LONDON, 1st February, 1878. £1000, 0s. 0d.
Three months after date pay to me or my order the sum of one thousand pounds, value received.
John Smith is said to be the #drawer# of the bill; Thomas Jones is the #drawee#, and the bill amounts to a claim on the part of John Smith that Thomas Jones owes him the sum named. If the drawee acknowledges that this is the case, he signifies it when the bill is presented to him, by writing on the back the word "accepted," together with his name.
Now if the drawer and drawee of a bill are persons of good credit, a banker will readily discount such a bill, that is, buy it up for the sum due, after subtracting interest at the rate of say five per cent. per annum for the length of time the bill has to run. The bill forms good security, because, when accepted, John Smith is bound to pay the thousand pounds when due, and if he fails, the drawee is liable. Such bills are often bought by one person after another, being #endorsed# by each to the next, that is, impressed with an order that the money shall be paid to the next person named. When due the last owner must claim the money from John Smith, and if he refuses to pay, each owner has a claim upon the previous owners.
#87. Industry is Periodic#. Everybody ought to understand that trade varies in activity, from time to time, in a periodic manner. #A thing is said to vary periodically, when it comes and goes at nearly equal intervals# like the sun, or rises and falls like the tides. Now, in industry, as Mr. William Langton pointed out twenty years ago, there are tides almost as regular as those of the sea. Shakespeare says truly-- "There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune."
Some of these tides depend upon the seasons of the year; business is more active in the spring and summer, and falls off in winter. It is comparatively easy to borrow money in January, February, March, June, July, August, and September; October and November are particularly bad months; the rate of interest then often runs up rapidly, and the bankruptcies in these months are more numerous than at any other time of year. April and May are also dangerous months, but in a less degree. Men of business should always bear these facts in mind, and, by being prepared beforehand, they may escape disaster.