The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1868-10-21
THE LITTLE OLD GENTLEMAN.

A little cold corpse on her breast.
THE LITTLE OLD GENTLEMAN.
"Would you like to look at the
Times, sir? Singular trial, that of
Risk Allah Bey against the Daily
Telegraph"
The speaker was curious little old
man, cleanly dressed, cleanly shaved,
with short crisp, white hair, and q
face like a red pippin; such face as
is hardly ever seen out of this coun-
try, and even here rarely, save
amongst farmers, game-keepers, or
others who are much in the open air
at ali seasons. This little-for he
was very small indeed as to size-this
little old gentleman was encountered
in first-class smoking carriage, on
the Southwestern railway.
"Curious trial, that, before the
Lord Chief Justice continued the
old gentleman, as if he wished to
promote further conversation. "I
was once tried for murder, myself"
with pleasant SMILEY eyes, " said
the little old gentleman, "and very
nearly hung, too. I did not get off
free. I was sentenced to transporta-
tion for life; went through seven
years of it, and they pardoned me
for what I had never DONE"
"You see," said the little old gen
tleman, smiling more than ever, as
the five other smokers in the carringe
stared at him-''You see, L was for
many years cattle merchant in
London. My business consisted in
receiving from abroad-from Hol-
land, Germany, Normandy, or whcr-
ever I could form a connection
oxen, cows, sheep, pigs; some on my
own account, others to be sold on
commission for correspondents, who
sent their animals to me for sale.
The trade was a profitable one.
Every beast sent sent over on my az
count was fully insured, so that if
they died on the passage, came
upon the insurance company. I had
very few debts, and taking one thing
with another, I may have fully cal
culated upon realizing at least twen-
ty-five per cent. on my capital every
three months. In other words, T
got a profit of one hundred per cent.
on the money I had commenced
business with.
''But with money comes the desire
for more. There was g time before
I began to deal in cattle, when I
thought myself rich, if, at the end of
q year, Z lad two hundred pounds in
bank, over and above my expenses
for the last twelve months. Now it
was otherwise. I lamented that I
had not always an idle balance of
fifteen hundred or two thousand
pounds. was fond of money for
moneys sake. 1 could not make
money fast enough for my wishes in
the cattle trade, and therefore deter
mined to do o little in the loan'and
discounting way.
"It is nearly twenty years ago, and
I have gone through o great deal of
troule since. My system was never
to put too many eggs in one spot
never to lend very much to any sin
pie person-but to lend very small
amounts to various people. I used
to answer the advertisements of
tradesmen in difficulty, and if I
found that borrower had good Sc
curity to offer, would lend him per-
haps thirty or forty pounds, taking
ten pounds month for the accom-
mediation, and much more in proper
tion Tor longer periods. One of my
clients was printer, with o small
business, near what was then called
the New Road, near Marylebone
Road. He had often borrowed twen.
ty, thirty. and once as much as sixtv
pounds from me, and had aiways re-.
paid me to the day. The securitv
hs gave me was all the same, Joint
note OF hand of himself and his bro
ther, o grocer up Hackney way. The
name of this borrower was Strange
Edward Strange. He was in n deli
cate state of health, always suffering