Threadneedle-street" to tell us something of her history, her household,
and her daily life, seeing that most of us contribute to her
housekeeping, some more, some less.

We trust her so completely that "safe as the Bank of England" has passed
into a proverb; yet, for all that, we should like the old lady's own
account of how she came into existence, and how she became such a power
in the land, and what she does with all the money we lend her, and out
of what purse she pays us for the loan.

She certainly ought to be able to tell an interesting tale--for her
palace, her servants, her house-keeping, her treasures, her cellars, her
expenditure, her receipts and clearing, the frights she has every now
and again both given and received, must each and all be more amusing and
full of interest than any fairy tale told by Grimm or Andersen.


CHAPTER I.

THE STORY OF THE OLD LADY OF THREADNEEDLE STREET.

And so you want me to tell you the story of my life! Telling tales is
not quite in my line, but I will do the best I can; and should I become
garrulous and tedious, as old ladies are wont sometimes to be, you must
recall me by a gentle reminder that you live in the present century,
whose characteristics are short, decisive, and by all means amusing.

My career has been a strange and eventful one, as you yourselves will
see if I can interest you sufficiently to listen to the end.