A MODERN ALCHEMIST
A fortnight had passed since Ivan sent his advertisement for
insertion, when, one morning, and again it was Saturday morning, Peter
Saffran came and told him that two gentlemen had just arrived, who
wished to see the mine.
"They must be foreigners," he added, "since they spoke French
together." Peter's life as a sailor had given him some knowledge of
the French tongue.
"I shall be with them immediately," returned Ivan, who was busy
pouring a green liquid through a pointed felt hat. "Let them meanwhile
get into the usual miner's dress."
"That is already done; they are all ready for you."
"Very good. I am going. And how are you getting on, Peter?"
"With the wedding? Everything is in order; to-morrow we shall be
called in church for the third time."
"And when shall you be betrothed?"
"It is just now Advent, and our priest will not marry us; but on the
first Sunday after the Three Kings we shall have the wedding. I am not
at all annoyed at the delay, for I have to get together a little
money. When a man marries he must have all sorts of things--furniture
and the like; and something for the cold winter into the bargain."
"And have you put by nothing out of your wages?"
"Yes, sir; I had over a hundred and fifty gulden laid by. I had spared
everything on myself--food and drink, and even the pipe--and I had got
together this sum. Then what should the devil do but bring the
recruiting commission down here, and I had to give all my money into
the greasy palm of the examining doctor, so that he might report me as
being unfit for service because I squinted. It's a trick I have. I can
squint for a quarter of an hour together, although my eyes are
straight; on this account I shall be let off by the doctor, but my
hundred and fifty gulden are gone. I shall have to squint at the
marriage ceremony, for the priest only marries me because I am unfit
for service."
"Well, Peter, you may count upon some help from me."
"Thank you, sir, but I don't like loans; that is like eating one's
supper at dinner."
By this time they had reached the place where the strangers were
waiting.
"Ah," cried Ivan, "so it is you, Felix!" and he held out his hand
cordially to the visitor.
The old acquaintance whom Ivan called Felix looked as if he belonged
to another generation. His soft complexion, carefully waxed mustache,
short imperial, his fine, dark-blue eyes, and particularly the shape
of his head, and the way it was placed on his shoulders, taken
together with his elegant dress, which the rough miner's blouse could
not quite conceal, betrayed the man of the world. When he spoke, his
voice was almost womanly; the tone was clear and high, like one of the
Pope's choir.
Felix hastened at once to put his friend's mind at ease upon a
necessary part of his visit.
"I hope you will forgive our putting up at the inn. I was sure you
would have made us welcome, but you are a busy man, and you would not
care to be at the bother of entertaining us; besides, like all men of
business, you are, I dare say, a little in the rough, and the inn is
really very comfortable. May I introduce you to my travelling
companion, Gustav Rauné? He is a mine-surveyor and engineer."
Ivan was well pleased at his friend's forethought in the matter of
hospitality; not that he would not have made him welcome so far as lay
in his power--and there were unoccupied rooms in the house which would
have accommodated the two men--but his manner of life would have been
disturbed. He had never for one moment thought of entertaining a
guest.
"My house," he said, frankly, "is not fitted to receive my friends,
and, indeed, none come; but the inn is also mine. I trust you will
consider yourselves my guests while you remain here."
"We accept your offer," returned the other; "the more readily, since
we have really come here on your business. Yesterday I read your
advertisement. You require an overseer?"
"I do." Ivan looked doubtfully at the two gentlemen.
"No, no; it is not for me," laughed Felix. "I understand nothing of
the business; but Rauné is inclined to join you, should he find that
there are capabilities here for real work. Rauné is an old friend of
mine. He has learned his business under Erenzoter. You know the firm
of Erenzoter? He is thoroughly up in the whole thing."
Rauné all this time said not a word, perhaps for the best of reasons,
that, being a Frenchman, he did not understand the language in which
the others spoke. He was a small man, slight, and well-made, with
penetrating eyes, a sharp-cut face, and very long mustache.
