The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1874-01-05
At4er Mntorloo Nnthan ROthsohili

his, Even Ills injudicious inyestbor;c
sometimes swelled his already In ths
purse. he sold out his M FreheS
English loan Of 1919 an went below
loan Of 1895 before ttirst popular.
par. Foreign loans i'm BY fixing the
lied in England h making the divi.
rate in sterling London instead Of in
dends payaolSitsls, Bis house be;
oontinentas the financial agent Of all
came Gro .ments of Europe, aud the
the .goyof the London firm extended
busiPy quarter Of the globe.
to lthnh was as minute as he was com.
extensive. Reaching out to the far
East and the remote West for increase
of income, he dotted on the most dimin-
utive details. Prinoely in his entertain.
ments, be WIS peaurious to the last de.
gree in dealing with subordinates and
employees. While he was investing mil
lions he would dispute q bill for Il
shilling, and keep oyerworked clerks on
the verge Of starvation. Lavish for his
vanity, he was n niggard ut heart. He
recognized nothing but percentage; and
he is reported to have calculated to q
penny the cost OF bis marriage months
before he Proposed to the daughter Of
Cohen.
He was not happy even in the midst
Of his overlooking Golfers. Naturally
enough, he had numberless enemies.
In his later years he suffered from con.
slant dread Of assassination. He was
always receiving threatening letters, de-
claring that his life depended on his
sending certain sums OF money to Ger.
tain addresses. He scented murder in
every breeze, suspected poison in every
cup. In sleep, he had nightmare Wis
ions of crouching things; in waking
hours, he started at every unexpected
noise.
One morning two strangers were M.
nSunced rs having important business
with the bunker, and they were shown
into his private office. BE bowed to
them, and inquired the nature OF their
negotiation. They bowed and said
nothing, but advanced toward him,
thrusting their fingers neryously into
their pockets, Rothsclnld's alarm was
excited NJ once. They must be search.
ing for conceded weapons their beard.
ed faces made II clear to his frightened
fancy that they were homicidal rufiAns.
He rctreated in terror behind large
desk, seized pOnderous ledger, hurled
| II OF their heads, and screamed " Muir.
der |" ut the top Of his voice. A small
army OF clerks poured into the room,
and laid violent hands on the stran.
gers, who proved 10 be wealthy Polish
bankers bringing lottersof introduction
to the physically timidl lion Of loans.
Embarrassed yhis Auriferously august
presence-whRt is there in a breath.
ing money.bag capable Of inspiring
awe P-they forgot their speech and
their common GOODNESS OF conduct,
They were nearly ns much terrified ns
tho renowned Israelite and rs 1t was
their initial visit to England, they i'm.
agined that all foreigners were deemed
robbers and desperadoes until the con.
trary was established.
The wretchedly rich Nathan never
went out alone after dark, never entered
I'M nnlighted room, had servants within
call OF his bed.chamber, slept with
loaded pistols under his pillow.
A Observation-Disclosures, dining with
him one evening, and observing the luz.
ury OF his household, remarked, "You
must be happy, baron, with the power
to crafty every wish"
Happy, indeod" was the response.
"Do yon think 1t happiness to be
haunted always by dread Of murder,
to have your appetite for breakfast
sharpened by threat to stab you TO the
heart unless You inclose thousand
guineas to some unknown villain?"
On one occasion, when the great e.
nancier had been to an evening party,
and had gotten into his carriage to 40
home, n friend, wishing to make On up.
pointment, stepped out to speak TO him.
The timorous banker mistook his 70.
miliar greeting for a highwayman, and
thrust pistol out Of tho carriage win.
dow, with his favorite cry Of "Mur.
derl" before he could be acquainted
with the situation.
As Rothschild grew richer and older
bis fears increased. He became almost
monomaniac on the subject OF assassi.
nation, and many Of his relatives
thoughthim in serious danger OF insan.
ity through his constant apprehensious.
Most OF the menacing messages were
unQuestionably sent him by his enc
mics, with whom he was plentifully
supplied. Conscious OF his weakness,
they revenged themselves tiron him by
inspiring him with baseless terrors. He
was repeatedly told SO, but no could not
be induced to believe that he did not
dwell in an atmosphere Of poisons,
poniards, and pistols.
A good example Of his manner OF
doing business was shown in 1881. It
is familiar fact that the supply OF
quicksilver has always been limited, and
at that time was mainly furnished from
the Spanish mines of Almaden and the
nlyrian mines OF Idria. The former
had yielded richly for centuries, but the
Napoleonic wars withdrew labor from
them, and 30 interierred with their
product as to diminish very seriously
the revenues OF the Spanish crown.
The kingdom required a loan, and re.
course was had to Nathan, who agreed
to furnish the money, provided lie
should have as security tile Almaden
mines for given number Of years.
They were duly made over to him md
his house, and the price of quicksilver
was Immediately advanced ono hundred
per cent. The trade, amazed and an.
gered, sent to Idria for the necessary
metal, only to discover that tho Roths.
cliilds had been before, had obtained