more than the bride with him. If you happen to have any young lady, to whom you wish to send a present of fine lace, I dare say he would sell you the royal bridal garment at only half-price.”—“Has the house of Butekant failed, or does it still carry on business?”
“It was in a dangerous way some years ago, before the Spanish Caravelles[1] helped to give it a lift, so that it is now in a promising way.”
On inquiring into the credit of several others, Frank found that most of those which had been bankrupts in his father’s lifetime, were now in a thriving condition; which led him to conclude, that a timely bankruptcy was a good foundation for future prosperity. These were good tidings; Frank cheered up, and began to arrange his accounts, presenting the old bills at their proper places.
In the people of Antwerp, however, our hero met with much the same usage as his perambulating fellow-citizens of this age experience from shopkeepers in the provincial towns of Germany. Every one treats them well until they call to get in their money. Many would hear nothing of their old debts, declaring that they had all been settled at the time of the bankruptcy; and it was the creditor’s fault if he had not accepted payment. Others said
- ↑ The Spanish ships, which traded in those times to America, were known by that name.
