I feel that some mystery is to be explained, or some strange sight shown me—or else why this change from sunlight to this cribbed and dungeon-like casemate.
It would be impossible to break into this room; and to get out of it, if the doors were locked, would be equally difficult, I imagine.
Now the gentleman who has opened the door goes behind an iron railing, and says:
"This is the Library of the Bank, Sir, and these are the volumes that compose the Library," he says to the writer, at the same time taking a large package of notes from a shelf—on which there are many hundred packages of like description—"we keep here the canceled notes which are called in, and therefore they can never be used again. We keep these old notes for twenty-five years, in case a forgery has been committed, and when it becomes necessary to produce the notes for evidence—why, here they are—we have notes here for millions of pounds," said he, turning over bundle after bundle of ragged looking papers, that had once been of incalculable value.
These notes, after a certain time, are reduced to pulp, and again are made into paper, from which in turn fresh bank notes are made, so that these old rags have the property which Ponce de Leon's fountain gave, of renewing their youth.
Into another room now, where the notes are printed from the plates, and to insure honesty in the printer—the machine registers the number of each note printed—the registering being done in a distant part of the establishment.
IN THE VAULTS.
And now we are in the Vaults, where the precious metals are kept, and where I saw and handled riches such as would have bewildered Pizzaro, or Cortez, even in their wildest imaginings.
Here are the Bullion Vaults, in which are kept bars of gold and silver. The gold bars weigh sixteen pounds each, while the silver bar varies.
The Bank pays for gold seventy-eight shillings an ounce, while silver is generally valued at about five shillings and two pence an ounce.