To this gentleman Ivan explained in fluent French that he would be
glad to show him all the properties of the Bondavara mine before going
closer into the matter of engaging him permanently.
After these courtesies they went down into the pit. Here the two men
were soon convinced that each was thoroughly conversant with the whole
machinery and working of a mine. Sometimes they held different
opinions upon certain systems, and in the dispute or argument which
would arise each disputant saw that the other had nothing to learn
from him.
Rauné displayed extraordinary quickness and knowledge in valuing the
coal stratum. Even without looking at the geometrical maps he was able
to decide upon the probable profit, as also upon the probable extent
of the layer or stratum beyond the actual ground covered by Ivan's
pit. His valuation agreed in almost every particular with that already
made by Ivan. By mid-day the inspection was over, and they went to the
inn for dinner, having first given some time to washing and general
purification. A visit to a pit is by no means a cleanly undertaking.
The afternoon was devoted to the inspection of the distilling-ovens,
and in the evening they went over the foundry. When they returned from
the foundry, Felix went in with Ivan to his house, while Rauné
returned to the inn.
Ivan led his old acquaintance into his workroom, where, in truth, a
wonderful disorder prevailed, cleared a chair, full of maps and books,
for him to sit upon, and told him to light his cigar at a chemical
lamp of a new construction. After a pause Felix began:
"You were always of an inquiring mind, Ivan. I remember well how at
college you distanced every one. As for me, I was a pygmy near a
giant. Now, tell me truly, have all your science, your industry, and
your physical exertions made you a rich man?"
Ivan laughed. "This mine gives me an annual income of ten thousand
gulden."
"In other words, it produces nothing, or, at least, next to nothing.
You are director, overseer, cashier, engineer, secretary, bookkeeper,
and conveyer of goods, and you receive, roughly calculated, just what
you would have to pay these employés if you had not united all their
different offices in yourself. In other words, your work, your talent,
your studies, your zeal, your expenditure of thought and strength upon
this mine of yours only bring you in the miserable return which any
proprietor would give to a man who filled only one of these offices.
As a fact, you don't get a farthing by it."
"The mine is not to blame, neither am I; it is the result of a small
consumption, and, in consequence of this, the production cannot be
increased."
"I will tell you in two words where the fault lies. In the present day
strength is alone to be found in co-operation. In the political world
the smaller states go to the wall; they are forced to tack themselves
on to larger ones, and so form a union. It is the same in the
commercial world; small tradesmen must give way to the larger
co-operative centres, and it is better for them to understand this,
and make part of a company."
"There is no danger of our foundry closing; our iron and our coal take
a first place, and could not be crushed out."
"An additional reason for developing my idea--an idea which, I may as
well tell you, was the factor that brought me here. You have already
guessed, I imagine, that I am not such a good fellow as to undertake
the journey solely on Rauné's account. He is not a chicken, and could
have introduced himself. I have a great plan in my head. I intend to
make you a wealthy man, and, naturally, I shall feather my own nest at
the same time."
"How so?"
"I do not know where I once read this short synopsis of how different
nations acquire money: 'The Hungarian seeks it, the German earns it,
the Frenchman wins it, and the American makes it.' It is a most
characteristic description. You have only to watch the Hungarian, how
he seeks in every hole and puddle for a piece of gold; the German will
work in the sweat of his brow till he gets his reward, a piece of
gold; the light-hearted Frenchman will win the last piece of gold his
victim has; but the Yankee sits in a corner, gnaws his finger-nails,
and makes his pile. Yes, gold lies in undiscovered millions, only
waiting to be 'made.'"
"Where does it lie?"
"In the capabilities of life, in bold undertakings, in the concealed
treasures of the earth, which require development, and in the outlay
of capital; in new discoveries, in the extension of the means of
communication, in the increase of luxury, in the follies of mankind,
in the exertions made by scientists; and especially in the money-box
where small capitalists keep their gold, which should circulate
through large channels to be of use. The number of small capitals
should be thrown into one large, commercial mart, and by means of this
credit every gulden would bring in three times its value. This is the
art of the American; this is how to make a pile of gold. It is a
splendid art, an honest art, and it seems to thrive with those who
adopt it."
