ions, when so skilfully managed, will be at once seen to be
enormous. By the supposed transaction, assuming the rise to be two per
cent., the gain would be L35,000. But this is not the greatest gain
which the late leviathian of modern capitalists made by such
transactions. He, on more than one occasion, made upwards of L100,000 on
one account.

But though no person during the last twelve or fifteen years of
Rothschild's life (says Grant) was ever able, for any length of time, to
compete with him in the money market, he on several occasions was, in
single transactions, outwitted by the superior tactics of others. The
gentleman to whom I allude was then and is now the head of one of the
largest private banking establishments in town. Abraham Montefiore,
Rothschild's brother-in-law, was the principal broker to the great
capitalist, and in that capacity was commissioned by the latter to
negotiate with Mr. ---- a loan of L1,500,000. The security offered by
Rothschild was a proportionate amount of stock in Consols, which were at
that time 84. This stock was, of course, to be transferred to the name
of the party advancing the money, Rothschild's object being to raise the
price of Consols by carrying so large a quantity out of the market. The
money was lent, and the conditions of the loan were these--that the
interest on the sum advanced should be at the rate of 4-1/2 per cent.,
and that if the price of Consols should chance to go down to 74, Mr.
---- should have the right of claiming the stock at 70. The Jew, no
doubt, laughed at what he conceived his own commercial dexterity in the
transaction; but, ere long, he had abundant reason to laugh on the wrong
side of his mouth; for, no sooner was the stock poured into the hand of
the banker, than the latter sold it, along with an immensely large sum
which had been previously standing in his name, amounting altogether to
little short of L3,000,000. But even this was not all. Mr. ---- also
held powers of attorney from several of the leading Scotch and English
banks, as well as from various private individuals, who had large
property in the funds, to sell stock on their account. On these powers
of attorney he acted, and at the same time advised his friends to follow
his example. They at once did so, and the consequence was that the
aggregate amount of stock sold by himself and his friends conjointly
exceeded L10,000,000. So unusual an extent of sales, all effected in the
shortest poss