Australian Tales - Setis

through the city of late, I have met with many gloomy faces, and have
listened to some saddening recitals of real hardship. Passing by certain
defaulters (the bare sight of whom makes me cross, and whose
deservings cannot be mentioned in civil terms), I have had to sympathise
with some industrious, honest men, who from sheer misfortune have lost
the results of the toil and economy of years. Perhaps harder still, is the
helplessness of their employés, who have been suddenly thrown out of
work. Scores — or I may safely say hundreds of persons are thus
circumstanced, through the mercantile disasters which have lately
occurred, and they are now suffering, in many cases, far more severely
than their late masters are doing. The failure of a business house, either
in town or country, is productive of more misfortune than a mere surface
glance will reveal. The more extensive the business ramifications, the
wider spread is the mischief, and there are few persons in our community
who are not either directly or indirectly affected, to a greater or lesser
extent. The downfall of Simon Squash and other great shams have
caused me no regret, for their sakes; on the contrary, I am glad to see the
reckless career of such men brought to a close; but it is a real sorrow for
me to know that their clerks and porters are thrown out of work, at a time
when steady employment is very difficult to obtain. These contingencies
are not so often calculated as they should be, but a very little reflection
will show their reaction upon a community; hence self-interest — to say
nothing of moral principle — binds every man to use all honourable
exertions to counteract the present mistrust, much of which is as
groundless as the alarm which is raised by the false cry of “powder!” at a
fire.
“But what can I do to quell this popular excitement!” asked a talkative
person, to whom I expressed that opinion, a few days ago.
“Though it be merely a negative duty,” I replied, “you can keep your
tongue quiet. You can avoid raising or propagating mischievous
rumours, such as those I have just heard from you, that certain
persons — whom you named — are ‘shaky.’ ”
“Well, I only told you what I heard: I know nothing about their affairs
myself.”
“It would be more prudent to be silent upon such matters, at any rate,”
I answered, “but it is positively wrong to repeat statements that you do
not know to be authentic. If those persons are really ‘shaky,’ as you say,
prejudicial reports are likely to make them shake more, and perhaps to
topple them down altogether, and involve others in loss or
embarrassment. The wealthiest firm in the world may be brought to a
stand, if public rumour assails its reputation: in fact it would only have
been necessary for a few persons to shrug at a Bank of England note,
some months ago, to have caused ‘a run’ upon that institution; and had
the Londoners began to run in that direction, urged on by that powerful