ENTITLED _AL-MAHALLAT AL-JADIDA_, OR THE NEW QUARTER OF THE CITY
“As I proceeded the next morning across the waste” (continued Mahmoud
to his nephews on their next visit) “I turned over in my mind how
best to employ the considerable sum which my honest mule bore so
patiently upon his back. Here was a year’s sustenance for fifty
labourers or more, and with so much money a man earns more. For, as
it is written in the Holy Book, ‘_The labourer is worthy of his hire,
but whatever is over is not for him_.’ And again, ‘_Blessed are the
poor_.’
“There are not wanting occasions for the employment of poorer men and
the gathering of the fruits of their labour into one’s own pouch. But
there is one difficulty in all such matters, which is the point of
judgment.
“You will recollect (my dear nephews) how often in the past a most
careful investment of mine had gone wrong, and how often a mere
hazard, not even of my own choosing, had brought me sudden fortune.
How in the matter of the sheep I was beaten almost to death by the
market-police, while in the matter of the horse I had sold, three
times over, an animal that had cost me nothing and had fallen to me
by the pure goodness of God. How in the matter of the dates I had
been left penniless by a man of greater Business Sense, Foresight,
Organizing Ability, Eye for the Market, Knowledge of Men, and the
rest of the virtues; while in the Matter of the Holy Man I had--as
my weary mule proved--done extremely well out of a quite unexpected
accident. Even as this last example passed through my mind I
remembered, for the first time, that the mule himself was a new
accession of fortune, over and above the silver he carried. For I had
not had the inconvenience of paying for him. He was a fine beast, and
in spite of his fatigue still looked well bred. I estimated him at
quite ten pieces of gold, and mentally added that sum on my tablets
to the total value of my possessions.
“It was so musing that I found myself approaching a high tangle of
reeds, through which a narrow path wound and was lost to view. On
this path I engaged. The reeds on either side were so tall as to hide
the farther landscape, and so closely set that one could see but a
few yards into their mass.
“After perhaps an hour of such journeying my mule and I came out
suddenly upon the firm bank of a broad and shallow river whose noise
and coolness, swift current and clear stream were a delight after
so many hours of arid travel. There did I sit me down. There did I
unload and hobble my patient companion. There did we drink of the
good water, and there did the mule eat plentifully of cool grass. But
I made no meal, for the oat-cakes and cheese which I had taken from
the Common Table of the Poor in the Pilgrims’ camp were now exhausted.
“It was this circumstance which made me a little anxious for the
day. I looked about me, stood up on the highest part of the bank, and
then saw that the shore opposite had been artificially heightened to
form a regular levee or embankment, beyond which the flat country was
hidden. I determined to seek this point of advantage for a view. I
reloaded my mule, carefully forded the stream in its various branches
and climbed to the farther shore.
“At the summit of the embankment, which was evidently of recent
construction, my effort was well rewarded, for I saw a sight that set
at rest all anxiety for food and shelter.
“The embankment on which I stood swept round in a horseshoe
shape--not everywhere finished, but everywhere traced out. It thus
enclosed a peninsula, bounded by the river: a space of marshy ground
full of stagnant pools and water-grasses. Three or four furlongs
away, cutting across the whole neck of the horseshoe of swamp and
stretching from the river to the river again, ran the well-built
stone wall of a strong town, the flat roofs and low domes of which
(it had no tower or minaret) made a ridge of snow-white against the
intense blue of the sky. Far away beyond were distant mountains,
purple in the heat.
“Scattered over the swamp itself and on the unfinished sections of
the embankment were groups of labourers working with spades and
barrows, and, overseeing them, nearby to me, a young man of energetic
carriage, well dressed in a brown garment, rich, but suitable to
his work and girded. He had no sandals, for they would have impeded
him on such ground; he bore an inlaid ebon staff with an ivory
hand-grasp, and was occupied, when I first saw him, in shouting a new
order to a distant group of diggers. His back was towards me. He had
not seen my approach.
