The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-12-15

increase of usures. looking upon them as peculiar people.
 To this no objections were made. tor ii was just to Tom taste.
 You shall open brokers shop m Boston ne>, month. said the black man,
 m do 1t tomorrow. fl you wish. ' said Tom Walker
 = You shall lend money a, two per cent. a mosth.''
 "EgAd, I'll charge four :" replied Tom Walker.
 "Nou shall e<tou bonds. foieelose mortgages. drive the merchants to bank ruptcy-"
 .l'n drive them to the d l." cried Tom Walker
 :" ou are the uslrer for my money v said blaeklegs with delight. When will you want the rhino
 This very night"
 Done sad the devil.
 Done said Tom Walker So they shook hands and struck bargain.
 \ teS days time sa~ Tom Walker seated behind his desk in d counting house m Boston
 IT.
 Toms reputation tot ready -mone,ed man. who would lend money out tor a good cous,derAt soon spread abroad tsep body remembers the tune oi Gov. einof Belehef. when money was pat,icu. laIiy scarce. Ii ~as tune oi paper credit. The country had been deiueed with government bills. the famous Land Bank had been established there had been d rage tor spcoulatng tho people had run mad with schemes for new set dement's fer building cities in the val defness land lobbeis went about with maps of grants. and townships, and Fl porados, ly,ng nobody knew where. bu, when everybody was ready Ia purchase In word, the great speeulating fever winch breaks out every now and then m the country, had ragged Ia m alarming degree. and everybody was dreaming of making saddcn fortunes tsom nothing As usual. the fever had Subsided the dream had gone off. and the imaginary fortune aith IL, the patents wete lett in dolcial plight, and the whole country re- sounded with the consequent ,p oi ." | id times
 x, thls pfopuous tune ot puhlic dis uess t.d Tom Walker se, up as usuret m Hos;er Hls door was soon thtongcd hy eustomets The needy and adventut. GUS Inc gambling speoulator the d,eau. ing iand-fohbci the ,htli,less ttAdesnan . thc me,e han, w,,h cracked ,redit m short. every one dtiven to raise money by despel ate means and desperate saentees. hu,ued to Tom N akef
 Thus q om ~as the universal trend ot ,he needy, and acted like "inend m need iha, l. to say he always eNaeted good pay and good security In ptopor ton ,o the distress oi the applio an, was the hardness of his terms He aeCumu. lated bonds and mortgages gradually squee ed his ustomers closer and loser and sent them at length. dry as a sponge. nom hl, door
 Tn ,hls way he made money hand over hand became ueh and mighty man. and exalted h,s co ked hat u pon thange He built him sell. as usual. a vas, house. out of nsten,a;ion but len the greater part 0. Ii unfinished and uniurnishrd. out of parsmony. He even se, up a carriage m the tuIness of his vain glory. though he nearly starved ,he horses winch drew +. and as the ungteased wheels groaned and sgfeeched on the axle trees. you would have though, you heard the souls 0. the poor debtors he ~as squeezing
 As Tom waved old. however. he grew though,iul, Having secured the good thIne> oi thi, world he began to feel anNtous about those ot the aeN He though, with regret on the b4rgan he had made ~i,h his black inend. and Se, his wits to work ,o cheat hlm ou, of the eondI,ons He be anne. therefore, ali of 4 sadden a vlolen, church-goer He prayed loudly and suenuan>ly. Al fl heaven were to bc taken by force of lungs. Indeed. ore mish, always tell when he had slnncd mos, darng the week by the slamor ot his Sanday devotion. The que, Christians who had been modes,ly and s'eadias;ly ,raseling Iion~ard were struck ~Ith sels-repfaal h Al seeing them selves 50 suddenly oui-stupped in iheu career by this ne~ m Adc convert. Tom was as f,sid Tn religious as ln money matter he Was s,ern supervisor and tensurer of hts neigh bers. and seemed 10 ihink every sin entered tip ,o ,heu ac- count became credit on his own side Of the page He even talked of the espediency of fcsiylng the persccu- ton of ,uakas and Anabaptls's. In A ord, Tom zeal De ame as notorious as his uches
 sul!. ,a spite of all th,s strenuous a,,en- uon To forms Ton had lurking dread that the devii. after all. would have his due Ina, he might not be taken un- swafes therefore i,ls sad he always car |. had aiso great foiso o,bie on hs cnuai. lns -hoese desk. and would treqsently bs found reading ,t when people allied on business on such orcas,ons he would lay his green speciAclcs ,n inc book. to mark the place, ~hile he tsrned round 10 dfIse some dsurous bngatn.
 Some say that Tom grew liuie crack- brained in his old days. and that. fancy ing hls end apptoae hung, he had hIs hofse new shod ,sadled and brdled, i-