Page:Halleck.djvu/131

Familiarly, as one among his peers,
With grocers, dry-good merchants, auctioneers,

xxxiv.

Brokers of all grades—stock and pawn—and Jews

Of all religions, who at noonday form,
On 'Change, that brotherhood the moral muse
Delights in, where the heart is pure and warm,
And each exerts his intellectual force
To cheat his neighbor—legally, of course.

xxxv.

And there he shone a planetary star,

Circled around by lesser orbs, whose beams
From his were borrowed. The simile is not far
From truth—for many bosom friends, it seems,
Did borrow of him, and sometimes forget
To pay—indeed, they have not paid him yet.

xxxvi.

But these he deemed as trifles, when each mouth

Was open in his praise, and plaudits rose
Upon his willing ear, "like the sweet south
Upon a bank of violets," from those
Who knew his talents, virtues, and so forth;
That is—knew how much money he was worth.