Greece, drachm and lepta; in Roumania, lei and bani: in Servia, dinar
and para; in Spain, peseta and centesimo; but in all cases the value
is the same.

The similarity in the coinage of different countries is worth notice.
A very slight change in the percentage of silver used would render
the half-guilder of Austria, the krone of the Scandinavian Union, the
franc of the Latin Union, the mark of Germany, the half-guilder of
Holland, the quarter-ruble of Russia, the 200-reis piece of Portugal,
the 5-piastre piece of Turkey, the half-milreis of Brazil and the
half-rupee of India, all interchangeable with the English shilling,
and all of them about the value of the quarter-dollar of North and
South American coinage. With the exception of Brazil, the other South
American States, as well as Mexico and the Central American countries,
are all rapidly approximating a uniform coinage, which the needs of
commerce will unquestionably soon harmonize with that of the United
States. Curiously enough, the great force that is assimilating the
alien branches of the human race is not Christianity but trade.


A HISTORY OF THE PANIC OF 1857.--The cause of the panic of 1857 was
mainly the rage for land speculation which had run through the country
like an epidemic. Paper cities abounded, unproductive railroads were
opened, and to help forward these projects, irresponsible banks were
started, or good banks found themselves drawn into an excessive issue
of notes. Every one was anxious to invest in real estate and become
rich by an advance in prices. Capital was attracted into this
speculation by the prospect of large gains, and so great was the
demand for money that there was a remarkable advance in the rates of
interest. In the West, where the speculative fever was at its highest,