“As he turned, to proceed along the levee towards another group,
he caught sight of my mule and myself and at once started to run,
pouring out when he had reached us a mixed flood of greetings,
warnings, and varied exclamations.
“‘We were to beware of the embankment! It was but just raised and was
not yet stable! Was it not a fine work? Half-completed, as we saw it,
it had taken but three months. Did I notice how thoroughly it had cut
off the river? Had I not found it firm as I came up it from the bank?
Would I be pleased to go carefully lest the edge should be injured?
... and so on.
“It was clear from such a salutation with what sort of man I had to
deal. Here was an Enthusiast. It is a character of the utmost service
to the Man of Affairs. He was of that sort which is labelled in our
indexes as ‘The Constructive Wild Man,’ and happy is the Captain of
Industry who chances upon such a one. He was perhaps thirty years
of age, strong, short in stature, very dark in complexion, with
steady but eager eyes, and such an expression of grasp, resolution,
and immediate decision as should lead to a fortune, not perhaps for
himself but at least for anyone who knew how to use him; for he
was as keen as a boy upon the matter occupying him, and therefore
careless for the moment of all other things.
“I answered him with a mixture of sympathy, caution, and gravity,
which I was glad to see impressed him. I praised his work vaguely
but courteously enough. I asked the names of the river and the town,
and also his own. All these he gave me; and then asked me whether
I would not share the mid-day meal he was about to take. I said I
should be overjoyed to do so: and so I was, for I saw the prospect
of refreshment at the charges of another, an opportunity, which
remember--my dear nephews--is never to be neglected by men of clear
commercial judgment.
“He led me, followed by the mule, to a shady place where a few trees
stood on a drier part of the enclosed plain. There we found excellent
meats, and there we reclined for above an hour, during the whole of
which he did not cease to overwhelm me with description, praise, and
prospect of the great enterprise in which he was wholly absorbed.
“This horseshoe bend, he told me, outside his native town, had never
been utilized. It was flooded in the spring when the snow melted
on the distant hills; the rest of the year it was a mixture of dry
cracked mud and marsh, breeding fever, full of insects and ill-airs
at evening. He had been left an orphan and was apprenticed to a maker
of mill-wheels, such as were used in the stream above the city. One
day the idea had occurred to him that such instruments could be used
not only for the grinding of corn but for the raising of water from
ditches and therefore for draining.
“With that his grand project had rushed into his mind. Why should
not the marsh, which had so far been so serious a trouble, be turned
to the profit of the city? An embankment would keep out floods,
drains cut through the enclosed marsh would collect the water and dry
the whole. These drains could be regularly pumped out by wheels which
the outer stream would turn, and a large area of good land would be
added to the crowded town. On this new buildings could be raised and
gardens laid out, to the great profit of all the citizens. For the
city was increasing in importance, people were flocking in, there was
crowding and difficulty and high rents, yet no place over which to
expand between the marsh and the hills.
“He had approached the council and headmen with this project. They
had hesitated long. At last they had grudgingly advanced from the
taxes a sum which he warned them was inadequate. Nevertheless he had
set to work, and the results were now before me. The swamp was still
swamp, the embankment not completed, of the drains not more than a
sixth were dug, and the whole was a confusion of mud-heaps, apparent
ruin and chaos, very unattractive to the eye and very unpromising, in
its outward aspect at least, of any result. It had all the character
of waste and folly--yet a sum of money, small in comparison with many
private resources and insignificant in the budget of the town, would
suffice to crown the whole and to replace the wretched prospect of
unfinished labour by a noble plain of rich gardens and new houses.
But the headmen of the city were now disgusted and would vote no
more. Rather did they threaten him with penalties for his loss of
public pence.
“I had, during this torrent of talk, interjected here and there
a question and no more. I had spoken guardedly and yet with no
disrespect for his enthusiasm. I had, as we say among the merchants,
‘sounded him.’ I asked him in conclusion what sum he thought
necessary for the completion of his enterprise. He named 300 gold
pieces, about one-quarter of what lay concealed in my sacks upon the
ground, which sacks (I had casually informed him) were filled with
coarse grain from the hills.
