Merchant Company issued $10-$year bonds on January $1.$ The $8\%$ bonds have a face value of $$95,000$ and pay interest every January $1$ and July $1.$ The bonds were sold for $$114,581$ based on the market interest rate of $6\%.$ Merchant uses the effective interest rate method to amortize bond discounts and premiums. On July $1$ of the first year, Merchant should record interest expense $($round to the nearest dollar$)$ of