The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1874-01-05
The EprlI,h HOase Of RothsehlIds.

writer, far exceeded his tatheE ct any
Of his brothers in commercial genius.
His attention Vas carly called to En-.
gland as m arena for action Che had
not then become q partner), and thithei
he iourneyed soon after reaching hii
majority. BE commenced his caseer il
Manchester as a money lender, with less
than $500, the cotton interest being
then in its infancy there. As they say
in Britain, he got on. AT the end o
Eve years no had $1,000, 0O0-a rate o
interest on his original capital which
ought TO satisfy the archfend Of pawn
brOkefs-and with this sum he went t,
London. So large were his transac
tions in the metropolis, that ono Of til
grandees OF the city, Levi Cohen, {
lected him as an eligible candidatSe-
the vacancy OF son.in.law. Cohi nc.
came alarmed after the uniospernte
count OF Nathan's apparentlJung man
speculations, believing litter Gained
must soon I've ttined. Tons, saving,
the paternal apprebut one OF your
"You have given Md have been Rn
daughters, when business II you had
excellent strokeit daughters. Then
given me alive died great deol
they wouldsy will nov"
richer thaeedily won his place In the
Nathapital. His ventures in the
world'indS always turned out luckily.
publ ns bold as Astute, entering into
Hpetition with the then immensely
aerful banking house Of GOLDSMITH,
hid undertaking what tho Barings,
Couttses, and Hopes lacked the nerve
to engagein. While ancient firms were
timid or lettering, he had his first
transactions with the government.
Wellington, while actively engaged on
tho Peninsula, in 1910, had made some
drafts which the Treasury could not
meet, and which the banker, Rnticipa.
ting the result Of the struggle on the
Continent, purchased at a liberal dis.
count, renewed them 10 the govern
ment, md finally redeemed them at
par. II was q capital operation in every
sense, bringins MIN into close and con.
f,dential relations with the ministry,
ana easily enlarging both his opportu.
mites and connections. The govern.
ment employed him to transmit subsi.
dies to the Continental powers, and he
faithfully performed tho task. he had
the advantage of the earliest and most
trustworthy intelligence from Frank.
fort, and was in n position TO return II
in kind.
Before long NIL ordinary means OF
communication were insufficient for his
rapidly growing enterprise, and he de-
terminod to use carrier.pigeons and
fast.sailing boats Of his own for the
transmission Of news. Reports in cipher
Of all important events were tied under
the wings Of the birds, which were con.
stantly arriving Mt tho London offices,
while Ills agents were crossing the
Channel in the stormiest weather under
n perilous pressure OF canvas. To this
day the mnil.boats between Boulogne
and FOlkestone follow the course mark.
ed out by the London operator for his
own craft.
When the wonderful Corsican return
ed from Elba, and oil the armies out
side OF France marched with secret
dread against the one indomitable foe
who had beaten them on every field,
Rothscllild once moro traversod the
Channel. BE went TO Belgium, and
even followed in the wake OF yelling.
toms forces, that he might be among
the very first TO know the result OF the
coming collision. His intense eager.
ness induced him to expose himself to
the dangers OF battle. He felt that the
fate OF Napoleon md the forms OF the
depended upon Waterloo /;
but to him the cause OF universal hu-
mainly and freedom would not have
borne the weight OF n feather against
the golden gains of his fortune-bloated
house. He kept SO close TO the British
commander.in.chief on the memorable
18th OF June that the Iron Duke, who
did not know him, fancied him to be u
spy or an assassin, and swore, with one
OF his superintendent oaths, that he
would hang that skulking fellow II he
did not clear out.
All day long Nathan Rothschild snt
on his horse on the hill OF Hougoumont,
and with his glass to his eye anxiously
the deadly struggle of the m.
tons. Until tho sun was low in the
west the plain was buried in powder
smoke. When the cloud had lifted tho
French army was seen in full retreat.
The greatest soldier OF all time, bag.
gard, defeated, desperate, having failed
with q single regiment of the Old
Guard aud n few pieces OF broken can
non to make a rnllying.point for the de.
fugitivGs, was borne away by
Soult from the disastrous field whore
no had wished his life to end with his
history.
Rothschild took in the situation at
once. True to his instincts, he saw in
the awful carnage only the simmer Of
his gold. Chance had overcome the
most heroic vnlor, the most stubborn
the best-laid plans, and
once more declared in the Hebrews
favor. lie dashed into Brussels, whence
n carriage in waiting whirlcd him to
Ostend. AT dawn he stood on the
Belgian coast, against which the sea
was maily breaking. He offered five,
six, eight, ten hundred francs to be
carried over to England. The mariners
feared the storm but holder fisher.
man, upon promise of twenty-five hun.
dred francs, undertook tho hazardous
voyage. Before sunset Rothschild
landed nt Dover, and engaging the
swiftest horses, rode with the wind to
What a superb special corrc-
spondent he would make.
The merchants and bankers were de-
iected the funds were depressed II
lense fog hung over the city; English