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    Setiember 6,1856.j____ THE LEADER. 857

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    JOHN LAW. The Financier Law ; Uis Scheme...

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    Dred. Dred: A Tale. By The Author Of " U...

    • sat holding in our arms a . dear form , from which the soul was passing ?—the soul , for of which eladly "we would lave given our own in « xchange ; when we have felt it going and with inconceivable rapidity from us , and we , ignorant and Wind , vainly striving to Bu 1 arrest the Inevitable doom , feeling evqry moment that some other thing might be done crjt to save wbich is not done , and that that which we are doing may be only hastening- " the course of the destroyer ! Oh , those awful agonized moments , when we watch the eye clock and * o physician comes , and every stroke of the pendulum is like the approach- „ ing step of death ! Oh , is there anything in lieaven oreartu for the despair of such . ^ ° Not a moment was lost by the three around that dying bed , chafing those cold P ag li mbs—administering the stimulants which the dead exhausted system no longer felt , ace " She doesn ' t suffer ; thank God , at any rate , for that , " said Clayton , as he knelt ot t over her in anguish . t ' ., * ° A . beautiful smile passed over her face as she opened her eyes and looked on them pic all , and said ; "No , my poor friends , I don't suffer . I ' m come to the land where they are never suffer . I ' m only so sorry for you , Edward , " she said to him . " Do you re- ^ member what you said to me once ? it has come now—y ou must tear it like a man . ^ God calls you to some work—don ' t shrink from it . You are baptized with fire ; it all Qr lasts only a little while—it will be over soon , very soon . Edward , take care of my poor people ; tell Tom to be kind to them . My poor , faithful , good Harry ! Oh ! ^ I ' m going so fast ! " t The vOIce sank into a whispering sigh . Life now seemed to have retreated to the * - "O citadel of the brain . She lay apparently in her last sleep , vrhen the footsteps of the pr < doctor-were heard on tke veranda . There was a general spring to the door ; and Ui < Doctor Butler entered , pale , haggard , and -srorn , from constant exertion and loss of Oil rest He aid not say in . words that there was no hope , but his first dejected look said pr it but ttxo plainly . Slie moved her head a little—like one who is asleep—uneasily ch upon her pillow , opened her eyes once more , and said , " Good-by ! ¦? I will arise and de go to my Father . '" - .... _ , "« , » . - th All of and But critic every page of to p are X ) f or the the chol

    The gentle breath gradually became faintei and fainter . nope was over . a ue night -walked on with silent and solemn footsteps , and soft showers fell without , inur- inuring upon the leaves . Within all was still as death . ; Dred , the son of a negro executed with several others for conspiracy ^ is fourteen , years of age at the time of his father ' s death : — He Tvasa witness of the undaunted aspect with which he and the other conspirators met their doom . The memory dropped into the depths of his soul , as a stone drops into the desolate depths of a dark mountain lake . Sold to a distant plantation , he became noted for his desperate , unsubduable disposition . He joined in none of the social recreations and amusements of the slaves , laboured with proud and silent assiduity , but , on tne slightest rebuke or threat , flashed up with a savage fierceness , which , supported by his immense bodily strength , made him an object of dread among overseers . He was one of those of whom they gladly rid themselves ; and , like a fractious horse , was sold from master to master . Finally , an overseer , hardier tnan the rest , determined on the task of subduing him . In tlie scuffle that ensued Dred struck hiin to . the earth , a dead man , made his escape to the swamps , and was never afterwards heard of in civilized life . The reader who consults the map will discover that the whole eastern shore of the southern states , with slight interruptions , is belted by an immense chain of swamps regions of hopeless disorder , where the abundant growth and vegetation of nature sucking up its forces from the humid soil , seems to rejoice in a savage exuberance , and bid defiance to all human efforts either to penetrate or subdue . These wild regions are the homes of the alligator , the mocassin , and the rattlesnake . Evergreen-trees mingling freely with the deciduous children of the forest , form here dense jungles verdant all the year round , and -which afford , shelter to numberless "birds , with whose warbling the leafy desolation perpetually resounds . Climbing vines and parasitic plants of untold splendour and boundless exuberance of growth , twine and interlace and hang , from the heights of the highest trees , pennons of gold and purple—trium phant banners which attest the solitary majesty of Nature . A species of parasitic moss wxeaths its abundant draperies from tree to tree , and hangs in pearly festoons through , which shine the scarlet berry and green leaves of the American holly . What the mountains of Switzerland were to the persecuted Vaudois , this swampy belt has been to the American slave . The constant effort to recover from thence fugitives has led to . tie adoption , in these states , of a separate profession , unknown at this time any other Christian land—hunters , who train and keep dogs for the hunting of men women , and children . The negroes lying out in the swamp are not so wholly cut off from society as mig at first he imagined . The slaves of all the adjoining plantations , whatever they may pretend , to secure tho good-will of their owners , are at heart secretly disposed , fro motives both of , cornrassion and policy , to favour the fugitives . They very readil perceive that , in the event of any difficulty occurring to themselves , it might be quite necessary to have a friend ami protector in the swamp ; and therefore they do no hesitate to supply those fugitives , so far as they are al ) le , with anything which they may desire . The poor whites , also , who keep small shops in the neighbourhood plantations , are never particularly scrupulous , provided they can turn a penny their own advantage , and willingly supply necessary wares in exchange for gam withwliich the swamp abounds . Dred , therefore , came in possession of an excellent rifle , and never wanted for ammunition , -which supplied him with an abundance food . Besides this , there are , here and there , elevated spots in the swampy land which "by judicious culture are capable of great productiveness ; and many sucli spots Dred had brought under cultivation , either with his own hands or from those of other fugitive , whom ho had received and protected . From tho restlessness of his nature he had not confined himself to any particular region , but had tTavcrsed tho vholo swampy belt of both , tho Cnrolinas , as well as that of Southern Virginia ; residi a few months in one place and a few mouths in another . ^ Vherever ho stopped formed a sort of retreat , where he received and harbouTed fugitives . On one occasion he rescued a trembling and bleeding mulatto woman from the dogs of tho hunters who had pursued her . into the swamp . This woman ho made his wife , and appeared to entertain a very deep affection for her . "While we are anticipating the climax of the drama— conspiracy } > insurrec tion , & fearful social conflict—the drama ends without a climax . ' Dred killed in a slavo hunt , and all the diameters vanish , leaving a very indistinct and unsatisfactory impression .

