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(1816 To 1860) By Chas. H. Haswell Originally published 1896 |
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prior to his leaving for New Orleans, a number of
brokers publicly advertised or proposed to raise the
amount of three hundred dollars, to give him as an
inducement to leave the city.
Instances of Barker's shrewdness have been frequently
repeated. Thus, when a boy, he engaged to carry a
trunk for a passenger to a neighboring hotel, but finding
it too heavy for him to handle alone, he secured the services of a playmate by promising that if he received two apples for the work he would give him one. The trunk was transported, and Barker received a sixpence, whereupon, when his assistant asked for his half, he replied:
When in the shipping business he was at one time much exercised regarding the safety of a particular vessel on a distant trading voyage, which he had not insured. He one day applied to an insurance office for a very full amount upon her; the application not having been made "binding," he did not ask for the policy, but- a few days afterward he hurriedly appeared at the
"If he had given me two apples, I would have given you one, as I said; but as he did not give me apples, I have none to give you." On another occasion, he had incurred the dislike of the paying teller of a bank, and upon demanding payment in specie of a check for a thousand dollars, he was given a box of six-penny pieces. At this time, and for many years afterward, in making a deposit in a bank, the teller, when he had counted the amount, asked the depositor the amount of it, and if his account agreed, well; if not, a new count was made. Upon receiving this box Barker caused the lid to be raised, withdrew a few pieces, pocketed them, and then directed the balance to be passed to his credit as a deposit. Whereupon the teller had to count the entire contents of the box, while Barker had but to count his small portion and subtract it from the whole in order to name the amount of the deposit.
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