In the year 186.., in the old narrow office, father and son met, the latter, a newly made partner. He had been, according to ancient custom, a volunteer for several years in London, where he had been well received amongst English families. But it was with strange feelings that he entered his father's office for the first time after many years of absence.
His horizon had widened, while here, little or nothing was changed. The old office furniture, which had done good service for generations, was the same, as no merchant ever thought of altering anything for merely a greater personal comfort, but the old fashioned standup desks and the well worn leather seats of the high office stools, did not look as inviting as of old. His memory had mellowed and idealized their appearance. Of course, the influence of the mother was not permitted in the sacred precincts of the office, even most of the cleaning was done by the youngest apprentice. But from the grey walls looked down proudly, the models of the sailing vessels which carried their houseflag to distant shores. During the long hours of a voyage, they had been fashioned by captains or clever sailors, and were a constant reminder of deeds nobly done.
Here is the "Anne Marie", a tea clipper of graceful lines, like a swallow, which made the journey from China to London in 80 days, and had earned, besides a good freight, a high premium for bringing the first tea of the new crop to the epicures in London. There is the "Katharina", much heavier in build, she took 180 days to fetch wet sugar and hemp from Manilla. One may wonder, whether captain and crew ever thought of the enjoyments of life, while they ploughed the sea for 6 months. Yonder, in the full light from the window is the "Nordstern", a whaler, and underneath a picture of the crew. These wild and rough fellows took their lives in their hands, on the perilous journey from Honolulu to the Polar Seas. They had no regular wages, but shared in the profits from the sale of the oil and whalebone. Their hard earned money, however, was mostly dissipated in San Francisco, during a few days of riotous jubilation.
After some desultory talking, the son carefully broached the following subject: "There is the "Augusta" ready in port to sail for Baltimore, to bring a cargo of tobacco. Pity, that the heavy Kentucky barrels fill only half the freight room and leave so much space empty. I think, father, we ought to fill it up with light goods, principally with cotton."
"Cotton, my dear boy! I fancy, you must be dreaming of the old firm of B. & F. You remember, F. told his agent, in the West Indies, to add to the cargo of Asphalt and cocoanuts, 200 bales of cotton. His bad handwriting led to the mistake that 2000 bales were shipped, the moment they were afloat, the Southern Ports were blockaded, which caused an unprecedented rise in the price of cotton, so that the last of the 2000 bales were sold at "one Thaler" per pound (equal then to three marks)."
"I do not think, father, that such luck is likely to repeat itself, but the fact remains, that we have room empty, which easily might carry freight, besides, I hear, that there is an increasing demand for cotton, as several new cotton mills are being started in Germany."
"Yes, that is all very well, but think of the enormous risk of the cotton trade. The fluctuations in prices are fabulous, recently, they have been going down and down. My friend W. has been holding cotton for 3 years and has never seen his price back yet. A loss he will not take, he declares 'that he will hold that cotton till he is black in the face.'"
"That is a wrong policy, W. ought to have sold the cotton long ago, replaced the same by a lower priced purchase, this would have saved him charges and loss of interest, and would have cheapened his original purchase."
"This is a new method of doing business, we--old Bremen people--stick firmly to an enterprise, until the success is secured. That is the old Hanseatic spirit."
"One might almost call it stubbornness, the present time requires quick thinking and turning."