“By thunder! That trading house of Milling and FitzMaurice brought home a fat prize, William,” remarked Charles Thompson. “One of their privateers secured a British ship worth eighty thousand pounds sterling.” “Is it possible? No wonder they can live in luxury. They are growing fat out of the war. That one prize would pay back one half that they have loaned to Congress,” continued John Adams. “I always was opposed to war on general principles,” argued Dr. Greydon, “but if we must fight, all right. Yet, when private individuals can go out on the high seas and take other private individuals’ substance it seems like licensed robbery.” “I venture to say riches thus gained will never profit the gainer. Robert FitzMaurice has made fabulous riches out of his piratical enterprise but he will lose it all, some day,” reasoned the Secretary of Congress. “Heigho there!” exclaimed John Adams, “do you know that FitzMaurice and Milling are now planning to start a bank and to do all the financing for Congress? They want a charter.” “That’s fine,” began Dr. Greydon. “First, Congress grants letters of Marque and Reprisal to these enterprising merchants, in order for them to hold up their neighbors’ ships and rob them; now, when they grow rich out of the war, we will license them to hold our hands when they can go into _our_ pockets and rob _us_. Oh! That’s a fine scheme to throttle our war. They could tell us then to lay down our arms if the bank was not pleased. Never let us get into the clutches of these financiers. The power of the purse must always belong to Congress, the representatives of the people.” Thus spoke Dr. Greydon, and then Charles Thompson added: “The money of our Congress maybe depreciated, but if the people of our country accept it, which the patriots do--maybe the Tories do not--we will prosper; but if we give ourselves into the hands of the bank, they would take nothing but specie for payment and we would be paralyzed. We could do nothing but surrender.” “Here! Here! William, we are forgetting our ladies,” said John Adams, and they arose and joined the guests in the drawing-room. Mollie was helping her mother serve the tea; the guests were seated at the tables; but she did not lose sight of Barclugh. Although the large drawing-room and the library were thronged with guests, she could not let him out of her sight. Members of Congress, generals, their sons and daughters, and French diplomats thronged the rooms but they soon began to depart. At the first opportunity Barclugh left his tea-cup and found his way to the side of Mollie. She turned and said spiritedly: “You must miss your gay society in Paris, Mr. Barclugh? They must be so different from our society? I would be delighted to travel abroad again; I was so young when papa took me to England.” “Society is very much the same the world over,” answered Barclugh,--“so insincere.” “Are all people insincere, Mr. Barclugh?” returned Mollie.