This act, however, did not
prevent young Ellison from entering into possession, on his
twenty-first birthday, as the heir of his ancestor Seabright, of a
fortune of four hundred and fifty millions of dollars.*
* An incident, similar in outline to the one here imagined,
occurred, not very long ago, in England. The name of the fortunate
heir was Thelluson. I first saw an account of this matter in the
"Tour" of Prince Puckler Muskau, who makes the sum inherited ninety
millions of pounds, and justly observes that "in the contemplation
of so vast a sum, and of the services to which it might be applied,
there is something even of the sublime." To suit the views of this
article I have followed the Prince's statement, although a grossly
exaggerated one. The germ, and in fact, the commencement of the
present paper was published many years ago- previous to the issue of
the first number of Sue's admirable "Juif Errant," which may
possibly have been suggested to him by Muskau's account.
When it had become known that such was the enormous wealth
inherited, there were, of course, many speculations as to the mode
of its disposal. The magnitude and the immediate availability of the
sum bewildered all who thought on the topic. The possessor of any
appreciable amount of money might have been imagined to perform any
one of a thousand things.
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