When he had concluded this rather long-winded exordium, Felix threw
himself back in his chair with an air as who should say, "Are you not
dazzled with the brilliancy of my conception? Is not Felix Kaulmann
one of the greatest financiers of the day? Surely you are convinced
that he is."
So far as that went, the name had a fair reputation. The Kaulmanns had
always been in finance, and were well-known bankers. Of late, since
Felix had inherited the business from his father, the firm were more
before the public. Ivan knew his old schoolfellow well; he looked at
him now quietly.
"How do you propose to make a pile out of my pit?"
"I have a big scheme in my head."
"But the whole pit is anything but big."
"So it appears to you, because you don't view it from my standpoint.
You have sought for diamonds in the mine, but it has never occurred to
you that there may be iron ore. This pit produces, you tell me, a
profit of ten thousand gulden; that is the interest of two hundred
thousand florins. I can get you a company who will buy the whole place
out and out for two hundred thousand florins."
"But I would not part with my pit at any price. I am here in my
element, like the mud-worm in the mud."
"You need not leave it--certainly not; on the contrary, if you wished
to go, I would keep you chained, if necessary. The company will start
with a recognized capital of four millions; we will form a large
business, which on one side will ruin Prussian coal, on the other side
will drive the English iron out of market. You shall be the principal
director of the business, with a yearly salary of ten thousand
florins, and two shares in the business; besides which you will be
allowed to take, if you wish it, a portion of the purchase-money in
bonds at par, and these will bear interest at twenty per cent. You
will enjoy an income of thirty thousand florins, instead of your
beggarly ten thousand florins, which you now have, and, into the
bargain, hardly any work."
Ivan listened to this proposal without interrupting the speaker. When
Felix had finished, he said, in a calm voice--
"My dear Felix, if I were to propose to a company ready provided with
four millions the purchase of a business which up to the present had
only produced ten thousand guldens profit, and which profit could
never in the future realize more than eight hundred thousand gulden,
do you not think I would be a despicable villain? If, on the other
hand, I placed my own money in such a company, I should be equally a
perfect fool."
At this clear definition of his recent proposal Felix burst into a
peal of laughter. Then, passing his pliant little walking-stick behind
his back, he placed both his hands on the ends, and said with an air
of profound wisdom--
"You have not heard all my plan. It has not altogether to do with your
colony. You know well that your pit is only a small portion of the
monster coal stratum of the Bonda Valley, which stretches far away--as
far, indeed, as Muld Valley. I intend to buy this entire region; it
can be had now for a mere song, and when properly worked it will be
worth millions--millions earned by honest means. No stealing or taking
unfair advantage of any one. We only raise a treasure which lies at
our feet, so to speak, which is there ready for us, or for any one.
It needs only sufficient strength on the part of those who lift it."
"That is quite another thing. Now I can understand your scheme. I will
also not contradict your assertion that it is lawful and generous; but
it is just because it is so that it is full of holes. It is quite true
that the treasure which lies concealed in the Bonda Valley is
immense--it is possible that it represents millions; but this treasure
cannot be discovered, for the Bondavara property is not for sale."
"Really!"
"I will tell you why; because at this moment it belongs to Prince
Bondavary, who is one of the richest men in this country."
"I should imagine that no one knows better than I do how rich he is."
"In the next place, this man is one of the proudest of our
aristocrats, to whom I, for one, would not venture to make the
proposal to turn his old family property--the cradle, we might say, of
his race--into a mine to be worked by a company."
"Oh, so far as that goes, we have seen many an ancient race glad to do
a bit of commercial dirt. The King of Italy is a crowned king; and,
nevertheless, he has sold Savoy, the place from which his family took
their name and the right to have a cross on their shield."