“Upon hearing this sum given, a sum so well within my means, an
interior light broke upon me. I did not pray for guidance, as is
my custom in any business dealing of doubt. I was directly and
immediately inspired. To this I owe the whole of my present position;
for it was the foundation of all that followed. I had suffered
vicissitude. It is the lot of man. But henceforward my soul was to be
filled with increasing and ever-increasing wealth until I should be
able to call myself, as I do now, by far the richest man in all the
Caliphate and perhaps in the world. This, my dear nephews, was the
turning-point!”
The old man’s eyes were full of tears, his voice trembled; never had
the awestruck boys imagined that their uncle, in his greatness and
serenity, could be so moved.
“Oh, my children!” he continued in broken accents, “never forget in
your own lives this master precept; that of all those whom Allah
presents to us for exploitation, none, none is so lucrative as the
Creative Enthusiast; the man who can make and produce and yet be
managed! the Genius devoid of Guile! You may know him, that rare
jewel, by his eyes.”
The old man recovered himself with dignity, wiped his eyes on a
piece of priceless embroidered silk from Samarcand, threw it out of
the window, and, in his more usual tone, pursued the recital of his
fortunes.
“The young man never dreamt that such a chance and dusty traveller as
I, with my one mule, could help him. He had merely burst out with his
story to me as he would have done to any human being that would hear
him. I had the more advantage of him from his ignorance of my real
wealth.
“I told him soberly at the end of his tale that it interested me
greatly, that his idea was evidently sound, but that the stupidity,
ignorance, and suspicion of town councillors were common not only
to his city, but to all others--a thing which I, who had travelled
widely, could judge. I assured him, out of a vast experience (which
he accepted with the utmost simplicity), that he could hope for
no more from such a source. I then fell into a sort of bemused
condition, as though I were ruminating what could next be done.
“The young man, his hopes now turned into a new channel, and,
after so brief an acquaintance (for such is the nature of these
enthusiasts) already beginning to look to me for aid, watched my face
most anxiously. I continued silent.
“At last he could bear it no longer. He asked me impetuously what
I should advise--where could he turn? What could be done? It would
be a tragedy--a murder--for his great scheme to fail merely because
its obvious advantage could not be put before anyone who had the
provision of 300 gold pieces necessary for paying the labourers till
the plan was achieved. He sprang to his feet. He walked feverishly up
and down. He betrayed all the symptoms of his case.
“I answered him with great deliberation and firmness. I said,
first of all, that I had nothing. It was a pity, for I thoroughly
understood his idea. I admired it. I believed in it. Indeed, it
was obviously sound. If I had had the wherewithal (said I) I would
at once have made the advance. If I had had even a portion I would
have put that portion at his disposal if only to show my sincere
appreciation of his genius. For it was the neglect of men like
himself (I continued) that hindered the progress of the world. But
so it was! I had but my trade as an itinerant merchant in grain to
support myself and a very large family which I had left at home in
the hills. I had nothing laid by.... However, my annual tour through
this and neighbouring provinces brought me into contact (these were
my very words) with many notables possessed of ample reserves. In
this very town--now that he had told me its name--I remembered two
or three correspondents with whom I had done business in the past,
though I had never seen them. These I would approach. And if he would
give me an appointment that evening after sunset I would tell him if
I had been able to effect anything.
“He overwhelmed me with thanks, led me to an excellent house of call
in the town, and, leaving me there with an appointed hour for our
meeting in the evening, he returned to his labours with a lighter
heart.
“I, for my part, retired to an inner room which I had hired, there
disposed of my baggage (having seen to the stabling and feeding of
my honest mule), and instantly fell upon my knees to thank Allah
with all the fervour I could muster for His abounding grace. Indeed,
my heart overflowed with gratitude when I considered the quite
exceptional opportunity. I felt about this young man as does a
caravan, when, after a weary march through the desert, there gleams
a pure lake not half an hour away. How short a space of time now lay
between this moment and the beginnings of splendid negotiations!
