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and that we may not in any way wrong the persons who attempt to mislead the more foolish part of the public in this matter, let us take an account published by one of themselves :--' "For instance, then "--says one of the most notorious of these in an advertisement published under guise of a story--" having reason to expect a certain stock (Great Westerns) is likely to go up" (the grammar I "expect, is likely" to be the stockbroker's own)--" the present price of which we will suppose is 1321/4; a client sends 10/. 12s. 6d. as cover and commission, with instructions to buy 1,000/. Great Western Railway Stock." "If it goes up ?" queried Captain Dayrell, becoming much interested. "Paying attention to the daily quotations, the operator notices that the stock rises, say, to 1331/4-1/2, and 10/. or 10 per cent. is realized. If the stock rises to 1341/4-1/2, 20/. or 20 per cent. is realized, and so on in proportion." "Should the reverse happen ?" "If, however, contrary to expectation the stock goes down from 1321/4 to 1311/4-1/2, the cover has run off, and the transaction is closed with the loss of the 10/. cover only. Beyond this, and the commission of 1/16, or 12s. 6d. per 1,000/. stock, there is no further liability; and the beauty of the thing is, you only lose what cover you put up." "Suppose I put on more cover before it is too late ?" "Then you can keep the account open," replied Roselle. "It is simple enough,
and very fair." "Yes; it limits the liability of the operator." "I see; he can choose any stock he pleases to operate in; and, if his judgment is sound, or the information good, the profit is certain." "Exactly," said Roselle, with a smile. "I can see. The profits may be very large, whilst the loss is always small," remarked the Captain.'
One can see tolerably well, I may remark in passing, how this account was written. The stockbroker for whom the series of stories was written (much as poetry used to be written for Moses & Son) sent to the writer, who uses the fine-sounding nora de plume of Bracebridge Hemyng, an example of the way of working the cover system, and this writer, whose stories fortunately are of the dull blood-and-thunder type, has simply turned the account into a dialogue, by breaking it up, and inserting ' the Captain said,' ' Roselle replied,' ' I see,' &c.
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