Such stories were always in the air and were associated, not only with
the ships lying along the "Bulwark," but occasionally also with the
houses on the opposite side. Further down the river both the houses
and the stories lost their charm, until, at the very end of the city,
one came to a large building standing back from the street, which
again aroused interest. This was the recently erected "Society House,"
the meeting place not only for the summer bathers, but also, during
the season, for the leading people of the city, of whom no one,
perhaps, was more often seen there than my father. To be sure, his
frequent visits were really not made on account of the "Society House"
itself, least of all on account of the concerts and theatrical
performances given in it, to say nothing of the occasional balls,--no,
what attracted him and took him out there now and then even Lor his
morning glass, was a pavilion standing close by the "Society House,"
in which a major with a historical name and most affable manners,
dressed in a faultless blue frock coat with gold buttons, kept the
bank. This was only too often the resort of my father, who, when he
had lost a considerable sum and had correspondingly enriched the pot
of the bank keeper, instead of being out of sorts over it, simply drew
the inference that the keeping of the bank was a business that
produced sure gain, and the old major with the high white neckcloth
and the diamond pin was an extremely enviable man and, above all, one
very worthy of emulation.
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