“Having so prayed with the deepest sincerity and humility, I first
took out exactly _two_ hundred pieces of gold from my sacks, tied
them into a kerchief about my person, and then lay down upon a mat to
sleep, first warning the servants of the place to wake me when the
young man should return. I slept soundly for many hours.
“When they woke me it was already dark. I rose at once, lit the
lamp, and received my young friend into the room. All was silent. We
were alone under the one light of that subdued flame. The hour was
propitious for what I had undertaken.
“I told him that I had spent the interval, since he left me, in
seeking my wealthy correspondents and in making myself acquainted
with their views upon the town’s circumstances and upon the
opportunities for investment. I said that I had briefly and very
cautiously mentioned the works I saw going on in the swamp as I had
approached their city, and that I had discovered at once, by their
pitying contempt for his enterprise, that there was no chance at
all of interesting them in its progress. They called it--as did all
their fellow-citizens--a folly. They bitterly regretted the public
money that had already been advanced. They would certainly advance
no more. They talked freely of bringing him to trial for wasting the
public revenue. As for any private investment of their own fortunes,
I clearly saw that it was out of the question.
“Here I paused to let this information sink in, and was pleased to
observe the growing dejection of his features. But before he could
voice his despair--though he had expected as much--I relieved him by
another strain. I told him I had raised a certain sum. Partly upon
the security of my known stores of grain (of which I was carrying
samples--pointing to the bags on the floor that contained my money),
partly on my own personal security as an honest merchant, poor but of
regular and punctual habit in payment, I had secured a loan which I
had told them was for the general purpose of increasing my business,
but which in point of fact I intended to put at his disposal--such
confidence had I in his scheme. I feared it would be insufficient,
but it would be a beginning--later we might find further means.
“His honest, eager face changed as I spoke. It was delightful to feel
that I could give so much joy, however brief, to so candid a soul.
He had, however, a certain scruple. He said it was not his business,
but he would rather there had been no ambiguity, and the money
advanced for a purpose known to the lenders.
“I praised the nobility of such hesitation, but I pointed out that
the risk was mine: that I had only spoken of ‘a general purpose of
increasing my business,’ no false phrase; that I was so certain of
_our_ success that the loan was at any rate secure. In any case,
business (of which he had little acquaintance) was always conducted
on such lines (I assured him) and my backers being also business men
would be the last to split hairs on points of honour when I paid back
their loan. This soothed him and he was now quite prepared for what
followed.
“I asked him again what sum he required? He told me he employed a
hundred labourers, that their wages came to twenty gold pieces a
week, and that he estimated fifteen weeks as the very least period
in which the whole ground could be cleared and dried and set out. In
all, he repeated, _three_ hundred pieces of gold would be required:
as he had said. I noted to myself privately once more that it
was one-quarter of my hoard, and then, when he had completed his
calculation, I thus addressed him:
“‘It is as I feared! The sum I have obtained is hardly sufficient. I
have raised but _two_ hundred pieces of gold!’ His face fell again.
‘But that will take us pretty far,’ I went on. ‘We may with care
_nearly_ complete our work, and the rest of it should be easy to
find.’
“It has always surprised me how exact such men are in judgment and
yet how little they use their talent to their own advantage. He
was anxious. He was certain that beginning on too small a sum was
dangerous. But I persuaded him; for no more (said I) could possibly
be obtained.
“What made all smooth was my proposal for Articles between us. These
generously proposed that, though I had found the money, yet of the
resultant profit we should take equal shares. ‘I propose that your
own salary during the work,’ said I, ‘should be small; indeed, no
more than your bare maintenance. For we have no margin, nay, less
than we need. But if you are not agreeable, pray name your terms.’ He
could find no words for my generosity! Of course he would live on the
least possible sum and work to an extreme! He had no right (said he)
to claim a half! It was achievement, not fortune, that he desired.
