210                     THE OLD MERCHAJVTS
 

CHAPTER XXIV.

I have in my portfolio a sketch of the large house of
Spofford, Tileston & Co., for more than two years. I
did not publish, for I had not completed it as fully as I
desired to do. I should not bring it forward now, but
fiir the fact that during the past few days two very re¬
markable occurrences have happened. One was the
appearance on a Thursday of a portrait and life of
Thomas Tileston, in a journal called Hunt's Merchants'
Magazine, and the other was the death of Mr. Tileston
on Sunday evening, apparently without a cause. I have
no doubt in my mind that his death was partly, if not
entirely, owing to the internal annoyance caused by the
silly, foolish, in wretched taste article, so insulting to
his worthy old partner of nearly half a century, Mr.
Paul Spoiford.

Mr. Tileston went to the office of Hunt's Merchants'
Magazine and tried to buy up the copies. Mr, Dana
would not sell them. He asked for only ten copies, and
was refused. Freeman Hunt used to victimize the
merchants by persuading them to write their lives and
give him a portrait I think this levy was $260 each.
Probably the present proprietors got a similar amount
out of .Mr. Tileston, indirectly if not directly. Mr.
Dana is not a man likely to go to the expense of a steel