"Well, suppose the old prince were inclined to sell this property, he
could not do so as long as his sister, the Countess Bondavary, is
alive. Her father left the castle and the property round about to his
daughter, who is now nearly fifty-eight, and may live yet another
thirty years. She has grown up in that castle; she has, to my
knowledge, never left it, not even for one day; she hates the world,
and no human power would induce her to part with her beloved
Bondavara to a coal company, not if the last remaining stratum were to
be found under the castle, and without this the world should perish
from want of fuel."
Felix laughed, then answered with an air of ineffable conceit--
"I have conquered greater difficulties than an old maid's fad, and for
the matter of that, women's hearts are not locked with a Bramah key."
"Well, let us suppose," said Ivan, good-humoredly, "that you have
overcome the prejudices of the prince and his sister, and that you
have actually started your monster company. Then begin all the
technical difficulties; for what is the first necessary to an
undertaking of the kind?"
"A sufficient supply of money."
"By no means. A sufficient supply of workmen."
"Wherever money is plentiful, human beings are pretty sure to flock."
"Between men and men there is a wonderful difference. This is an
article in which one is likely to be easily deceived. With us there is
a want of first-class workmen."
"We would get men from France and Belgium."
"But the men who would come from France and Belgium would not work for
the wages we give our men. They would ask double. In such a commercial
undertaking, the first false step would be to raise the wages to more
than the old system, for my conviction is that every industrial
enterprise to be safe must work upon its own internal capabilities. We
should measure our strength according to the circumstances in which we
find ourselves, and we should educate our own workmen; draw them to us
by learning together. The trade should extend slowly, but surely, by
small experiments."
"You are too cautious. I can convince you to the contrary. For
instance, a steam-engine of a hundred-horse power needs just the same
labor to work it as one of four-horse power; and a small business
requires as many account-books as a large one, and small undertakings
in like manner, even if they are in themselves lucrative, will
eventually be swamped by the larger ones on account of the want of the
proper activity, without which all trade dies of itself."
"Nevertheless, there is less danger of sudden collapse in a small
business," returned Ivan, reflectively. "I like a certainty."
"And what certainty have you? Suppose, just for the sake of argument,
that one bright morning the Austrian minister of trade listens to the
petition of the English iron masters, and that the free importation of
raw iron is allowed. Your neighbor over there will at once shut his
foundry, and you may go and sell your coal to the smithy, eh, Ivan?"
"I have gone into all that. Our raw iron can compete with the English,
and there would be--"
"Your ideas are _rococo_; they belong to the last century. If America
had worked on these lines she would not have overshadowed Europe."
"That may be. What I maintain is that foreign workmen are a bad
investment. Those who come to us are, for the most part, men who
cannot get on in their own country; restless fellows, ever wanting
change; members of secret societies, socialists, and atheists; and so
soon as they get among our men they begin disseminating their vicious
doctrines, and the next thing is a strike for higher wages."
"Have you ever had a strike here?"
"Never!"
"How do you prevent it?"
"That is my secret, which cannot be told in a few words. I am,
however, convinced of one thing: the first obstacle a company would
have to contend against would be the price of labor, and the second
difficulty would be to secure the services of a really capable
overseer; one who would understand the _technique_ of the business."
"We could easily get one from abroad."
"That might be; but I, as a private individual, could get one easily
if I had sufficient money to pay him, for I could choose the best for
my purpose, and could give him what I chose, as far as his merits
deserved."
Felix laughed at Ivan's description. "That is it exactly, as if you
read it out of a book; and just on this account I intend to give the
complete direction of the business to a man who understands it to a T,
and this man is you."
"That is a complete mistake. I do understand the working of my own
small business, but I am quite ignorant of the ways of a great
concern. Like many another small man, I should be a child in the hands
of big speculators, and I should probably wreck the whole concern."
"You are too modest. On the contrary, I think you would outwit the big
speculators."