“I insisted. He gratefully yielded. We drew up the document in
duplicate. He was especially gratified to find that I had left the
whole direction to him. ‘I know nothing of such things,’ I said. ‘I
am only the Business Man. You are the Creator, the Artist: I am but
the base mercantile instrument, and I shall be proud to share in
your triumph.’ As I said this I put into my eyes the expression of
inspired admiration which we of the commercial world very properly
assume when we are dealing with this kind of fodder.
“The next morning, in the cool, before the sun had power, our deeds
were attested. I warned him to be utterly silent upon the source of
this capital. I said I would be responsible for a rumour that a small
saving of his own was engaged. He saw my point, and, though still
scrupulous, consented. The work went forward.
“My next step I had already planned. I had privately set aside for
it a fixed sum, the equal of what I had given my partner. I hired
a pleasant little house and garden in the city, with a fountain of
clear water in its shaded court. I purchased a stock of good clothes
and even one or two not over-violent jewels--and I began to entertain.
“I bought--at a price which gave me pause--a really wonderful cook;
I learnt the games of hazard to which the wealthier of the place
were devoted. The headmen of the various quarters of the city, the
principal councillors and magistrates learned one from another of
the excellence of my table and the interest of my play. I became
their intimate. From time to time I spoke of my friendship with the
Enthusiast and of my regret at his wasting his poor savings upon
the dreadful mess outside the walls. They agreed--and all the while
that fervid young man redoubled his ardour, himself worked side by
side with his men, planned, urged them on, and effected prodigies of
labour. Indeed, I feared for his health--a natural anxiety for one in
my situation--but by the Mercy of Allah it remained perfect.
“He now, however, came to me more and more frequently and in a
greater and greater anxiety. There were but fifty gold pieces
remaining, but forty, but twenty!... It was a matter of a few
days!... Already he had had to keep back wages, to devise
half-shifts, even to discharge men!... Could I not, oh! could I not
raise some further sum?... As he had said, the work needed another
month at least, and its present state was appalling, no visible
security for a loan, all mud and confusion!... I could only reply
that I would do my best, but that I was not sanguine, and my long
face increased his fears.
“Perturbed as he was he had the generosity to regret _my_ loss in the
unfortunate enterprise.
“I showed a strong indifference and told him that I was used to the
rubs of this sad world and that my trust was in Allah!
“At last, as the day when his funds would be exhausted was at hand,
I gave a feast of special importance to the treasurer and the chief
magistrates of the city, and there led the talk on to the works
still continuing. I heard the usual grumble that the sum originally
advanced out of the taxes was sunk in a morass, that the young man
had, apparently, funds of his own for continuing the nonsense and
that yet the city could recover nothing from him. I approved a threat
that, out of sheer annoyance, they might stop the whole thing and
put him in gaol till he should pay, or at any rate suffer for, his
unsettled debt to his fellow-townsmen.
“Then it was that I struck, for the hour was ripe! I pleaded for
him as a friend. I let them feel my influence, I waited for the
suggestion--and I was not disappointed. The treasurer after a little
solemn hesitation said to me: ‘Sir, since you know this young fellow
and seem to be in his councils, can you not discover what remains to
him and perhaps make him reimburse the gold pieces he owes to our
town-fund? We should be beholden to you.’ I answered that my intimacy
with the Enthusiast hardly went so far, but that I would do my best.
Only I begged them for the interval of a week.
“The day after the morrow of that feast the Young Man came to me in
an excessive perturbation. The mud of his travail was still on his
hands, and I was concerned to see him limping from the effect (as he
told me) of a heavy barrow which had overset as he wheeled it and
crushed his big toe. But he neglected the pain in his extreme mental
distress and told me that, having paid that week’s wages, his gold
pieces were now reduced to _ten_. Even if he himself ate but dry
bread in the next few days and sold his poor belongings he could not
meet the next account, which was but seven days distant.
