The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-11-01

answered Tor sauce, put ltS SAVIOR ls gone
now. Apologize to your hungry readers,
and don't do so any more, If you PLEASE.
AN OLD SUBSCRIBER.
now Donald N1cGrie Bought and Sold
his IndigO-A Story for Merchants.
The hero Of this little sketch was dOuce
and canny Scot, small trader, well known
in Aberdeen forty years ago. lie was
chapman in promiScuous line. In fact
Why should we attempt to disguise the
truth 9-he kept what in London would be
called chandler's shop.
He condescended, merely for the conye-
nience of his immediate ncighbors, to sell
candles so low as farthing apiece-indeed
he would, for the nonce, furnish light so at
tenuated that you might purchase two for
farthing, and yet he had small beer In his
emporium more attenuated still. He also
sold diving materials, among which l might
have classed his small ale, and he had
coc,,lus indicus to set off against half
penny's worth of salt, barilla against two
sheets of parliament cake for a baubee,
and indigo by the pound against snuff by
the half ounce.
Indeed, our trustworthy friend Donald
McGrie had no small pride in his shop and
the street in which he lived, in the guide
auld town of Aberdeen, had just so much
pride in Donald. Really, Donald was safe
chiel. He kept his accounts accurately
both with God and man, for he was as
punctual at kirk as in his payments, and ashe
allowed no long scores with his neighbors, he
took care never to run in debt by crimes of
omission, which must be some day settled
before tribunal so awful.
Having thus sufficiently described Do
maids circumstances, We must now pro-
coed to narrate the first grand step that he
made towards acquiring the splendid for
tune that he so well deserved and lived so
long to enjoy.
He was out of indigo; that is to say, all
the indigo that he lately had had gone out
from his warehouse by driblets. Thereupon
he writes letter to house in London-a
drysalter's in the most extensive line of
business~ordering "forty-one pons weight
of indigo; stating at the same time that
If there was not vessel, they must "get
ane." Such were the exact words he used.
Now, at the time this occurred, commu-
nication between Aberdeen and London
was rare, and at the farthest, four times in
the year was the utmost extent that Do
nald McGrie and his wholesale dealers adj
dressed each other. There were no tele-
graph lines by which Donald could have
instantaneous communication with the
world over nor, for the matter ns 'ha',
fast steam-packets traversi,,s 'n 80 nv mU'
| raiIwa,.p Iiio land -~snihg out those sio"
Sailing packets which took time, and plenty
of it, to make their trips from port toport,
or the equally slow stage-coaches. AS l
have said, four times in the year was the
extent of the communication between
Aberdeen and London. Remembering
this fact, let us proceed. The dealers
were very much surprised at the ex-
tent of the order received from Do
maid. The reader will not wonder at it
when he is informed that they could never
suppose for a moment that vessel could
be ordered on purpose to carry forty-one
pounds of indigo; so, after much scrutiny
of the very hieroglyphical marks Of Nc erie,
all the heads of the firm took it firmly into
their said heads that their correspondent
had fairly written for forty-one tons.
They knew very little of the man, and
of the nature and extent Of his business /;
all, however, that they did know was most
satisfactory; they had done business with
him for nearly twenty years, and had du-
ring all that time been extremely well
pleased with the punctuality of his pay
ments, added to which they had heard that
he was wealthy. Upon all these grounds
they, without hesitation, executed the or
der; but as they had not anything like
the quantity on hand, they were them
selves forced to become purchasers, in
order to fulfil the commission. Having
collected the quantity that they had sup
posed that Donald had specified, they
shipped it for Aberdeen, sending with it
an invoice, and also bill Of lading by post.
When McGrie received this precious bill
of lading his establishment was at once
ludicrous and stupendous. At length, in
order to give himself little mental relief,
he determined to set it down as hoax,
for, said he, "What on earth can the
people of London mean by sending me
forty-one tons of indigo?" 1t was more
than sufficient, with the then consumption,
to supply Aberdeen for a guide Scotch
generation-twenty-on years. However,
his prudence still prevailed over every
other operation of his mind.
Like canny Scot, he kept his perplex-
ity to himself, for nothing was farther from
his thoughts than to run hither and thither
with his mouth open, and the letter in his
hand, in order to tell his tale Of wonder
and excite the stupid EXPLANATIONS of his
neighbors. Notwithstanding this stoical
conduct, he could not so far command his
department but that those about him re-
marked definite, though q mysterious,
change in his whole man. He was nearly
silent; but the activity Of his feet made
up for the idleness Of his tongue. He was
Hdgetty, repeatedly leaving his shop with
out any conceivable reason, and returning
hastily to it on the same rational grounds.
For once in his life his neighbors thought
that willy Donald did not know very well
what he was about.
In the midst of this agitation, time and
tide, which wait for no man, brought the
vessel that bore the indigo to Aberdeen.
1t would seem that, in order to quicken
Donald's apprehensions, she had an extra
ordinary quick passage. No sooner was
she moored than the captain fastened to
end the merchant to whom this large and
valuable cargo was consigned. Having
gone previously to the first merchants, ne,
by nice gradations, at length arrived at the
shop of the actual consignee, honest David
McGrie. Indeed, the skipper was a. much
Astonished at the mfnutencss Of the ware
house az McGrie had been at the magni-
tude Of bis csrge, for the warehouse, had
II contained nothing else, would not have
held the one fifth of the CONSIGNMENT.