"ONE OF THE SMARTEST MEN IN THE STATE, SIR."

Otago Witness, Issue 715, 12 August 1865, Page 17

"ONE OF THE SMARTEST MEN IN THE STATE, SIR."

fFroin One a Week.)

<l Yes, sir — that's so. Less than three years ago he landed in thi9 city, from Mexico, with hi 1 * shirt and pants, and he's worth three n.illions of dollar* this cay if he's worth a red cent, sir. Your side of the pond, sir, is not prolific in such men as Abraham Webster Robeon, sir. Why, sir, that moD supports a Baptist Chapel entirely, to say nothing of hi 3 offerings at collection times. Yes, sir, he's one of the smartest men in these parts, sir." Such was the description given by Augustus Clay Mason, of the New York Screamer, of a gentleman who passed us in Broadway, in one of the rftost sober, steady, respectable turn- outs that could be seen in New York. Upon inquiring as to the peculiar claims of Mr Abraham Webster Robson to this desirable character, I learned the following story, which I must give in my own words, as some of the expressions used by my friend would be almost unintelligible to a reader in this country. Abraham Webster Robson spent his eaily life in the poor-house of the town of Albany ; at the age oi'iourten he was suddenly missing from the muster-roll of the establishment, and when next heard of he was a stoker on the property of one of the Mexican mining companies. Here he stayed till, at the mature age of twenty-two, he landed in New Yoik from a Mexican trader, with little more than his "shirt and pants." After some little wharfing, labouring, &c, he became porter in one of the largest newspaper effices of that city, and by a steady course cf industry and sobriety for six months, gained the respect of his employers so far as to be advanced to the use of the pen instead of the broom. The post chosen was that of under-assistant to the editor of the commercial department of the paper; it was his place to prepare the share list with the latest quotations for the inspection of his superior; to watch carefully the markets, and report thereon. His extraordinary aptitude lor this business gained him such confidence that soon the editor would simply look at his notes, and send them to press without any further revision ; his knowledge of mining in Mexico made his information on any matters of that kind very acceptable to speculators in those kinds of securities, and in less than fifteen months from his first appearance in New York he became a sort of minor authority on all such subjects. Amongst the mining companies of Mexico, none were larger than the Santa Maria del Cohahuila ; the shares, originally valued at 100 dollars, and only 7o paid up, were now at about 900 premium ; to hold shares in the Santa Maria del Cohahuila Mining Company was to the original shareholders an investment of the best kind. The mine yielded steadily year after year, and there seemed no end to its pro•due'dveness. In New York party feeling runs high, and it happened that the chief proprietor of the shares and chairman of the Santa Maria Mining Company ran for major, and was very ably backed by the New York Bouncer. r ihe opposition candidate •oas as ably backed by the New York Trumpet, and forthwith those gentlemanly allusions to the private lives and means of the candidates, so characteristic of the political literature of America, were freely made in those papers. Amongst other charges, an anonymous writer in the Trumpet made the assertion respecting the chairman of the Santa Maria Mining Company, that he had paid dividends out of capital ; that the scheme of the mine was bad ; that the engineer's reports were " bogus ;" with sundry other compliments. Mr Henry Hudson Chevy, the chairman in question, immediately placed the books of the company in the hands of public accountants, and they certified them correct in every particular; the return of the rich proprietor for mayor, and the confusion of the New York Trumpet, were the consequences of this ill-judged attempt at detraction. This battle had occurred some few years previously to Mr Abraham Webster Robson's first introduction to the office of the rival paper, but the feud still existed ; the subordinate's directions from bis superior were — "You must keep the Santa Maria Mining Company before the public, if it's only to rile the Trumpet; it's a paying concern anyhow, but, when you can, rile the Trumpet." The subordinate entered into the spirit of the thing, and scarcely a mail came in but the Trumpet was riled with reports of the increasing productiveness and richness of the mine. It may be as well here to state that Mr Henry Hudson Chevy had a daughter, to whom report gave truly all the charms of her sex ; at least such was the impression of Mr Abraham Webster Robson, who had met the young lady at a boarding-house at Saratoga Springs, and being rather a handsome, muscular man, had attracted the favourable attention of Miss Chevy, con-

