Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-12-23
seated behind his desk in q counting.
house in Boston.
Ill.

-
o house in Boston.
eli Toms reputation for q ready.mone
{ man, who would lend money out fl
e . good consideration. soon sprea
abroad. Everybody remembers tn
e times of Governor Belcher, when MOI
ey was particularly scarce. 1t was
, time of paper credit. The counfr
: had been Delayed with government
/ bills, the famous Land Bank had bee
, established, there had been a rag
, for specializing: the people had rul
, mad with schemes for new settle
! ments; for building cities in the vii
derne-s; land jobbers went abou
with maps of grants, aud townships
and Eldorados. lying nobody knew
where. but which everybody va.
!. ready to purchase. In a word, tn.
great speculation fever which break.
ou every now and then in the coun
try. had ragged 10 an alarming degree
and every body was dreaming of max
ing sudden fortunes from nothing
As usual the fever subsidized; thu
dream had gone off. and the imagin
airy fortunes with it; the patients
were left in doleful plight. and the
whole res FUNDED with the conse
quent cry of "hard times"
At this propitious time of the pub.
lie distress did Tom Walker set up
as usurer in Boston. His door was
soon thronged with customers. The
needy and adventurous; the gam
bling Spectator; the dreaming land.
jObber; the thriftless tradesman; the
merchant with cracked credit, in
short, every one driven to raise mo-
ney by desperate means and desper-
ate sacrifices, hurried to Tom Walk.
er.
Thus Tom was the universal friend
of the needy, and acted like friend
in need;" that is TO say he always ex-
acted good pay and good security.
In proportion to the distress of the
applicant was the hardness of terms.
He accumulated bonds and mort
cages; gradually squeezing his custO-
mers closer and closer; and sent
them at length, dry as a sponge, from
bis door.
In this way he pade money hand
over hand; became a rich and Nigh
ty man, and exalted his cooked hat
upon Change. He built himself, as
usual, a vast house, out Of ostenta-
ton; but left the greater part of it
unfinished and unfinished. out of
parsimony. He even set up a car
Iaige in the fuliness of his vain-glo-
~, though he nearly starved the
horses which drew it; and rs the un.
creased wheels grOaEed and screech-
ed on the axle-trees. you would have
thought You heard the sonls of the
poor deblsrs he was squeezing.
As Tom wsxed older, however, he
grew thoughtful. Having secured
the good things of the world, he be-
gan to feel anxious about those Of
the next. He thought with regret
IN the bargain lie had made with his
black friend, and set his wits to work
to cheat him out Of the conditions.
He became. therefore, all of sudden.
a violent church -goer. He prayed
loudly aud strenuOusly. as if heaven
were to be taken by force of lungs.
Indeed, one might always tell when
he had sinned most during the week
by the clamor of his Sunday devO-
ton. The quiet Christians who had
been modestly and steadfastly travel
ing Zionward, were struck with self
reproach at seeing themselves SO
suddenly outstripped in their career
by the new-made convert. Tom was
as rigid in his religious as in money
matters; he was a stern supervisor
and censurer of his neighbors. and
seemed ~ think every sin entered up
to their account became credit on
his own side of the page. He even
talked of the expedlency of reviving
the persecution of the Quakers and
Anabaptists. In word. Toms zeal
became as notorious as his riches.
Still, in spite of all this strenuous
attention to forms. Tom had a lurk-
ing dread that the devil, after all,
would have his due. That he might
not be taken unawares. therefore, /.
is said he always carried a small BIZ
BILE in his coat pocket. He had also
a great 1olio Bible on his counting
house desk. and would frequently be
found reading it wien people called
on business: on such occasions he
would lay his green spectacies in the
book to mark the place, while he
turned round To drive some usurious
bargain.
Some say Tom grew little crack
Drained in his old days. and that. fan
cying his end approaching, he had
his horse newly shod. saddled and
bridled. and buried with his feet up
permost: because he supposed that
at the last day the world would be
turned upside-down; in which case
he would find his horse ready for
mounting, and he was determined at
the worst TO give bis old friend a run
for it. This. however, is probably a
mere old wives fable If he really
did take such a precautiOn, 1t was
totally supertluous; at least so says
the authentic old legend; which
closes his story in the following man
| ner.
One hot summer afternoon in the
dog days, just as terrible black
ihunder-gust was coming up, Tom
sat in his counting-house. in his white
linen cap and India silk morning
gown. He WAS on the point of fore
closing a mortgage, by which he
would complete the ruin Of an un-
lucky land Spectator for whom he
had professed the greatest friendship.
The poor land jobber begged him tn
grant few months indulgence. Tom
had grown testy and IRRITABLE, and
refused another day.
my family will be ruined. and
brought upon the parish" said the
land jobber.
| CHARITY begins at home." replied
Tom; II must take care of myself in
these hard times"
You have made so much money
out of me-" said the Spectator.
i Tom lost bis patience and bis pie
a ~