THE MOTIVES OF MISERS.
[TO TILE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."1
have found the article headed •" The Motives of Misers" in the Spectator of December 28th extremely in- trresting. An instance has, however, come under my notice which seems to show that in the case of some misers the principle which you state as follows does not apply in its simplicity, but is modified by the operation of other• m( tives. You say : " It is a notorious fact in the lives of great misers that so acute is their terror of robbery that they will sacrifice willingly large sums obtainable in interest rather than suffer their accumulations out of their sight." In the instance known to me the impelling motives appear to be, as I have stated, somewhat more complex. The person I refer to is swayed by the varying motives of being indisposed to lose the interest obtainable on his accumulation, while at the same time he is unwilling that it should pass entirely out of his sight. He has therefore paid it into a bank, where it earns the usual deposit rate of interest. But the desire of seeing and of handling his treasure is so strong that he with- draws it from his bank from time to time in gold. He thus satisfies himself by an examination of the concrete entity that his accumulation, which be feels to be only in posse while it is merely represented to him by a few ciphers in a bank pass-book, is really in esse as he looks at the glittering heap. After a few days of such gratification as this may afford him he pays it back into the bank, where it remains until he again feels an overmastering desire to see, touch, and handle it. It has occurred to me that this may prove of interest to some of your readers. I do not imagine that this is by any means an isolated instance of such com- plexity of motive. For obvious reasons I conceal my name and place of residence.—I am, Sir, &c., ONLOOKER.
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