Hardie,
Alfred's grandfather, was drawn into the vortex. Now, to excuse him and
appreciate the precocious Richard, you must try and realise that these
bubbles, when they rise, are as alluring and reasonable as they are
ridiculous and incredible when one looks back on them; even soap bubbles,
you know, have rainbow hues till they burst: and, indeed, the blind
avarice of men does but resemble the blind vanity of women: look at our
grandmothers' hoops, and our mothers' short waists and monstrous heads!
Yet in their day what woman did not glory in these insanities? Well then,
Mr. Richard Hardie, at twenty-five, was the one to foresee the end of all
these bubbles; he came down from London and brought his people to their
senses by sober reason and 'sound commercial principles'--that means, I
believe, 'get other people's money, but do not risk your own.' His
superiority was so clear, that his father resigned the helm to him, and,
thanks to his ability, the bank weathered the storm, while all the other
ones in the town broke or suspended their trade. Now, you know, youth is
naturally ardent and speculative; but Richard Hardie's was colder and
wiser than other people's old age: and that is one trait.
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