Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-06-29
Ispcciai Corrcspcpdepce.l

ersy. Dickens and Others of Note.
spcciai Corcspopdepce.l
NEW YORK, June 27.--A little way
down the Strand, In London, within
a stones throw Of the National Gal.
lery, there Is long and somewhat
grimy looking building, with iron rail-
ings running from one end 30 the
other. Foreigners and country cousins
on n visit 10 London stare at Il and ask,
"What is III" There il nothing on the
face Of IL 30 show. There Is little mar
row door, but no name on II. several
windows, but they show nothing except
want Of washing. A constant stream
Of people may he seen passing IN and
out, like so many bees hurrying In and
out Of hive. and generally there are
two or three carriages waiting. II might
be taken for n workhouse, only as n rule
the visitors TO those establishments are
not carriage people, nor arc ingrcss and
cgress quite 80 FREQ as appears 10 be tho
case here II might be-anything; for,
as the BIuccoat school boy said to pa.
tronizing old gentleman. In reply TO the
query, "Wcll, my little man, what might
your name bef" my name might he
Beelzebub but IL isn't" II, 10 solve tho
difficulty, the aforesaid foreigners OF
country cousins were TO ask the nearest
policeman, "What Is that buildingl' he
would reply, "Coutts' bank"
They might then be informed that they
were looking at one Of, IL not the oldest
and richest banks IN England, bank
which was old before joint stock banks
were thought of. The oldest joint stock
bank with the exception Of the Bank Of
England) cannot boast n longer existence
than sixty years. Coutts' bank, origi-
nally founded in 1892. will, in three years
from the present date, have completed
200 years Of official life. II speaks won
ders for tho ability and integrity which
have from time 10 time been brought to
bear upon the management of the insti-
tuition, that nfter two centuries of cease
less activity, IL not only continues TO ex-
list, but that its prosperity and rcnown
continue to increase.
Despite its somewhat meagcr external
appearance the interior embraces Sc
ries Of spacious and even handsome
offices, and the ever growing require
ments Of the business have caused the
bank TO stretch itself out at the rear,
right and left, into the Adeiphi and the
adjacent neighborhood. II has in par
ticular absorbed house i'm James street
Adclphi. where Lord Bcnconsfield and
his father once resided. Tho lease is
still extant by which the house was con
veyed from Mr. Isaac Disracli to Mr..
Thomas Coutts. Another interesting
document in the possession Of Messrs.
Coutts q Co. Is the marriage certificate
of George ~ and tho unfortunate Mrs.
Fitz-licrbert The underground prem
iscs for the storage and safe custody of
plato checks, jcwelry and yaluables Of
various descriptions, run along tho en-
tire extent of the ground occupied by
the bank, and go down so many flights
below tho surface that IL Is calculated to
give one very fair notion of tho bot
tomlcss pit.
just inside the door, by the portcr's
lodge, stands stalwart gentleman In
blue. brave in buttons. heroic in helmet
and terrible with truncheon, in short, a
policeman ready to attend to any chance
visitors with larcenious tendencies for
bank notes or who may wish TO "try il
on" with forged check. Happily his
services are not often required, although
there are certain "chevaliers d'indtstrie"
who make speciality Of watching peo-
pie who leave banks with notes or gold
and kindly endeavor TO save them the
trouble of carrying them all tho way
home.
Stepping on through the swinging
doors we find ourselves In what is tech
nically called "the shop" This is largo
and lofty apartment, where tho pay
mcnt of checks, bills and other nego-
table documents takes place. On the
right is the counter where busy cashiers
daily pay away and receive hundreds of
thousands Of pounds---so vast are the
proportions modern banking has as
sumed. Going straight on we cross a
bridge which connects the Strand with
tho Adclphi premises. Hero wo SEQ a
spacious room of more handsome pro.
portions than "the shop we have Just
left.
The partners sit here, and all around
are doors leading to different depart.
ments where the inner work of the bank
is done. At the end, is the bank par
~
ing establishments, where anxious Gus
toners are, for example, informed that
they can bo accommodated with loan
of 100000, or, under more happy cir
cumstances, inform an official of their
wish to lodge that sum.
The bank parlors Qor there arc more
than one) contain portraits Of some of
the former partners the older ones be-
ing easily distinguished 10y their peculiar
coiiiure--or the want of it--men never
seemed TO brush their hair in those days
There is also portrait of the Baroness
Burdett -Coutts, who has been connected
with the fortunes OF the house for more
than fifty years.
Perhaps tho most famous of tho part
ners was Thomas Coutts. who entered
the house n the year 1901. In Chambers
Journal we read that "Thomas Coutts
became tho first banker in London.
Great from his wealth and munflcence,
mingling in the highest circles, and vet
never forgetting Edinburgh, which he
visited on one occasion with Sir Walter
Scott, his friend and kinsman, when he
was complimented with the freedom of
the city" Mr.. Coutts had three daugh-
ters. The first married the Earl of Guild
ford, the second the Marquis Of Butte, and
the third Sir Francis Burdett The
daughter of Sir Francis Burdett was Gre
ated peeress in 1871 with the title of
Baroness Burdett.C Coutts.
There Is also portrait Of Mr.. George
Robinson. who recently died at the ad-
vanced age Of "a, after no less than seven.
ty Years of active service. He entered
the office rs a clerk in 1915, was eventu-
ally taken into partnership, and con-