Note 775 — XIV. OF CERTAIN CUSTOMS.
Henri Van Laun translation
An allusion to the bankruptcy of some hospitals in Paris, which ruined many persons who had advanced money on annuities. This bankruptcy took place in the year 1689, and the fourth edition of the “Characters,” in which the above paragraph first appeared, was published the same year. The original has also a play on words, on le fonds perdu, to sink money in an annuity, and un bien perdu, money irretrievably lost.