"Well, suppose all went according to your wishes, or, rather, as it
presents itself to your imagination. The great business is in full
swing, delivers goods at moderate prices, and in sufficient quantity.
Now comes the real objection--the topographical impediment. The Bonda
coal-mine is twenty miles from the nearest railway, and twenty-five
miles from the nearest river. On your way here you must have noticed
the state of the roads. During four months of the year we can send no
freight to a distance, and at any time the cost of transporting our
coal and iron adds so much to the price that it is impossible for us
to compete with either Prussia or England."
"I know all that," said Felix, stroking his beard with the coral head
of his stick; "but a light railway would soon settle all this. We
could run it from Bonda Valley to the principal emporium." He spoke as
if running light railways were a mere trifle.
"A railway through the Bonda Valley!" returned Ivan, in a tone of
surprise. "And do you really believe that with a capital of four
millions you could construct a railway twenty miles long?"
"Certainly not. That would be quite a separate affair."
"And do you think you would find people ready to advance money for
such an uncertain return as mere luggage traffic would insure to the
shareholders in such a railway?"
Felix moved his stick from his beard to his mouth, and began to suck
the top.
"And why not," he said, at last, "when the state would guarantee a
certain rate of interest on the advance?"
Ivan opened his eyes still wider, and placed upon each word an
emphasis.
"The state will give to this railway a guarantee of interest! You will
excuse me, Kaulmann--that is not possible."
Felix answered, after some consideration, "There are certain keys by
which the bureaus of even ministers of state can be opened." After
this oracular speech he was silent, pressing the top of his stick upon
his lips, as if to restrain his words.
Ivan drew out the drawer of his writing-desk and took therefrom a
piece of black bread.
"Do you see this? People who eat such coarse stuff don't dance
attendance upon ministers."
Felix threw his head back with a scornful laugh and twisted his stick
impatiently between his fingers.
"_Allons, n'en parlons plus_," he said. "You have plenty of time to
make up your mind, for what I have once resolved to do, that I do. I
am quite ready to bet with you that I shall secure the Bonda Valley
property from under the nose of the old prince and the faddy countess,
and that the largest factory in the kingdom shall be established
_here_, and the trade carried on with the outside world. This will all
come to pass, as sure as my name is Felix Kaulmann."
"Well, I wish you every luck in your undertaking, but for my part I
will have none of it."
The arrival of Rauné interrupted the conversation. The Frenchman
explained that he had considered Ivan's offer, and was ready to agree
to his conditions and to enter on its office at once. Thereupon Ivan
gave him his hand as a sign that the agreement was concluded. Then he
handed him the books and the strong-box, the former with the complete
list of the pitmen, the laborers, the girls, and boys engaged in the
mine; the latter with the money which was paid to them for the week's
work, and he asked the new overseer to appoint a room in the inn,
where he was going to live, as the place where the miners should come
to be paid.
As it happened, this was a Saturday, and therefore on this evening
the overseer should enter on his new duties.
The inn was exactly opposite to Ivan's house. Groups of pitmen
collected on the vacant space between the two houses. Ivan went to the
window to see in what order the payments would be made by the new
director. Felix also amused himself by means of his pocket-glass,
staring at all the women.
"Ah!" he exclaimed, suddenly, "that little Cinderella over there in
the red skirt wouldn't be bad for the model of a bronze statuette. I
should like her to teach me how to say 'I love you' in the Slav
language."
"Take care," laughed Ivan; "she is betrothed, and her lover is called
a man-eater."
Just then Peter Saffran came out of the tavern. He had received
Evila's money with his own, and offered it to her. She, however,
refused to take it, and the pair went off together in good-humor with
one another. The young girl's hand was upon Peter's arm, and as she
passed the window they heard her singing.
"_Saperlot!_ What a voice!" exclaimed the banker. "Why, she beats
Thérèse. If she were in Paris--"
He didn't finish his sentence. Ivan lit a cigar, and sat smoking
silently.