tracing, as he did, in his full and vigorous manhood, with the thin, straight-legged, flabby-fleshed dandies of that fashionable resoTt. He had made up his mind that Miss Chevy should become Mrs Robson, and his early career had taught him that difficulties exist only to be overcome, and that to wish anxiousl} 7 for success is at least seventenths of the power required to obtain it. The different barriers of society, easily leaped over or pushed aside at the Springs, existed in granite- wall strength at New York, and it was only at church and other public places that the incipient lovers could still nourish their growing passion by sundry stolen glances. In a few months after the visit to the Springs, the editor's secretary became thoughtful and moody, wrote much and often, particularly to his old Mexican friends, and, on the receipt of their replies, became again cheerful and hopeful. Just about this time the Trumpet had in Mexico a special correspondent, who described everything that came in his way, in the most simple, natural, and straightforward manner. The world of New York was not a little astonished at the reports of the country appearing, after every mail, in the Trumpet, but there was such an air of truth that people came to rely upon the statements of the simple Mexican correspondent as they would on the gospel. He had already crushed an intended cotton company by some ielling statistics on the subject of "the growth of the cotton tree ; and the collapse of a quicksilver and platinum mining company was attributed in no small degree to his description j of the works of the proposed undertaking. One day Mr Robson. went to the house ol Mr Chevy, in Fifth Avenue, and requesting an interview, formally desired leave to pay his addresses to that gentleman's daughter. He knew his request would be refused, and he knew why — he could not keep the young lady; he was on^y an editor's secretary ; and with some kindly hints from the elder gentleman as to the advantages of modesty and humility, he withdrew. Th^ next morning there appeared in the New York Trumpet the following strange piece of news from the Mexican correspondent. It was given in quite an incidental manner : — "Cohahuila, November 9th, 18— " You have, I daresay, heard of the great Santa Maria del Cohahuila Mining Company. 1 was at the works yesterday, and a better managed establishment it has not been my lot to witness anywhere. The machinery is admirable and effective, and from the appearance of the ore and the reports in the neighborhood, I should be disposed to think the mine all but inexhaustible." " Cordona, Fovember 10th, 18—. " This morning, reading over the sentences I wrote last night, I am struck with the truth of the adage, 'Appearances are deceitful.' Intending going again to the works this morning, with a view to a more minute description, I met an old halfcaste Indian, of whom I asked the way to the mine. The man seemed surprised, and said in a dreamy senile voice — k The mine — yes, senor — the mme — this way,' and leading me by another road, as I thought, to the spot, brought me to a clump of underwood, showed me a largish opening in the side of the hill, pointed to it, and said, ' The mme !' " ' No, my friend,' said I, ' The Santa Maria mine.' " ' This is the Santa Maria mine,' said he; 'I worked here fifty years ago; see, here is the heap of refuse, and here is the place where the windlass used to stand to haul up the stuff. Aye, sir, fifty years ago. I worked here till the revolution came and made soldiers of us all ; the mine was nearly worked out; then from this side.' " I was, as you may imagine, not a little astonished at this information. " ' And how about the other side ?' I inauired. " "' The works' side?' "Yes. 1 " ' Well, there will be no works in three months, for the mine will be worked out on both sides, and all the money they have spent on machinery will be lost.' " ' And who knows this but you ?' "' No one. All who worked here are gone. lam left alone.' " ' And why aon't you tell this ?' " ' Why should I? My son keeps me; he sells the wine and Bourbon to the men in the mine. If they break it up he will sell no more wine. Why should I tell them and be laughed at too ? No ! let them find it out.' " l Why did you tell me?' " ' You asked for the mine, and the mine is here — I am old and foolish — I forgot the works till you spoke of them. Why should I tell when I am not believed ; and my son will lose three months' more trade if lam believed ? No ! I shall not tell. "'But I shall.' " ' No, senor, you will not, for I have told you by mistake, by misfortune, aud I

