CHAPTER IV 



BUSINESS OR GAMBLING 



When the house of H. G. Marquand and 

 D knock was formed it was big with enthusiasm 

 and hope, for I had enough for two, but its capital 

 was twenty thousand dollars, which I contributed, 

 the result of the scrip and insurance stock busi- 

 ness and the gold speculations of which I have, in 

 part, written. But my partner was an old New 

 Yorker, of a family held in highest esteem, and he 

 possessed the full faith of the men of affairs of 

 the day, the shipping firms of South Street, and 

 the great merchants of the dry goods district. 

 These men took our sixty-day bills of exchange 

 on Baring's and the City Bank of London at the 

 highest rates. These drafts were covered by 

 commercial bills, secured by bills of lading and 

 insurance, and bought at a price that showed a 



fair profit. 



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