Poetry · Chapter
Business explained
Two high-ranking villains attempt to rob a bank but find it impenetrable.
What happens
Two high-ranking villains attempt to rob a bank but find it impenetrable. Instead, they buy stock in the bank and become its President and Cashier, using their positions for crime. The narrator admits to overdrawing and fleeing.
Themes in this chapter
Hypocrisy and Corruption
The villains become bank officials, using legitimate positions to commit crime, highlighting institutional hypocrisy.
Deception and Self-Deception
The villains deceive themselves and others, believing their scheme is safe while engaging in theft.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The narrator recounts the tale and confesses to overdrawing and leaving.
Key passages
“Two villains of the highest rank Set out one night to rob a bank.”
Two highly respected criminals planned to rob a bank.
Introduces the protagonists as both villainous and of high status.
“So, full of hope, the following day To the exchange they took their way And bought, with manner free and frank, Some stock of that devoted bank; And they became, inside the year, One President and one Cashier.”
The next day, they confidently bought stock in the bank and within a year became its President and Cashier.
Describes the ironic twist where the would-be robbers become bank leaders.
“Their crime I can no further trace— The means of safety to embrace, I overdrew and left the place.”
I cannot follow their crime further; to protect myself, I overdrew my account and fled.
The narrator confesses to his own financial crime and escape.