The Morning herald., 1877-02-14
CORD AND CREEsR.
CHAPTER xxx
sMITHERs & co.

den'' .aa naI Of the astonished county and filled
tne ey with curious speculations.
all 1ohn ohm Potts had been detestaole, out now'
Jop" p"nk President, he began to be re-
a Sable M to say the least. Wealth has
spss.l',slb n ,sbout it which fascinates all men,
cnal'tb hose of the oldest families, and now
even .h .h;s naryeu showed that he could
'ns; a,.v '1sn employ his superhous cash in a
ea,li ssntius company, people began to look
ua'ni pn his name as still undoubtedly vulgar,
uI'I alt as 81 undoubtedly possessing the ring Of
s01u;; su;s first effort to take the county by
..Ln, nI' hv an ordinary invitation to Bran
iIvII Ma Hajlhad been sneered at every where.
4v, p"t Il, this bank was different thing. Many
i." bas s'. ,o think that perhaps Potts had been
m WS ;I.,,std H. ~ and slandered man. He had
aon su N Rrandon's agent, but who could prove
or,1 oUv thing against him after all?
aDE There "sre9 were ere very many who soon felt the
.oad a1I of the peculiar help which bank can
nsoa ars # r It oplv ch, o:es. Those who went
s"s shsre foupd Potts marvelously accommo-
dat;no 1nt;o " He did not seem SO grasping or so
'1;e;ous dal1s. "a as other bankers. They got
sJ,p Shat thew wanted, laughed at his jokes,
and assured every body that he was a
D1es Snrel, it was by some special inspira-
tim that Potts hit upon this idea of bank,
;l' e he wished to make people look kindly
unon him. to "be to his faults little blind,
and "p1 70 his virtues very kind" he could
not not have conceived any better or shorter
ray toward the accomplishment OF so de-
sirable result.
So lenient were these people that they
looked upon all those who took part IN
the bank with equal indulgence. The
Younger Potts was considered very clever
man, with dry, caustic humor, but
thoroughly good-hearted. Clark, one on Of
the directors. was regarded as bluff, and
sbrevd, and cautious, but full of the milk
Of human kindness and Philips, the cash
Ter, was universally liked on account OF his
gentle, obsequious manner.
So widespread and SO active were the
operations Of this bank that people stood
astonished and had nothing to say. The
amount of there accommodations was
enormous. Those who at first considered
it mushroom concern soon discovered
their mistake; for the Brandon Bank had
connections in London which seemed to
give the command ofunlimited means, and
any sum whatever that might be needed
was at once advanced where the security
was at all reliable. Nor was the bank par
ticular about security. John Potts pro
fessed to trust much to peoples faces and
to their character, and there were times
when he would take the security without
looking at it, Or even decline it and be sat
isfed with the name.
In less than a year the bank had sue
ceeded in gaining the fullest confidence
even Of those who had at first been most
skeptlcal, and John Potts had grown to be
considered without doubt one of the most
considerable men in the county.
One day in March John Potts was sit
ting in the parlor of the bank when a
gentleman walked in who seemed to be
about sixty years Of age. He had slight
sloop, and carried gold headed cane.
lie was dressed in black, had gray hair,
ana very heavy gray beard and mus
Have the honor of addressing Mr..
IolIs Z, saId the stranger, in a peculiarly
high, shrill voice.
I'm Mr.. Potts." said the other.
lhe stranger thereupon drew letter
from his pocket book and handed it to
Potts. The letter was short one, and the
moment Potts had read it he sprang up
and held out his hand eagerly.
r. MT. smlthers, Sir YOU'RE welcome,
Dir Ina sure, Sir! Proud and happy, Sir,
see you, Pm shure p said Potts, with
great volubiIity.
Mr.. sni'hers, however, did not seem to
see his hand, but seated himself leisurely
on chair, and looked for moment at
lhg opposite wall like one in thought.
lie was a singular-looking old man.
ais SKIN was fresh; there was a grand,
S'e'h ar upon his brow when it was in re-
pose: The lower part of his face was hid
aen by his beard, and its expression was
Nerelore lost. His eyes, however, were
s'asuar!y large and luminous, although he
"" WORE = spectacles and generally looked at
! have bat recently returned from a
%;nt' sad he, in the same voice "and my
!"A'0s u"' partner has managed all the busi-
,Ia .I:s' IN my absence, which has lasted more
,"'" .""" year. had not the honor of being
II>4a'''A'td 'n with your banking. house when
,A" 'vI', ana as | had business up this way
''"Dn,yht ! would call on you"
ro,, rfoud, sir, and most happy to welcome
'a,: yo' 70 our modest parlor," said Potts, OBJ
TT"l'"o"SIy' "Tbis is q peasure--indecd
nay say, Sir, privilege which I have
-onG W!shed to have. In fact. have