shall kill you — I have killed many men in my time — if you do not promise me, on your word and this cross, not to tell.' " The old fellow had pulled out a little ivory crucifix, and stood over me with a long-pointed stiletto in his hand. I laughed it off, though I was terribly frightened of the old fellow's half lunatic lookg. "' I will not tell ; that I won't ; give me the cross.' " I kissed it, and had the satisfaction of seeing the dagger replaced, and was not sorry to find myself safe at my inn. " I need only say that I thought, under all the circumstances of the case, the air of the place was not good for my health ; I therefore date this from a village some twenty miles' distance from the old wanderer's wine shop. As for the story — there it is — true or not. It was not my business to risk my life to inquire. The place I am now at, &c, &c." And so the letter went on. On the morning this news appeared in the New York Trumpet, Mr Chevy came into town for advice as to the probable truth of the story. If true, he was next door to a pauper ! His broker referred him to the only man likely to know anything about it — our hero, Mr Robson. Now it is admittedly unpleasant to ask advice to-day of a man to whom you refused permission to address your daughter yesterday. Mr Chevy went round town. " Robson is the only man likely to know," and accordingly he went, at last, to Mr Robson, and told his story. "Most unlikely thing, sir; but still such a man as Wat3on, so generally reliable, is worthy of credit on most matters. Can't you wait to decide about the affair until the next mail ?" "My whole fortune is in that mine; I have bought up share after share, till I have nearly all. lam a lost man if that old cuss is right. Why didn't they think of it? It's not the first time these old mines have been tapped in a new place, and yielded for years, and then given out all at once. Shall I sell, Mr Robson, or not?" " I should say not. You see you don't know it's true. What can you sell at, too ?" " Sell, sir ! Last night my shares were worth one thousand dollars cash, sir, and now they're not worth ten dollars, sir, not ten altogether." " You'd better go over and see the Trumpet's people. You know they've an old grudge against you on that mining question." Mr Chevy went to the Trumpet's people and inquired. All perfectly regular, right time for mail to arrive ; there could be no doubt about it ; it had occurred before. Mr Chevy had better sell. At night he was still undecided. Next morning the Trumpet published an extract from a private letter. "Cordona, Nov. 12th. "We had a muss here last night. An old half-caste drew his shiner on the correspondent of the New York Trumpethe had followed him for twenty miles, stabbed and cut him about badly. From ail I could hear, it appears that it was some row about a mine the old man had discovered, and told the correspondent about, and the "greaser' was afraid of his splitting. Anyhow, there was a muss, and the old man's in a bad way, with two pills from a six-shooter. They say there's just a chance of hi 3 pulling through." Mr Chevy could wait no longer, he went down and sold his shares, one and all, at twenty dollars a share, and washed his hands of the whole concern, liabilities and all. Mr Chevy went home, dined, and prepared himself to break the news to his daughter — could not — got tipsy — and put it off till next morning. At breakfast he read the following in the New York Bouncer : — " The mischievous and false statements of our learned (?) contemporary's Mexican correspondent, published the day before yesterday, are illustrative of the singular meanness and cowardice with which men may become imbued from the constant habit of allowing the interests of truth to become subservient to those of selfish aggrandisement, and the gratification of party revenge. " It is not unknown to our readers that some years ago a dastardly attack was made on the public honor of Mr Henry Hudson Chevy, our worthy and esteemed fellow- citizen. " Years ago, we say ; and yet, though years have passed, it is worth the while of that respected instructor of the public morals, the New York Trumpet, to concoct a deliberately false statement in order to ruin the man that their previous mendacity had entirely failed to crush. " We have ascertained, on the best authority, that the correspondent of the New York Trumpet was never within 1 50 miles of the place described in his last letter, for

he waa down with fever at a grog-shop on the very days on which he dates his letters, more than that distance from the place from which he dates his letters. " If our excellent fellow-citizen has, on the faith of that letter, sold ont his shares "■ in the Santa Maria Mining Company, he has been ruined by the most rascally and impudent forgery that was ever recorded in the annals of commercial history." He had hardly finished this, to him, most interesting paragraph, when Mr Abraham Webster Robson was announced. " Have you seen this ?" said Mr Chevy, pointing to the article. " I wrote it," replied Robson, " and I am now here to make "the same request I made a day or two ago. I know you are ruined ; still, I make it." " My dear sir, I said things on that occasion J ought not to have said ; I retract. You are richer than I am now; my daughter needs a protector. If you have her consent, I will give mine." Miss Chevy did consent, and some daysafterwards, when Mr Chevy talked of borrowing and beginning life again more humbly, our hero said he need not be in a hurry. " What I want to know is this, Webster." (They were father and son now, nearly.) "Who bought those shares? That I can't find out. Wilson, through I whom I sold them, says he cannot tell. It was through another broker." " I think I could find out in a short time, Mr Chevy." On the day of the wedding Mr Chevy could not help asking, " Who bought those shares ? I'd give half the little I'm worthto find out." " I know a man, sir, I could bribe to tell." "I'd give 1000 dollars to know." " Well, if you'll trust me with them, I'll get the information." "There you are, Webster ; now, let me know before the day's out." Robson took the dollars, and throwing the roll at his wife, said — "There, Mrs Robson, is some pin-money for you. 2s ow tell him." " It was Abraham, father." "What Abraham?" " Mine to be sure — now," said the bride, with a fond look at her husband. " Yes, sir, I bought those shares. I went to the broker — told him I wanted the money for three days ; I bought in from you at twenty dollars a share. After that letter in the Bouncer they rose at once to the old price within twenty dollars, and I realised, sir — at 980 dollars a share." " And who wrote those letters in the Trumpet ?" "I did," said Abraham; "I did the whole thing from one end to the other — letters and all. I wrote them here in a hand like Watson's, sent them to Mexico, and got them posted there to the Trumpet, and that's how it came about." " And there was no old half-caste after all?" "IS T o." " And what made you sell out at 980?" " Well, sir, you see, I got private news from Mexico by the same mail that themine was drowned out." " Yes, fir, he's the smartest man in this State, I calculate you'll think afcer that story. A Stewakt Harrison.