Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1879-05-14
NO. 20.
A Male Cleopatra

Gresham is good subject to begin his
tory with, for it has what is earlier than his
tory-traditiOn and romance. The story OF
the Grasshopper is a pretty one. only the
rude hand Of the antiquary sets it all aside
by sternly proving that Gresham was no
| founding, but born in wealth. There are
plenty of tales left. How is it with this
1t is gravely related in a work called Law
sons History of Banking" that the Spanish
ambassador to the English Court having
extolled the great riches of his King, the
master of the Indies, and of the grandees Of
Spain, before Queen Elizabeth, Sir Thomas
Gresham, who was present, told him that
the Queen had subjects who at one meal
expended not only as much as the daily
revenues of the King, but also Of all the
grandees, and added ''This | will prove
any day and lay you a heavy wager on it. -
So Gresham outbragged the Spaniard in
his own line. The ambassador, biding his
time, came unawares to the mansion of Sir
Thomas in Bishopsgate, and dined with
him, when, finding only an ordinary meal,
he said ''Well, sir, you have lost your
stake. 'sNot at all, answered Sir Thomas,
land this yOu shall presently seen He
tlACu Bu4ifu u bpA AAllll pDChEAf anu
ing out one of the largest and finest Eastern
pearls, showed it to the EmbassadOr. After
which he ground it down and drank the
dust in glass of wine to the health of the
Queen, his mistress. ''Aly Lord Embassa-
dor, =" said Sir Thomas, '.yOu know | have
often refused el5, 900 for this pearl. Have
| lost or won" Il Weld the wager as
lost, said the Embassador; ''and do not
think there are four subjects in the world
that would do as much for their sovereign"
Legend tracks the man. Here is one that
would do for a mediRval saint, and also
from Lawson 1t must be borne in mind
that the street before the GrasshOpper-that
is '6S-was then used as the bOurse of Lon
don, which is not unlikely, Gresham,
trading to the East Indies, by which he is
reported to have made much money, at one
time was disconnected by the nOn-arrival of
some ships, which, it is alleged, had caused
himmuch embarrassment. While despond-
ingly walking in Lombard street, a sailor
came up to him and presented letter
which conveyed the joyful intelligence that
two of the ships had arrived, and that the
box the bearer would deliver contained some
diamonds and pearls of great value as a
sample of the riches the ships had brought
home. Perhaps it was a large pearl out of
this box or out Of the two ships which
figured in the other tale. After getting the
good news on the bOurse, Gresham could do
no other than found, at his own cost. an
exchange, laying the first stone on June :,
1866; and on January 27th it was opened
by Queen Elizabeth. The Queens majesty,
attended by her nobility, entered the bOurse
on the south side, and after she had viewed
every part thereof, and seen a kind of in
dustrial exhibition of all sorts of the finest
wares in the city, she caused the same
bourse, by a herald trumpet, to be pro
claimed The Royal Exchange, and to be
so called thencefOrth and not otherwise, and
50 il has been.