The Savannah morning news., 1901-02-01

a million sterling on paper, and every
name Of il in "Debrett," and no one douoi-
Cd his word. on the contrary, II has been
freely said since his death that scarcely
any one was too highly placed to escape
the reputation Of having gone to sam"
Lewis for financial aid at one time or an
other.
In the interest he demanded and got ne
was not far behind his great riva,. Cor
6on. The gilded youth OF England was
his especial prey and ne spared them not
In the public discussion of one OF the
many famous cases In which he was the
creditor il was shown that for the sum
OF $500 advanced 10 the son OF a wealthy
Australian he charged $500.
NeviII Case.
The extent OF his dealings fvst was real
lied generally when the celebrated case Of
Lewis against Spender-Clay'' came 70
trial. 1t was then proven that the money
lender had advanced nearly $4,000 to
Lord William Nevill, large part of it on
a promissOry note to which the Lord mad
obtained Mt. Spender-Clay's Endorsement
by the simple and childlike means of con-
cealing with blotting paper. all but the
space for his friends signature.
In his Office in Cork street. as I'm his
great house in Grosvenor square, where
he established himself to the horror of
that aristocradc neighborhood, Lewis was
b!un and hearty, in a rather elephant e
way, with a keen sense of humor that
helped him in many a deal He was IA
nous for his taste In dress. as was his
wife for her qualities as hostess and her
prowess as driver OF horses. for Lewis
owned a stable of fine animals.
His Generosity.
His great wealth gave the chance to
him TO be generous and he really was
generous. His will is said to contain large
charitable requests, and ii was always
said of him that no beggar who approach
ed him while taking his favorite stroll
through Bond street, did 50 in vain. In
his business he was strict, however, and
could be more than firm, which undoubt-
edly was necessary to keep his nobly born
clientele in hand. but sometimes. when
a man had approached him for loan of
hundred pounds. he would remark
whlmsically. Il don't deal In hundreds ."
and next day quietly send the applicant a
check for the amount. without referring
to the date of it's repayment.
No one ever accused Lewis of being a
miser, and 1t even was said that his rea-
son for mulcting aristocrats was carried
on less from greed than from a whimsi-
cal fancy for spelling the Egyptians"
Broke Bank in Monte Carlo.
He used to make periodical visits TO
Monte Carlo to try to get rid of some
of his money. but often bewailed the fact
that he didn't seem to be able to lose
even there. One night he broke the bank,
and next day distributed half of his win
nings among the poor of Marseiles.
His cousin Sir George Lewis. often pub
licly attacked Sam Lewis methods.
and long correspondence between the
two men on the subject of Money Lend
ing" appeared last year in the Times.
They were enemies since the case of the
Young Australian, when Sir George crih-
cised his namesake bitterly before the
House of Commons special committee.
This censure, however was more than
offset by the remarks of the late Lord
Russell, Lord Chief Justice of England,
regarding Sam Lewis. 1t was at the
end of the Spender-Clay case that the
great barrlster said: His business OF
bill discouuting and money lending is not
a popular one, but let us at least be just
to those who carry it on. The plaintiff
has been for thirty years in his Office
in Cork street, and there has been no
attempt to show that he deserves other
than the name of man who is engag ed
honorably." which is much more than
ever was said of Isaac Gordon.