800 THB HISTORY OF 



land ; he finished it in the most approved modfern style, 

 and enclosed it with a costly fence ; and, finally, handed' it 

 over to Trotter, for the two Merino sheep. The es'talblish- 

 ment must have cost, at the very least, fifteen thousand 

 dollars. 



But, alas ! A long while before this beautiful and costly 

 estate was fully completed, the price of Merinos ' declined 

 gradually ; and six months had not passed away before 

 they would not command twenty dollars each', even in Ken- 

 tucky. 



-Mr. Long was subsequently a wiser but a poorer-man. 

 He held on to this pair till their price reached the par 

 value only of any other sheep ; and then he absolutely killed 

 this buck and ewe, made a princely barbecue, called all his 

 friends to the feast, and whils^the "goblet went its giddy 

 rounds," like the ruined Venetian, he thanked God that, at 

 that moment, he was not worth a ducat ! 



This is absolute, sober fact. Mr. Long was completely 

 and irretrievably ruined in his pecuniary affairs; and very 

 soon after this "sumptuous dinner," he took sick, and 

 actually diedf of a broken heart. 



Along in the summer and fall of 1854, having watched 

 the course that matte:fs.were taking in the chicken- trade, I 

 became cautious ; for I thought I heard in the far-off" dis- 

 tance something indefinite, and almost undistinguishable, 

 yet pointed and emphatic in its general tone. I listened ; 



