It was difficult to believe, at first, that war had really ceased. There was a continued excitement until the treaty was signed; all places of public resort were thronged with inquirers; betting ran high about the articles; the chances of exchequer-bills and new lotteries were discussed; and when the truce was announced in the city, it was also announced that the preliminaries of a new loan would be arranged. Talleyrand was talked of as having employed his information and capacity in gaining large sums; foreigners generally were busy in making or marring their fortunes; and it was ascertained that, in 1803, they held upwards of eighteen millions of government securities. When it was known that the preliminaries were signed, the tumultuous joy of the nation is beyond expression; and Lloyd’s was instantly crowded. The people ran about, congratulating one another on the happy event; the different steeples displayed the union-flag by day, and at night a general illumination took place; consols rose from 59 to 66½, and there were twenty-one defaulters on the next settling day. The loan, known as the loyalty loan, attracted much attention in the early part of the century. The period at which it was contracted was a critical one for the empire. Abroad, Prussia and the princes of the Empire had withdrawn from the confederacy against France; Austria demanded assistance; Holland was bound by fear to the French republic. Stagnation of trade, scarcity of specie, want of provisions, and discontent among the people, marked the period at home. The supplies for the year were difficult to obtain; an appeal was made to the loyalty of the nation, and that appeal was answered. Some subscribed in the hope of gain; others to curry favor; and, with all these various interests, eighteen millions were subscribed in a few days. As an additional inducement, it was promised that the capital, if claimed, should be repaid within two years after a definitive treaty of peace. The peace of Amiens came in 1802, and the holders were, therefore, entitled to demand, on the 27th of March, 1804, £100 sterling for each £100 stock, although the latter was at a heavy discount. It need hardly be added, that the claim was made; and, as money was not sufficiently plentiful, it was arranged that, for every £100 of the three per cent. loyalty loan, £100 Navy five per cent. should be given, and for the difference between the money-price of the latter and £100 sterling, the holder should receive the amount in three per cents. The whole entailed a heavy loss upon the country, and this was more to be regretted, because upwards of eight millions of this loan had been gathered by the Jews, and by two city banking-houses.