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Dreiser, Theodore, 1871-1945

"The Financier, a novel"


Just at this time there came to the Cowperwoods an uncle who had not
previously appeared in the life of the family. He was a brother of Mrs.
Cowperwood's--Seneca Davis by name--solid, unctuous, five feet ten in
height, with a big, round body, a round, smooth head rather bald, a
clear, ruddy complexion, blue eyes, and what little hair he had of
a sandy hue. He was exceedingly well dressed according to standards
prevailing in those days, indulging in flowered waistcoats, long,
light-colored frock-coats, and the invariable (for a fairly prosperous
man) high hat. Frank was fascinated by him at once. He had been a
planter in Cuba and still owned a big ranch there and could tell him
tales of Cuban life--rebellions, ambuscades, hand-to-hand fighting with
machetes on his own plantation, and things of that sort. He brought
with him a collection of Indian curies, to say nothing of an independent
fortune and several slaves--one, named Manuel, a tall, raw-boned black,
was his constant attendant, a bodyservant, as it were. He shipped raw
sugar from his plantation in boat-loads to the Southwark wharves in
Philadelphia.


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