OF JVEW YORK CITY.                         31
 

CHAPTER III.

The last chapter related especially to Stephen B.
Munn, but I did not finish with all I recollected about
him.

On one occasion, he called into a large " stationery "
store down town, and there he espied a large cask of
black sand. No one was in the store but a lad, who
wished to be very smart, and make a large sale.

" What is the price of that barrel of sand ? " asked
Stephen B. The boy put on a pretty stiff' price, about
double the cost, and watched with anxious eyes the sus¬
pense of his probable customer. Finally he spoke.
" Young man, I will go home and make a calculation
how much my bill will come to. " I will take half a pint
of the sand." The lot ordered would have amounted to
about a mill and a half.    The old joker never took it.

A rich merchant with whom the relator was a clerk,
held a mortgage upon the property owned by Mr. Munn,
corner of Broadway and Grand street. It ran along
Broadway several hundred feet. The property was
worth ten times the amount for which it was mortgaged,
but there was often delay in getting the interest. On
this occasion, Stephen was in. The question was asked,
or rather the object of the visit was stated as follows :
" I called to get the interest on that mortgage of Mr.
P.'s."