bitress of it. 
fortunes were rapidly ac- 
cumulated, and then, im- 
pelled by the longing after 
speculation which had be- 
treasures that had been 
buried for centuries, and 
money overflowed upon 
the ground. Considering 
the reconstruction of the 
United States an impossi- 
bility, the Bombayans fore- 
saw for their city a most 
magnificent future. In- 
stead of seeing in that season merely an ex- 
ceptional piece of good fortune, they thought 
that nothing could possibly reverse their 
prosperity. Projects sprang into life on all 
sides ; cotton, while remaining as the basis 
of their commerce, became merely the pretext 
for unlimited speculation. Intelligent but in- 
considerate men established giga^utic compa- 
nies to develop resources which nad already 
attained the height of their development. A 
project was organized to enlarge the island, 
HINDU BEGGAR. 
and reclaim from the sea the Back Bay. A 
company was started ; and when, some days 
after the issue of the shares, they attained a 
premium of ;^3,ooo, the speculation knew 
no bounds. Many new banks were founded ; 
but all this was on paper only. It was merely 
a game at which everybody was playing. 
Merchants, officers, public functionaries, 
were only too glad to exchange their silver 
for wretched scraps of paper ; some hum- 
bled themselves so far as to solicit the lead- 
Botanical 
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