    Setiember 6,1856.J____ The Leader. 857

    Setiember 6 , 1856 . j ____ THE LEADER . 857

    John Law. The Financier Law ; Uis Scheme...

    JOHN LAW . The Financier Law ; Uis Scheme and Times . J . Blackwood . 1 Tnis is a translation of Cochut ' s narrative , compiled in great part from manuscripts in tho National Library of Franco . Tho journals of Marais and Barhier , as well as that attributed to Buvat , liave also bc * en consulted , in addition to the apology of Du Tot , the ten plcthoi'ic volumes of Duhatitchamp , tho Memoirs of St . Simon and Duclos , and tho historical summaries » od . om -ais ; ed , tit- ries

    . Qr ce ^ o £ < t ot gt _ *>*} P se fii m th bi w , j ^ , yj g ( . , . " , £ o n Forbonnais , Lementey , and Thiers . The range of authorities is . wide , presents the financial ideas of Law from many opposite points of view . M . Cochut , indifferent as a biographer , is altogether incompetent as a . His analysis of Law ' s character displays an absolute poverty of understanding . It is a mere repetition of the platitudes to be found in superficial sketch of that-Golden . Age of speculation , in which the Scotchman appeared to his contemporaries as the Enchanter of Finance . Indeed , M . Cochut is a compiler of opinions as well as of facts . In one he calls Law ' perfidious ; ' in another he says " it would be unjust to accuse him personally . " Therefore , we are relieved from the consideration this book as a serious history . But it has two merits . The story appears have been industriously put together , and the style is uncommonly icturesque . N " ot a paragraph is dull , though the remarks on men , and events , in general , mere impertinences ; the anecdotes , some new , some true , others only amusing , are abundant and cleverly arranged ; and the description the origin , maturity , and wreck of the Mississippi Scheme is , as M . Cochut , his translator , pleasantly says it is , " graphic . " A necessary prelude to this epic of delusion and rapacity is an account of financial disorganization , consequent upon the financial excesses of Louis XII . A debt of fourteen hundred millions , an empty treasury , a proposal of repudiation , the depreciation of the paper and metallic currency , devouring cupidity of the contractors , and the confiscations of the Chamber of Justice , which destroyed confidence without enforcing restitution , prepared . France for the next episode—the madness that comes after melany . To give effect to the arbitrary assessment of the rick- —an Ottoman device—it was necessary not only to bribe , but to guarantee from all injury those secret informers , who , under false names , accused their masters , friends , or fellow-citizens . Flagellation , exposure , and torture were among the processes of " collection . " No doubt many of the contractors deserved all they suffered—Bourvalais , who was fined eight millions of francs ; Chatelain , who paid four millions and a half as the price of immunity 5 Bernard , who offered to ransom his fortune by a gift of sixteen millions ; Crozat , who ; got off"" for twelve millions . Some attempted to secrete their spoliations , ; others to transmit them , illicitly , across the frontier . Fourteen carts were ' stopped on one road laden with casks of wine , in the centre of which were . ! suspended little barrels filled with louis d ' dr . The merchant Vermalet smuggled his enormous treasures of gold and silver into Holland in a cart ' ¦ piled with hay and straw , with which he made several journeys . But after i several species of extortion bad been practised upon these extortioners , after l fines to the amount of more than two hundred millions of francs had been L imposed upon the four thousand four hundred and ten individuals condemned , : the result was comparatively insignificant . What with escapes , remissions , bribes percentages , corrupt appropr iations , not more than half the fines 5 w ere ever received by the exchequer . To cite one anecdote in illustration :- ,.. , » A collector , who had been sentenced to a penalty of 1 , 200 , 000 livres , was ' visited by a nobleman , who promised to have the sentence cancelled for 300 , 000 livres . "Upon iny honour , count , " he said , " you . have come too e late . I have just made a bargain with : the countess for half the money . ! ' Many were the state schemes that followed for the restoration of the finances , e but they were failures , and France under the Regency was virtually

