76                    THE OLD MERCHAATS
 

CHAPTER VIII.

It seems melancholy to look upon the decay of a once
flourishing mercantile house ; to see it when it over¬
shadowed all others, and then finally decay, become
weak, and fall down with the first commercial hurri¬
cane that sweeps along, resembling an old tree. It is
painful to see all this, and yet I have it under my eyes
every day, wdien I write these chapters.

Who now knows, or has an Idea, of the great com¬
mercial house of Corp, Ellis & Shaw ? Some of the
oldest inhabitants remember such a firm as existing
more than half a century ago; yet it is nearly a hun¬
dred years since that house started.

John Ellis did business at No. 25 Broadway, after
the war in 1814. John Shaw also did business on his
own account as early as that, at 213 Water street.

In 1788, Samuel Corp lived in a house belonging to
Robert G. Livingston. It was a very large house, and
stood in Queen street. It was three stories high, had
thirteen fireplaces, and in the rear a coach-house, and
stables for horses. All the buildings were of brick. He
joined the St. George's Society as one of its founders in
1786. He was its fifth president, again its seventh in
1824. He did a large mercantile business after the war,
and in 1791 he had his stores as above, 191 Pearl, cor-