known that New York
at the present time contains a large number
OF misers as inveterate and degraded as
any on record, and if we had space we could
I give series of portraits Of wealth and av-
arice which would make any reader shud-
der. Many of these misers are old business
men who have Withdrawn from active life
and still keep up their faded and weather.
stained signs, and beneath the garb of trade
ply their money saving habits. These men
Will be found sitting solitary in dingy OF
ices, filled with cob-webs and thick with
the dust OF many years. Money borrowers
know where to 60, and here these pale and
threadbare fossils receive the best securi-
ties for their daily loans. Some of these
hail-staryed wretches, whose trembling
hands can hardly sign check, can draw
Tor sums that would shake q bank. One of
the richest men in the city is now to be
found IN jus. such dingy hole as we have
described, where he loans enormous sums
| daily. lie was merchant once, and his
old sign is still up; and inside things re-
main as they were half century ago. lie
suffers daily for the comforts Of life but
all this is compensated for by the pleasure
of accumulation. "They come to me to
beg said the old man to an acquaintance,
land there's not beggar in New York that
does not live as well as "a statement
which was quite true.
specimen of the better class Of this
genus was given in the late Exchange place
robbery, where Rufus Lord, man upwards
OF four score, was the solitary occupant Of
an office which contained between one mil
lion and two million in stocks and securi-
ues-all his own. Here this old man sat,
day after day, accommodating at the rate of
1000 per week, and no doubt hoping in
due time to get rich. Such hoard was
worth tapping, and the job was one of the
neatest and most successful ever done in
New York
The late Stephen Whitney was striking
| instance Of the commercial miser. When
We knew him he had made about 10, O00, 600
and at the age of 70, was trying hard to
get rich. The person and Countenance Of
this wretched man were study. The
tremulous form, the sharpened features, and
the solicitous eye told OF the one idea which
mastered the soul. Mr.. Whitney was, in
his day, to be seen habitually in Wall street,
picking his way along among the brokers
and sharpers, and buying notes, OF which
he was good judge. He bought none but
be best, and seldom made a bad purchase
His son-in-law was in heavy business !;
but his paper was not considered first rate,
the only chance Of his success being that
the old man would keep him up This
chance we used to hear often discussed, and
on its probabilities his paper found mark
ct. But the old man did not keep him, ard
he showed himself too sharp to be gulled
even by so near relative. Mr.. Whitney
Vas something of q politician, and on one
occasion the leaders of his party came with
an application for funds for electioneering
purposes. Gentlemen" was the reply,
81 am with you heart and body. AS for
money, have none; but to help along, 1
will come and cit up all night and fold bal
/ lots"
| Some Of these New York misers are ut
terly recluse, while others are social, and
often meet to discuss methods Of money
making. The group occasionally seen in
certain old rookery, where few millions
are represented in hungry forms and seedy
raiment, would be study for an artist The
complaint with this class is that "interest
IS down, money is cheap, and the country
is going to ruin. Only five per cent. on
good paper, and six on bond and mortgage;
and as for seven, thirties, they pay well
enough, but one may get his throat cut
taking care of them. The worlds made up
Of thieves and beggars, and there's no use
trying to get aloLg."-New York Citizen
TIE IRON CRowN.-When the Austrians
recently ceded Venetia to France. they car.
ried off from Venice the famous Iron Crown
OF Lombardy, and its restoration has been
demanded by the Italian Government, to
whom France has coded yeneiia The
crown, although made chiefly Of gold. de-
r'ves its name from an iron band, encircliug
the interior, which is said to have been
made from one Of the nails driven through
Christ's body at the crucifxion. It was
worn by ChaTlemagne, the first Emperor Of
Germany, more than thousand years ago :
was preserved in Italy through the terrible
devastation Of the Middle Ages; and finally
worn by Napoleon Bonaparte, who with It
was crowned King Of Italy at Milan. When
Austria became master Of Lombardy, the
crown followed the fortunes Of the
country, and now that the country is made
part of the Italian kingdom. the Italian