    bank-- d p , D j , jj n in , , . _ ht li t m t y t t { i of ( to ( e , ( of , , ! | ' , ng he , - is e It -was at this time that Law appeared . He had resided in Pans , indeed , - during the latter years of the late king ' s reign , spending the relics of his c patrimony , and avoiding the consequences of a penalty of death whieli had ' . been recorded against him in London for killing a gentleman in a duel . At fc Amsterdam , Venice , Genoa , Florence , Naples , and Rome , he had gambled 3 largely , successfully , and , says St . Simon , with invariable honesty . And why s notgamble ? Louis XIV . liked men -who played high . The Portuguese am-Q bassador shocked nobody when , in a single night , he gained 1 , 800 , 000 livres ' from the Regent ' s daughter . But La-sv . associated with Dutch merchants as well as with French and Italian gamblers , and trusted more to science tban to tt hazard . At last , lie believed himself qualified to be a financial reformer , m y the old sense of the term , and , as a patriotic Scotchman , first offered to make ai the fortune of the Scottish people . His plans were debated in parhay ment : — te A large majority rejected the project , deciding against innovations in matters of Qt finance . Law had jiroposed tbe formation of a territorial hank , which should give to Jy the Scotch landlords paper having a forced currency to the extent of a certain portion of of the value of their estates . Suppress the forced currency , facilitate the negotiation t 0 of these territorial notes , and you will have the credit foticier so much in favoux m our 1 C ? time . ^ . ¦ S To Paris again , where he used to carry 100 , 000 livres in gold to Poisson s , S in the Rue l > auphine . His hand not being able to grasp the quantity ot , ta gold he wished to stake at once , he had counters struck of the value ot er eighteen louis each . People wondered at him , as they would have wondered re , at Cagliostro or Cazotte , and the police , being paid to suspect this too suc-> lo cessful foreigner , sent him . across tho frontier . But John Law had lascing nated the eager mind of the Duke of Orleans , who spoke of him to his comphe troller-general as a man worth consulting . An order to leave Puns within on twenty-four hours broke off" the connexion . Law travelled from capital to rs capital , a triumpliant gambler but a rejected economist . He gained money from everyone , but no one would have his theories . ' When forty-four years old , ho heard that Louis XIV . was dead , and the iC " Duke of Orleans regent . Within a fortnight he was in Pans , for the , IS regent had seemed " to understand his ideas : "— - 1 Ct Tho kind of life ho was about giving up had been so profitable to him , that after extravagances which equalled those of the highest nobles , he was able to realize 1 , 000 , 000 livres in hard cash , that is to say , 2 , 080 , 000 francs of our money . Tlic narrative now widens from biography into history . And here , says M Cochut , tho Scheme should be described , which eight or ten writers have analyzed with eight or ten different results . More than one insists that lie comprehends Law ' s ideas better than Law himself . M . Cochut proposes to set nside the difficulty by assuming that tho man , who was celebrated ior a scheme , never had one . It would be more correct to say that he < hd not formulate his financial doctrines , but that he had , and acted upon , o theory

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 6, 1856, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_06091856/page/17/