“I cast my eyes on the ground and delayed a while, the more to
impress him. I then told him in grave and subdued tones that I had
very bad news. I glanced up a moment to note the wildness in his eyes
upon this blow, then cast them down at the ground and continued: ‘I
have private advice--perhaps I should not have divulged it to you,
for it was given in confidence, but my concern and affection for you
have proved too strong--I have private advice that the council intend
this very week to demand most formally the repayment of 100 pieces of
gold which they say is due from you for advances long ago made, and
failing payment to cast you into their dungeon.’
“The Young Man leapt suddenly to his feet, gave a loud shriek, and
made to beat his head against the wall. It was with difficulty that I
held his hands and restrained him.
“‘Oh! Curse my birth!’ he cried in a paroxysm of despair. ‘And
curse my generation! My day has come!’ He raved. He incoherently
demanded miracles and alternately denied the Justice of Allah! Grown
more subdued but still distraught, he moaned of his affections. He
told me--what I had hitherto not known and what interested me very
little--that he had a little sister, orphaned as he was, who, if he
were put away, would starve or become the prey of strangers. ‘What
could be done? What refuge discovered? Curse the day when his fatal
dream had struck him! Curse his works! Curse the river! Curse the
marsh! Curse the city!’
“And so on--the usual reaction of enthusiasts. It was most
distressing. I still held his writhing hands firmly till he was calm
enough to hear me, and then said:
“‘Listen to me. I have considered your case. I think I can rescue
you. I have myself saved a little from my trading operations of the
last two months in this town. My credit also is somewhat extended.
_I_ will find what you need. For I respect genius and I do not judge
by common standards----’
“I was proceeding when he burst out into extravagant gratitude;
called me his benefactor, kissed my hand again and again, and
irrelevantly alluded again to that little sister of his who really
had nothing to do with the case. I checked him and continued:
“‘I will do more. You do not know your own value--I mean your own
moral and intellectual worth--nor what admiration they excite in men
who judge as I do that the rest is dross. Our enterprise is clearly
lost’--he nodded his agreement. ‘My investment you may say is gone:
or, at any rate, I must take it for what it is worth as a thing
half-derelict and gravely threatened by the authorities. But _you_
shall not go under. _Your_ high talents shall not be wasted so long
as I have credit for commerce.... Come. Our original agreement is
useless now. It is waste paper. Well, we’ll tear it up.’
“‘Oh, sir!’ said he. ‘And what of _you_? All this trust in me and my
work, all this fund of money laid out by you! All this kindness and
support without which I----’
“‘Say no more,’ I interrupted, ‘my mind is made up. I have here a
draft of my intention, which I hope will jump with yours.’ So saying
I pulled out duplicate papers on which were written very simple
terms. The original (and now worthless) agreement for an imaginary
and unobtainable profit was cancelled. I promised in the new draft to
take over the wretched unfinished works (they were worth nothing), to
indemnify the poor fellow against any public claims, and to guarantee
him an ample salary for one year from the date of signing. I now
added more. I bound myself, in the event of his death or prolonged
imprisonment within this year, to pay to his heirs the sum of 100
pieces of gold. This, I pointed out to him, would provide for his
little sister (of whom I had now heard enough), while to myself I
excused the extravagance by considering his really robust health and
the power of my protection to save him from incarceration.
“I would not have believed that a human being could feel so strongly.
He fell at my feet, calling me his providence, his all, his bulwark
and refuge. He said he did not know there was such goodness among
men. I bade him not exaggerate. I reminded him how noble minds had
in all ages loved to support the Arts, and cited Yussouf-abd-Arham,
Sulim-ben-Achab, Muswuf, Wawoo, Mah and other worthies. At last our
business was completed, the new deeds signed and attested by my
servants, and the gallant fellow, for whose ingenuous character I
still retain a profound respect, was put to sleep in happy exhaustion
upon soft carpets in my guest-room. I there left him to dream of
his little sister and his mud-heaps, while I betook myself to a
short casting-up of accounts followed by nightly prayers to the
All-Merciful who guides His servant into pleasant places.
