The Law of the Land.
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THE LAW OF THE LAND. II. A QUESTION OF DOLLARS. By Wm, Arch. McClean. WHAT do you suppose the law knows ing upon the bewitching and exasperating about dollars, medicine, chemistry, subject of how to entice those Spanish dol philosophy, and the thousands of other lars into his pockets; for he not only thought things it has yearly to consider, — what? of the boys, but also of the little Roes that Why, when doctors fall out, it must know were coming on. He went about in the day more of medicine than the most learned of time with his weather eye crooked for a physicians; and so in each instance, as there glimpse of those dollars. To him who is nothing under the sun upon which it may waits, and while doing so digs around for not have to express an opinion, which be substance, all things come, even the Spanish comes the law of the land on that subject. dollar. Well, what does law know about dollars? It happened thus wise. Dick Roe owned The United States Constitution says Con a vacant lot in his native city, and some one gress shall have power " to coin money, wanted it more than he wanted to keep it; regulate the value thereof, and of foreign but as it was never well to display too much coin, and fix the standard of weights and anxiousness to accommodate a purchaser in measures." And we know that Congress such a case, he assumed an air as though makes a cheap dollar for the Chinese, a that lot could not be bought for money. legal-tender dollar, a greenback dollar, a Finally, the proposition came whether he Bland silver dollar, and no end of denomi would sell. Sell? why, he had never had nations and fractions of dollars. The law such an idea, yet, come to think of it, he knows what a Spanish milled dollar is, and might be disposed to part with that lot if he thereby hangs this tale. obtained what he should have for it. What Money has value, which sometimes in did he want? He would think over it; and creases and diminishes. A certain man here a brilliant Spanish dollar conception who lived in the City of Brotherly Love in took possession of him, and he soon sent the 1793 thought he knew what good money purchaser word that he would sell for a cer and bad money was in those days. He was tain price, but upon one condition. The purchaser sorely wanted that lot, and frugal, and therefore had a natural Ameri can itching for the money that was good. he telephoned down by his messenger boy He was aware of the fact that to be in that he would take the lot at the price Philadelphia with certain species of money named and upon the unknown condition. was deplorable, especially as, if he went out At the first moment's leisure he hurried of a night with the boys, the uncle might down to Roe, to find out what that condi have to be visited before morning; while if tion was, and overtook his telephone playing he had his pockets lined with Spanish dol- j mumble-peg on one of the city's squares. lars, the inner man never went half satis It was a conspiracy between Old Roe and fied, and there was enough left besides to the Spanish dollar as an in memoriam for the soothe the beastly headache of the next little Roes. He reserved " the yearly rent or sum of ninety-five Spanish milled dollars day. This man —. let us familiarly call him Dick and one third of a dollar, each weighing seventeen pennyweights and six grains at Roe — spent many sleepless nights ponder
