His most important hint was on the moneys of this part of the world. There is something in the simplicity of a decimal coinage which is revolting to the human mind; thus the French, in small affairs, reckon strictly by halfpence; and you have to solve, by a spasm of mental arithmetic, such posers as thirty-two, forty-five, or even a hundred halfpence. In the Pacific States they have made a bolder push for complexity, and settle their affairs by a coin that no longer that no longer exists⁠—the “bit,” or old Mexican real. The supposed value of the bit is twelve and a half cents, eight to the dollar. When it comes to two bits, the quarter-dollar stands for the required amount. But how about an odd bit? The nearest coin to it is a dime, which is, short by a fifth. That, then, is called a “short bit.” If you have one, you lay it triumphantly down, and save two and a half cents. But if you have not, and lay down a quarter, the barkeeper or shopman calmly tenders you a dime by way of change; and thus you have paid what is called a “long bit,” and lost two and a half cents, or even, by comparison with a short bit, five cents.