On this principle he traces the origin of bankrupts
from the ancient Roman _mensarii_ or _argentarii_, who had their
_tabernae_ or _mensae_ in certain public places; and who, when they
fled, or made off with the money that had been entrusted to them, left
only the sign or shadow of their former station behind them.
P.T.W.
* * * * *
ORIGIN OF THE WORD _BROKER_, &c.
(_For the Mirror._)
The origin of this word is contested; some derive it from the French
_broyer, "to grind_;" others from _brocader, to cavil or riggle_; others
deduce broker from a trader _broken_, and that from the Saxon _broc_,
"misfortune," which is often the true reason of a man's breaking. In
which view, a broker is a broken trader, by misfortune; and it is said
that none but such were formerly admitted to that employment. The Jews,
Armenians, and Banians are the chief brokers throughout most parts of
the Levant and the Indies. In Persia, all affairs are transacted by a
sort of brokers, whom they call "_delal_" i.e. "_great talkers_." Their
form of contract in buying and selling is remarkable, being done in the
profoundest silence, only by touching each other's fingers:--The buyer,
loosening his _pamerin_, or girdle, spreads it on his knee; and both he
and the seller, having their hands underneath, by the intercourse of the
fingers, mark the price of pounds, shillings, &c.
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