that I did not mind taking a cab to any part
of London where his banker might reside.
But the clothier did not seem to see the force
of this remark. He replied, that it was
against his rule to draw his balance at the
bankers below a certain amount, and that it
was already too low. Had I come the day
before yesterday, he had then three or four
thousand pounds Iying idle which he did
not know how to dispose of, and he would
have been too happy to accommodate me with
fifty, or even a hundred pounds. But since
then he had invested all his spare cash in
certain shares which he had been able to pick
up a bargain. He was very sorry indeed, very
sorry, not to be able to oblige the friend of his
friend Mr. Snips, but to do so to-day was really
quite out of the question. Could I come again
in ten days, or a fortnight? He then might be
able to meet my wishes. I replied that I
wanted the money immediately, and was ready
to pay any reasonable interest that might be
asked; but that a fortnight hence, the money
would be of no use to me. Could he not,
if he were so very short of ready cash, transfer
to me one or more of the shares he had lately
purchased? I could sell them, and take the
proceeds, leaving my bill with him as security.
But even this attempt to meet the difficulty he
did not approve of. He said that to sell shares
so soon after he had purchased them would ruin
his credit, and was not to be thought of.

Seeing that the clothier did not apparently
wish to discount the bill, I prepared to take
leave of him. I suppose my manner was that of
a rather angry man, for no sooner did I take
up my hat to go, than he for the first time
asked me to show him the bill, and inquired
who the acceptor was, what was his occupation,
what were his means, and so forth. To all these
questions I gave the best answers I could. I
wished to tell the whole truth; but I had a secret
wish to make the bill appear as good a document
as possible.

In the course of my explanation, I happened
to mention that the acceptor of the draft was a
captain in the army, and that his town address
—or whenever he was not with his corps—was
at the "Army and Navy Club." The words
were hardly out of my mouth when I saw the
clothier's eyes lighten up, and he immediately
asked me to what regiment the gentleman
belonged; taking up at the same time an Army
List from the desk before him. When I told
him, he turned to it at once, and compared
the initials and name in the list with those upon
the bill. This done, he said that, although he
really had not the means of discounting the bill
himself, he thought that if I could leave it with
him for twenty-four hours, he might induce a
friend of his to do so. To this I consented,
for not only had I not endorsed the bill—
and therefore it would be of no use if passed
away without my signature—but the clothier
offered to give—and gave—me a receipt for the
document. I therefore left the draft with an
understanding that I was to call the following day.

Next day I called accordingly, and was rather
put out by the clothier's telling me he could do
nothing with my bill, and that he feared if I
offered even fifty per cent interest, I should not
be able to discount it. On hearing this, I
demanded my bill back again. The clothier gave
it me—none the cleaner for being carried about
a whole day in his pocket. A sudden thought had
struck him. "If you go to this gentleman," he
said, handing me a card, "and say you have come
to him from me, he will perhaps be able to do
what you want; but I must warn you that he will
charge you a high rate of discount." I thanked
him, and, taking the card, saw printed upon it
"Mr. Steinmetz, Eastern Coffee-house, Cornhill."

The establishment at which Mr. Steinmetz
gave his address was more a large room where
men of business resort and where appointments
are made on matters of business, than a coffee or
an eating-house. It is true that in one corner
of it there was a counter at which wine, pale
ale, sandwiches, and other refreshments, were
to be found; but the main body of the very
large chief room was taken up with stands at
which newspapers were fixed for the more
convenient reading of the subscribers, and smaller
tables upon which were all kinds of Directories,
Almanacks, Gazetteers, and other similar books
of reference. The Eastern Coffee-house is,
moreover, a great place of resort for merchants
and others connected with shipping insurance
business. Captains of merchant vessels go
there to meet their owners, and owners go there
to meet their captains. To be free of the place,
it is necessary to become a member; but, beyond
the payment of two guineas per annum, no
qualification is required. It is a convenient place for
a man of business, as he may meet a friend there,
learn the news, hear of a bargain, eat his luncheon,
insure a ship, or get through any other transactions
he likes.

To the Eastern Coffee-house in Cornhill I
accordingly repaired. Upon asking for Mr.
Steinmetz at the door, an individual was pointed
out who bore every outward and visible sign of
being a Jew by race and a German by nationality.
Not that Germans like unto this gentleman are
met with in Germany, nor, indeed, anywhere out
of London. Mr. Steinmetz shaved close, leaving
no hair on his face save a short pair of mutton-
chop whiskers. He spoke English well, although
with a very decided Teutonic accent, and
would invariably reply in that tongue to any
person who addressed him in either German or
French. He affected to despise greatly his
fellow-countrymen, often speaking of them as
"those tammed tcherman fellows," and avowed
a most supreme contempt for any cookery save
that of Great Britain; though I believe that
in secret he indulged largely in sauer-kraut,
sausages, and Rhenish wines. In his manner
he was loud, vulgar, cringing to those who
were wealthy, arrogant to those who had no
money, and brutal to those who were in his
debt. He had no clerks, no office, no place
of business. He was always to be found at
the Eastern Coffee-house, Cornhill; and his