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قراءة كتاب The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 357, October 30, 1886

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‏اللغة: English
The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 357, October 30, 1886

The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. VIII, No. 357, October 30, 1886

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دار النشر: Project Gutenberg
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English a great drawback to prosecuting his inquiries as fully as he would have liked, although M. de Courcy was very kind and did all any friend could have been expected to do; still, it was not the same as speaking the language himself, as the baron felt, and he bitterly regretted he had never tried to master its difficulties. Many of the Yarmouth fishermen and boatmen remembered the Hirondelle and the handsome French gentleman to whom she belonged, but not one had ever seen the sign of a baby on board her, though this did not throw much light on the matter, as the baby might easily have been kept below or removed at night.

At last, after spending a week or ten days in fruitless inquiries, the baron and his friend returned to France, the baron convinced in his own mind that some hope of his child being safe still existed, a hope which he dared not communicate to the baroness, but which, nevertheless, lingered in his breast for many a long day.

(To be continued.)


THE ROMANCE OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND;
OR,
THE OLD LADY OF THREADNEEDLE STREET.

By EMMA BREWER.

INTRODUCTION.

A gentleman asked me the other day upon what subject I intended next to write, and on telling him that the Editor had kindly permitted me to deal with the Bank of England and the National Debt, he said, "Nonsense! what do girls want to know about the Bank of England and the National Debt? Let them be content to leave all such knowledge to men, and rest satisfied if they get their dividends all right and know how to spend them properly and keep out of debt."

He seemed to forget that to do even the little he permitted us would require knowledge and education of a liberal character, and that without these our desires might outrun our income, and getting into debt might prove our normal condition.

A thorough knowledge of our circumstances is better than partial blindness, and to see things all round and weigh them justly is better than sitting with hands folded while men see and judge for us.

The subjects of the Bank of England and the National Debt are well worth a study, and will not fail to afford us both varied and interesting information.

Among other things they will tell us how the Bank of England came into existence; what the nation did previous to its existence; how our country came to have a debt which it has never been able to pay off, and how it would prove a calamity if it were possible to pay it off suddenly.

Again, we shall learn the meaning of "selling out" and "buying in" money, and what is understood by "consols," "reduced threes," "stocks going up and down," "a run upon the Bank," "panic," and many other such terms.

There is no reason why girls should not be able to give answers to all of these, and every reason why they should, seeing that an intimate knowledge of these subjects is as much a part of our nation's history as is the history of our kings and queens, our wars, and our institutions.

And even beyond this, it is a matter of importance that girls having property, little or much, should understand the character of those to whom they entrust it.

There are many and valuable books published upon these subjects, but they are expensive to buy and take a long time to wade through; in addition to this, they are so learned that we women-folk fail often to get the simple information we require, even when we have read them.

The Bank of England, either by name or by sight, is known, I suppose, to all of us; but its origin, its working, its influence, is not so familiar to us, and it does not seem to me that we should be going at all out of our province if we were to ask the "Old Lady of Threadneedle-street" to tell us something of her history, her household, and her daily life, seeing that most of us contribute to her housekeeping, some more, some less.

We trust her so completely that "safe as the Bank of England" has passed into a proverb; yet, for all that, we should like the old lady's own account of how she came into existence, and how she became such a power in the land, and what she does with all the money we lend her, and out of what purse she pays us for the loan.

She certainly ought to be able to tell an interesting tale—for her palace, her servants, her house-keeping, her treasures, her cellars, her expenditure, her receipts and clearing, the frights she has every now and again both given and received, must each and all be more amusing and full of interest than any fairy tale told by Grimm or Andersen.


CHAPTER I.
THE STORY OF THE OLD LADY OF THREADNEEDLE STREET.

And so you want me to tell you the story of my life! Telling tales is not quite in my line, but I will do the best I can; and should I become garrulous and tedious, as old ladies are wont sometimes to be, you must recall me by a gentle reminder that you live in the present century, whose characteristics are short, decisive, and by all means amusing.

My career has been a strange and eventful one, as you yourselves will see if I can interest you sufficiently to listen to the end.

Of course, I was not always known as the Old Lady of Threadneedle-street; indeed, I can well remember the feeling of annoyance with which I saw Mr. Punch's illustration of me in 1847, as a fat old woman without a trace of beauty, except in my garments, which were made of bank notes. I have kept a copy of it, and will just pencil you the outline.

The annoyance was intensified when I found myself handed down to posterity by him as the Old Lady of Threadneedle-street. He could have no authority for this picture, seeing that, like the Delphian mystery of old, I am invisible, and deliver my oracles through my directors.

You are girls, and will quite understand the distress of being thrust suddenly into old age. Up to 1847 I was young, good-looking, and attractive, and to be bereft of my youth and romance at one blow; to know that from henceforth all would be prosaic and business-like, that I should never again have lovers seeking my favour, was a condition of extreme pain. I had always prided myself on my figure, but even this Mr. Punch did not leave me, but told the world that it was due to tight-lacing. It was very cruel, and I have sometimes thought it was envy of my position; but let that go. I took counsel with myself, and determined to face the future with the resolve to be the very nicest old lady in the world, and to make myself so useful to my fellow-creatures that they should love me and stand by me even though my first youth had passed. And I am sure you will agree with me in thinking that I have accomplished this, and that not only have I kept clear of weakness and decrepitude, but have achieved for myself a reputation and position second to no lady in the land.

It has been necessary for me to make this little explanation, otherwise you might have thought I had never been young. And now to proceed.

It was in the reign of William and Mary that I first saw the light, being born in Mercers' Hall on the 27th of July, 1694.

From this place, after a few months, I was removed to Grocers' Hall, Poultry; not the stately structure with which you are acquainted, but one much more simple, which was razed to make room for the present building.

I may say, without vanity, that my birth created a sensation throughout the length and breadth of the land.

The House of Commons even was not exempt from this excitement, but set aside its serious work to discuss whether or not I should be strangled and put out of the way, or nurtured into strength by its support and countenance.

Those members who were in favour of the last resolution declared that I should rescue the nation out of

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