temptation of seeing their own names in print.
They pay, and generally pay very dearly, for
their whistle, but they should not object to doing
so, for it is but the natural consequence of their
own acts, and for one company that is ruined
by the manager or directors, a dozen are forced
into the winding-up court by the more than
absurd acts of their own shareholders.

Unfortunately for us, a rumour of Monsieur
Montaine, as Mr. Montague called himself,
having taken money from the proprietors of the
estate near Bordeaux on which we had advanced
money, got abroad, and the shareholders were
exceedingly indignant, although they could not
prove what they asserted. At the next general
meeting, they asked questions which few of the
directors could, and none would answer. Foiled
so far, they passed resolutions, which, in
undisguised English, accused the whole board of
being rascals. The results of the proceedings
were, that every one saw the shares of the
company must fall in value, and in one week they
came down from six premium to two discount.
This was but the natural result of the stupid,
blind, and useless rage displayed at the meeting.
It became more difficult than ever for us either
to float any acceptances of our own, or to get
others to take them as cash. And whilst this
was going on, all monetary transactions in the
City became more and more difficult. Like
every undertaking or individual that has
prospered, we had many enemies, and these now
began to run us down by every means in
their power. Unfortunately, our hands were
not clean enough to come into any court; we
could neither appear before a jury nor before
the opinion of the public, for there was very
much to be said against us. Although it was
worse than foolish of the shareholders to make
a fuss about what could not now be remedied, I
for one knew that in a general way these gentlemen
had truth on their side. Perhaps no one of
us who formed the board would have allowed that
he had actually taken bribes, but there was little
doubt that nearly every director—myself amongst
the rest—had accepted presents and gifts, with
which matters were made very pleasant to him.
In proportion as these stories got abroad,
our credit fell off, and with that we lost what
little remained of our business, so much, indeed,
that instead of the busy scene which was
formerly witnessed at our offices, it became almost
a matter of form going down there at all.

Still we had money to receive from loans
formerly made, and outstanding debts ought by
this time to have been coming in fast. But
whenever either an individual, a firm, or a
company is in difficulties, debtors seem
invariably to think they need not trouble
themselves to pay what they owe. In the days
of prosperity, we had seldom or never to
ask twice for what was due to us, but now
letters from the secretary, letters from our
solicitor, writs, and even judgments were required
before we could get in our money. At last, it
struck some shareholder that he could make a
good thing of it by winding us up, and in
accordance with a proceeding which has
before been described in this journal,* he
commenced proceedings to bring the working of our
company to an end. He succeeded; we are
now in the Vice-Chancellor's Court, but how
long we shall remain there it is impossible to
say. A call of ten pounds per share has been
made on our shareholders, but not one of them
has obeyed the order, and I feel certain that
nothing short of coercion will induce them to
do so.
* See HOW THE BANK WAS WOUND UP, page
276 of the last volume.

ARAB THOUGHTS.

GENERAL E. DAUMAS, well known to fame as
the historian of the Arab Horse, and still better
as the acute author of MÅ“urs et Coutumes de
l'Algérie, has nevertheless the modesty to speak
of the Arab mind as a subject which is still
almost unknown. Feeling the interest which the
French nation has in becoming acquainted with
the intellect of its subjugated colony, he is
publishing, in the Revue Contemporaine, a series of
Pensées Arabes. The thoughts, which are given
in the picturesque disorder in which they
originally cropped up, were collected, for the most
part, in frequent conversations held with Abd-
el-Kader during his compulsory residence in
France. As the general is an accomplished
Arabic scholar, it is easy to understand that he
would be anxious to profit by his daily
intercourse with the illustrious captive, at first at
Fort Lamalgue, and afterwards at the Château
de Pau, whither himself and General Lheureux
were deputed to conduct him, in 1848, by order
of the government. Here are some of the
sayings he collected:

Fortune has only a single eye, and that is on
the top of her head. So long as she does not
see you, she will call you by the tenderest
names; she will treat you like her favourite
child, and load you with benefits. But one fine
day she will take you in her arms, raise you up
on high, examine you attentively, and then
repulse you with disgust, exclaiming, "Be off;
be off with you! You are not my son."

The sultan is a palace, of which the vizier is
the gate. If you try to climb in at the window,
you run a great risk of breaking your neck.

Three things in this world try the rarest
patience, and make the sagest lose his reason;
the compulsion to quit one's native spot, the
loss of friends, and separation from her we love.

Love begins with a look, exactly as a fire
begins with a spark.

A sage, beholding a hunter who had stopped
to converse with a pretty woman, called to him,
"O thou, who pursuest and killest wild beasts,
have a care lest that woman do not catch thee
in her nets."

An Arab was asked, "Do you believe in
the end of the world?"—"Yes," he answered.
"Since I lost my wife, half the world has