Mark Twain most likely created the character of Henry Adams as an American living in England to better compare and contrast American and British social tendencies.
Twain uses the stories of Henry Adams to show that Americans need to be honest, patient, self-disciplined, and witty. This story is no exception. Henry needs to be intelligent to obtain things just for having a milloin pound bank note, and he need self-discipline to not over spend the money that people lend him so that he can ultimately repay it.