Beaufort Republican. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1871-1873, 1872-10-10

after once putting his hands to any work.
He was sensitive and proud, and more
willing to face an enemy and dare loss,
than to acknowledge a mistake. Under
the influence of his unwonted enthusiasm,
he had drawn a number of capitalists and
men of business into a mining enterprise,
and he felt pledged to the work of its sue
cess.
cat an early day our charter was at
hand, when an election of officers was
held, and your father made president of
the company. The care and work, the
anxieties and disappointments he endured
for the next year or two, in his efforts to
manage the affairs of the company broke
his spirits and impaired his health. Money
was poured into the mine like water into
sand; assessment after assessment was
made, until each shareholder had paid in
thirty dollars share. 1t was impossible
for me to take thirty thousand dollars
out of my business without destroying it;
SO was forced to sell half my stock at a
loss of fifty cents on the dollar. Icarried
the balance at a crippling cost. But
your father paid at each assessment, until
he had sixty Thousand dollars locked up
in certificates, that commanded no divi-
dends, and had ceased to be quoted at any
price in the stock market.
II will not detail the experience we
had in copper mining. 1t was continued
series of disappointments, from the time
ground was broken until the work was
abandoned. Ore was found, but never in
paying quantities. What was sent to
market paid US about a mill a pound
for dollar expended in procuring it.
Our superintendent, whose calls for money
were incessant, always wrote in the most
glowing terms. Every indication was
good. We were surely approaching one
of the great lodes which other operators
had struck in that region, and the moment
we reached it, our stock would 60 up to,
and far beyond par. But the lode was
never found. At the end of year and a
half the mine was abandoned.
"l shall never forget the meeting of
directors at which we voted to stop work.
Your father, who presided at the meeting
sat in the chair more like statue than a
living man. At its close I walked away
with him. He was not inclined to talk.
l saw that he was deeply mortified and
evidently much troubled. He had put
sixty thousand dollars into this bubble
and it had burst. The land, for which we
paid twenty thousand, would not sell for
enough to meet the claims that still stood
against the company. &c. all was gone.
AS we paused at the corner of the street
where our ways parted, he said, with
much bitterness: To think Of me being
snch a fool! [ cannot account for it,
except on the grounds of temporary in
sanity. In less than an hour after put
my name down for two thousand shares
of that accursed stock, | knew that / had
committed the greatest blunder of my
| life; and nothing but a morbid sense of
mercantile honor kept me from repudiat-
ing the whole thing. If I had done so /
would have saved myself and others from
these cruel losses and disappointments'
"'I have long since OWNED the cause
of both your folly and mine,' | replied.
"'You haven He spoke with ner-
vous throb in his voice. The color deep
ened in his face. He looked at me with
something like startled suspicion in his
es.
W Wine is a mocker,' said.
"' Wine! What has wine to do with
copper stock company?' he asked.
cit had more to do with this one,
! imagine, than you may have suspected
"He looked at me steadily for a mo-
ment or two. I saw his countenance
change. As his eyes fell slowly to the
ground, deep sigh parted his lips.
WGoud morning' he said, an instant
afterward and strobe away. He had un-
derstood me.
"Trouble never comes alone. With
sixty thousand dollars taken from your
fathers business, and nearly twenty thou
sand out of mine, we were both in peril.
To reach port, we must have smooth sea
and favoring winds. But we had neither.
There came sudden panic in financial
circles; banks reduced their lines of dis
counts; and rates of interest went up to
ruinous figures. Trade sympathized and
fell off, Weak houses began to totter and
go down, and stronger ones to show signs
of trouble. I struggled and sacrificed,
and held on with desperate energy; but
vainly. My boats went under.
81 knew that your father was badly
crippled; and when / thought of him, it
was with a concern made acute by my
own sense of danger. One day, in passing
large auction house, | saw him step
forth and stand for a moment, looking be-
wildered and agitated. crossed over to
him and said Good morning, Mr.. How
| ard. Nothing wrong, / hope
"'Ruin That is allp he answered
with forced calmness.
7rOn, n0!' Ireturned. Not so bad as
thatn
He drew his arm in mine, and we
walked away After a little while he
spoke, his voice less steady than before.
"' Yes, my friend, ruin-and the cause
you know too well. To save myself, L
forced sale of our pl operty on Walnut
street, and it he's just been struck down
at little over half what [ would have
taken for it a month ago! And that
means ruin! The sum to be received will
not meet my wants, and [ shall be forced
to suspend after all, with assets and re-
sources diminished by the amount lost in
this disastrous sale! !!
"'And all this I could not help saying,
with bitter emphasis, comes as result
of glass or two of wine taken in business
hours!'
"He caught my arm with a sudden
grip. There was a wild, desperate, half