“Next morning I sent the Enthusiast back to his labours (with a
little cash to carry on with) and very carefully thought out my plans.
“First, at the next dinner I gave, I told my guests (who were, as
usual, among the chief men of the city) that I proposed a deal in
corn with the factors of Tambulistan: the place did not, as a fact,
exist, but the name was well chosen and attractive. They were distant
(I said) but in correspondence with me; and as they had a glut and
I had news of a dearth in my own country I had taken the opportunity
of a deal through third parties. I saw a profit of some 100 pieces
of gold. Not more (said I). I was a modest man and only did business
in a small way. My guests gallantly denied this and smiled in polite
interest, but no more, till, a little later in the meal, I said that
the transaction had been just a little heavy for me and that I had
looked round for some one who would help in settlement and would
share the profit. I told them this profit was fairly certain, that no
ready cash was required more than I had myself provided, but that, as
a bill or two would do no harm, I had obtained one from a friend at
home. All this in the way of general talk.
“As might be expected, the Chief Magistrate of the town (my most
honoured guest) approached me after dinner and told me privately
that he would be happy to oblige. I told him there was no sort of
necessity, I could draw what I would on my letters from home, or at
any rate enough to meet the case. That if he _really_ cared to share
my little adventure I expected about ten per cent. profit on the sum
engaged--but indeed it was too small for me to trouble him with it. I
accepted his pledge of 100 pieces of gold--but I stoutly refused any
paper, ‘Your name is enough,’ I said, ‘I shall gratefully use it. My
people will trust my word.’
“I gave out next morning that I was going into the hills to meet a
messenger. I did indeed pass through the city gate and proceeded till
I was well out of sight; but as there was no sense in fatiguing
myself I slept through the heat in a wood, watched through the warm
night, and returned travel-stained in the evening of the second day.
“On the morning of the third day I met the Chief Magistrate in the
Bazaar: I stopped him, chatted, and then and there paid him eleven
pieces of gold. ‘I met my messenger from Tambulistan’ (said I)
‘we exchanged parcels, and I find I have netted just over the ten
per cent. These eleven pieces are your proportion upon your kind
investment of 100.’ He protested of course that it had been no
investment, merely a few friendly words of support; but he took the
money, and I could see that he was pleased. He was curiously pleased.
Indeed, he was so pleased that, though a discreet man, he could
not forbear mentioning the matter to his wife. Rich men love small
windfalls.
“In a few hours, therefore, the Head Mufti, the Chief of the Guard,
and two very important councillors had in their various ways touched
casually upon the wheat trade during short conversations in which
each had separately engaged me under the shades of the Bazaar. A
little later, as I took the air by the riverside at evening, the
principal Ascetic of the district, who had come in to buy his few
lentils for the week, spoke to me briefly of the same matter. I
gave each of them a different answer, alluding to various cargoes
of wheat, caravans of wheat and tumbrils of wheat--all in technical
terms; to risks, to covering sums, to transfers from one district to
another. In each case I refused anything but a pledge to stand in
with a transaction somewhat beyond my unaided powers; in each case I
ridiculed the smallness of the little adventure; in each case I paid,
after the lapse of a few days, to one a single piece of gold as his
profit, to another two, to another three. And each was very pleased.
“As the days went by I varied the procedure. Sometimes I regretted
the unexpectedly small profit obtained. Once I deliberately announced
a loss and sternly gathered reluctant contributions from my
associates; but immediately afterwards I did another fine stroke in
imaginary wheat and paid a fat dividend to my friends--indeed, that
particular affair cost me twenty-five pieces. But it was worth it. I
got rid in less than a month of 200 pieces of gold in this fashion.
It was a cruel trial, but proved, in the event, most fruitful.
