at very reduced prices, and I began to mistrust
that Frank had been selling to them at less than cost. On seeing him, he
told me I was greatly mistaken and smoothed down the matter so that it
appeared satisfactory to me. He had at this time got into debt about
eighteen thousand dollars. One day he went to Hartford and bought seven
thousand dollars worth of cotton cloth from a shrewd house in that city,
telling them a very fine story that he had a vessel which would sail for
South America the next day, and that the cloth must go down immediately
on the boat. He told them who his father was, and promised to bring his
endorsement in a few days, which was satisfactory to them, and they let
him have the goods. But the paper did not come. One of the firm went to
New York and there found some of the goods in an Auction store, and a
part of them sold. He got out a writ and arrested Frank. His father was
sent for, and settled this matter satisfactorily. I thought I would go
up to New Hartford and see Capt. Merrills about Frank's affairs--he told
me all about them, and said he had been looking over Frank's business
very thoroughly, and found that a large amount was owing him and that
Frank had shown him on his book invoices of a large amount of goods that
he had shipped to South America, besides several large accounts and
notes--one of eight thousand dollars. He told me that he thought after
paying me and others whom he owed, there would be as much as twenty
thousand dollars left. This was very satisfactory to me, though I knew
nothing about the cotton cloth speculation at that time. If I had, it
would have saved me a great deal of trouble. This was in February, 1844.
There was a note of his lying over, unpaid, in the Exchange Bank in
Hartford, of two thousand dollars. I had moved a few weeks before this
to New Haven. In the latter part of February, I went down to New York to
see if he could let me have the two thousand to take up the note; he
said he could in a day or two. I told him I would stay till Saturday. On
that day he was not able to pay me, but would certainly get it Monday,
and urged me to stay over, which I did. He took me into a large
establishment with him, and, as I have since had reason to believe,
talked with parties who were interested with him, about consigning to
them a large quantity of tallow, beeswax and wool which he owned in the
West. He told me that he had some trouble with his business, and that
all he w