nd enterprising firm, Topman said, in his
polite way, you must do it with elegant and elaborate furniture in your
counting-room. Show is the thing two-thirds of the people in the world
are attracted and deluded by.

The newspapers, too, were telling curious stories as to how Kidd's
treasure was discovered, and also making statements of a very unreliable
nature, setting forth that already several million dollars had been
recovered, and that any man engaged in it would surely make a fortune
for his heirs, no matter how numerous. The more unreasonable these
statements were, the more readily did people invest in the stock. Not a
solid man in Wall street had heard of the firm of Topman and Gusher
eight months ago. The great beacon lights of the street now condescended
to bow and shake hands with Topman, to take more than a glance at the
firm's name when it was brought to their notice on certain bits of paper
which the enterprising firm, for mere convenience sake, gave now and
then as "equivalents". In short, Mr. Topman was a man of such
impressive manners that he quite captivated Wall street, and to have
those solid-pocketed old gentlemen speak encouragingly of the house,
was, he considered, gaining a great financial victory. In addition to
this Topman lived in a fine house, sumptuously furnished, on the west
side of Bowling Green, had a servant in livery to open the door, and
rode in his own carriage.

Mrs. Topman was a showy, dashing woman of thirty-five, or thereabouts,
tall and slender, and somewhat graceful of figure, and might have passed
for a beauty at twenty. But there was a faded look about her now, and
she had a weakness for loud talking and overdressing. She was evidently
a woman of doubtful blood, and "no family," as society would say in
these days. Indeed, first-rate society, such as Bowling Green boasted of
in those days, considered itself very select, and dealt out its favors
to new-comers with a cautious reserve.

As little or nothing was known of Mrs. Topman's antecedents, first-rate
society cut her--did'nt even condescend to drop her a sidewalk
recognition. But, as pushing one's self into society was quite as much
practised then as now, and as Mrs. Topman was a pushing, vigorous woman,
she resolved that if she could not carry the outworks and compel a
surrender on the part of first-rate society, she would at least have a
circle of her own. And she had just as good a right, she said, to call
her circle o