Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-11-22
LIFE IN WALL STREET,


LIFE IN WALL STREET,
1t is a popular faIlacy that pro-
nounces the life Of the Wall Street
man, as anything rather than labor
ious. They say he dresses in purple
and fine linen, and fares sumptuously
every day, though, like the Solomon
lilies of Scripture, he tolls not, Meth
or does he spin. Let not tho hard
working lawyer, the burdened and
anxious merchant, or the hardy sons
Of manual labor, envy the gilded
Spectator, though he recline on silk
en- couchos, and daily with the dain-
test Of viands, and sip wines of the
vintage of Waterloo, out Of Bohomi-
an glass. True, TO the casual observ-
er, his life seems easy enough. He
produces nothing, be drives no
plough, plies no hammer, sends no
"shuttle flashing through the loom. !"
La political economy he would be
properly classed among the strictost
order Of consumers. His airy exis-
tence seems to be passed in chasing
the flying fractions up and down the
market. or in making the values
which pass through his hands per-
spire golden drops, just as the Jews
clip and sweat the coin they handle
And yet what life is more trying
than his? Beneath his frontal sin
uses, amid tho commissions Of his
brain silent, invisible struggle is
going on, which if pat into bodily
shape, would startlo the beholder.-
There the vulture passions are at
work, led on by their generals, am
bition and avarice. Pining envy,
fear Of AN evil which always impends,
rage over injuries inflicted by others,
or by his own weakness and incapa-
city, jealousy and hatred of success
full rivals, aIl hold carnival 10 the
space Of an hour, and are kept active
and sleepless by hope which quick
ems them with her enchanted wings
Above him movers, day and night, a
vast, dark, tormless shape, threaten
ing ruin and penury. This is the
spectre of panic. One day he is lif-
ted TO dizzy heights, the next, plung-
ed into black depths. He is hurried
through dark labyrinths, through
paths whore q single step is destruc-
ton. Ho climbs on the edge Of a
sword to q fools paradise, where be
tastes joys brief as a dream, and in
an hour is abased TO the earth where
ho drinks the full cup Of humiliation
and want. Meanwhile nature is
holding out strange signals of alarm.
His lips and cheeks bIanch without
any assignable cause. Blacksmiths'
sparks flicker before his eyes. His
blood regurgitates to his heart, which
seems to swell to the size Of bul
locks, and beats on his ribs like q
trip-hammer. Paralysis, apoplexy
and aneurism are watching for their
prey.
Not long since, a great man Of the
"stroet" lay for weeks in the clutches
of this last disease, and the muffled
door-bell told tho result of this har-
rowing careerot o SPECTATOR When
he died, they said he lett four mill
lions. But he had paid for this CO.
lossal fortune with a life worn out in
middle age by the weary burdens
and sharp vicissitudes of the stock
market.
The "fercc extremes" Of Wall
Street may be best illustrated by the
experience Of W. He came in
to the market in 1862, with six hun
dred dollars, bought gold at 10, and
sold it at 185; bought again three
times as much, sold it for 100. went
into Eric at 80, sold it for 80, bought
Pacific Mail at 100, sold it for 1Gj.-
In March, 1868, he had SO, 900 at his
bankers. But this was only the be-
ginning. Something was going on,
in Harlem so bought 1000 Harlem :;
Morse was at worksat Pittsburg so
he bought , 600 Pittsburg, Erie was
fcverishly moving towards 30,
he bought 900 Erie. Meanwhile
Hooker was moving on Chaucelprs
vile, and there was silence in the
stock market, for the space Of q day.
Now the news came, of q retrograde
movement, in plain English, a repulse.
The army was this side the Kappa
hanock, the signal was given, and the
cohort Of bulls moved on their
enemy's works. Eric sold up to 10
Pittsburg 100 and Harlem in its pro-
portion. He pocketed $50, 900 moro
by this venture, and in March, 1861,
he stood $4,000 ahead Of the mar
ket. Then for o short space he had
a charming life. A pair of spanking
bays, tandem, whirled him to the
Park in q tail Belmont, with q fun
key in livery, on the back seat with
q bug on his hat. Over his morning
repast floated the aromatic steam of
Mocha, and the favors Of exotic
fruits. lie lunched off partridge
stuffed with truffles, washed down
by a bottle of Chateau d'Yqem or the
liquid pellucid gold Of the vintage of
Here's, and his dinner WAS nine
courses Of fish. flesh ana fowl at
Delmonicos flanked by the most
t9othsome OF eRtremetS, and wines
that would make a Mussulman fore
swear his creed.
But soon W--sufiered q change
ia sea change into something (not)
rich but strange" He had a friend
who gave him few points" on Ga
lena, then selling for 142. There
was pool Ia it which was going to
put it up to 175 it was actually
worth 200 there was an extra divi-
dend Of 40 per cent. to be declared
William B. Ogden was in the move
ment-these were the points. lie
bought 6, 900 shares. Then he bought
J = 0O0 p;f4rh,,.. 100 orJ O0D Enpf