II.

Two—three—ten—twenty—a hundred—five hundred five-pound notes were presented and cashed. When one pocket-book was emptied, another was brought forth; and when a canvas bag had been filled with gold, it was passed to a servant who was in waiting. And so he went on until the hour arrived for closing the Bank; at the same time he had nine of the employés of his house engaged in the same work. So it resulted that ten men of the house of Rothschild had kept every teller[1] of the Bank busy for seven hours, and exchanged _somewhere_ about £22,000. Not another customer had been able to get his wants attended to. The English like oddity. Let a man do anything original, and they will generally applaud. So the people of the Bank contrived to smile[2] at the eccentricity of Baron Rothschild, and when the time came for closing the Bank, they were not a tenth part so much annoyed as were[3] the customers from abroad[4] whose business had not been attended to. The bank officials smiled that evening, but—

On the following morning, when the bank opened[5], Nathan Rothschild appeared again, accompanied by his nine faithful helpers, this time bringing with him, as far as the street entrance, four heavy two-horse drays, for the purpose of carting away the gold, for to-day the baron had bills of a larger amount. Ah! the officers of the Bank smiled no more, and a trembling seized them when the banker monarch said, with stern simplicity and directness:

“Ah! these gentlemen refuse to take my bills! Be it so. I am resolved that I will not keep one of theirs. It is the House of Rothschild against the Bank of England[6].” The Bank of England opened its eyes very wide. Within a week, the House of Rothschild could be demanding gold which it did not possess. The gentlemen at the head of affairs saw very plainly that in a determined tilt[7] the Bank must go to the wall[8]. There was but one way out of the dilemma, and they took it. Notice was at once publicly given[9] that thenceforth the Bank of England would cash the bills of Rothschild _the same_ as its own.—TIT-BITS.

[1] = cashier, +Kassierer+.

[2] contrived to smile = smiled.

[3] they — were, +ärgerten sie sich nicht halb so sehr, wie+.

[4] ‘the customers from abroad’ seems to be used here in the sense of ‘the numerous customers’.

[5] = was opened.

[6] +Es handelt sich darum, ob das Haus Rothschild oder die englische Bank den Sieg davon tragen wird!+

[7] = struggle, +Kampf+, m.

[8] to go to the wall, +den kürzeren ziehen+.

[9] +Es wurde öffentlich angezeigt.+

_Section 245._

MORGAN PRUSSIA[1].