For though I would never advise in large investments, yet by this
simple method, my reputation for judgment in that which men most
value--which is money--was assured.
“I had set 250 pieces aside for this experiment, and my total stock
was running low when I steered my ship to port.
“First, out of my remainder, I brought to the city council fifty
pieces of gold saying that I had with difficulty screwed them from my
young friend, who was still digging away in the outskirts, but that
he had faithfully promised the second fifty in two months’ time. Next
I created a sort of stupor in the now large circle of my friends by
saying publicly and boldly that I was beginning to see something in
this plan of draining the marsh. I reminded them that the Engineer
had always been my friend, that I had always seen something in him,
that in spite of his obvious lack of business sense I could not help
admiring his talent in his own line.
“The place was by this time dried and levelled, the embankment was
all fairly sloped and paved, the cuttings, heaps, and rubbish had
disappeared. Then it was that I took a party of these my important
friends out to view the place at evening from the city walls and
quietly told them that it was mine.
“There it lay before them: a magnificent plain, reclaimed and
ordered, firm land pegged out in rows and with neat placards of new
streets, all named.
“You know, my dear nephews, the admiration excited in all men of
affairs for one who has forestalled them. I rose in the estimation
of my neighbours to a height beyond compare. They already had a most
deep reverence for my keen perceptions in commerce which had been
proved in so many little tips--insignificant in quantity, but, oh! so
universally accurate. Now, indeed, upon learning this great stroke
(or, as they called it in the local language, ‘Koo’) they were lost
in surprise and respect.
“After sunset I counted my money. I had left precisely fifty pieces
of gold: a close aim, a narrow edge of venture. But, as the proverb
says, ‘The bold hunter slays the lion, the timid is slain of the cub.’
“It was late in that same night that the Chief Magistrate knocked at
my door with the greatest precaution, bearing a hooded lantern, and
walking on tiptoe. He begged me as an old friend (but in a whisper)
to sell him so much land in the new quarter as might suffice for a
good house and garden, suitable for his son or even for himself. I
told him that I would have no sordid dealings with so excellent a
friend. I could not do less than _give_ him such a site.
“I brought out a plan (on which the Engineer had already drawn out
streets and public squares) and marked upon the main thoroughfare the
plot I would assign to him. He departed with praise and blessings.
Hardly had he gone when a yet more furtive step approached my door.
It was the Mufti. He offered me a hundred pieces of gold for such
a site. I generously gave him for _fifty_ a larger one than he had
ventured to beg. I marked it somewhat farther down the same main
thoroughfare. He went away belauding my name and soul.
“It was near midnight when another footfall halted at my door: a
councillor’s. For fifty pieces he also had a site worth double, and
in the same street. He had not gone an hour, it was the darkest of
the night, when a much fainter shuffling of bare feet could be just
perceived followed by a light trying of the latch. The door was
opened a crack and the strong emaciated face of the Ascetic twisted
round the edge and peered in. I beckoned him. He put his finger to
his lips, cautiously secured the fastening of the lock--and then,
bending forward, whispered in my ear.... I was a little surprised
at the magnitude of his offer, but of course I accepted it at once.
Such men have great influence with the faithful. He proposed to
_let_ his property or perhaps to hold for a rise. He would continue
of course to live in his humble cell outside the city, in the wastes.
He departed quickly and like a ghost. At dawn came yet another
councillor, more bold than the rest, who made a plain business
proposition for block fifty-three and was at once gratified.
“So for days the procession continued, each man coming singly and
watching whether he were observed. Half the council had sites for
little or nothing, and the other half had sites at rates really very
reasonable.
“And all the while, to the mass of buyers who importuned me and
clamoured about me, I said that only very limited sales could be
made, and those of leases only, and even so not till a later date.
“Meanwhile the whole town council was converted. The councillors
had quite lost their old aversion to the scheme. They earmarked
enthusiastically and by a unanimous vote a special tax for the
laying out of the new quarter, its planting with trees, the bringing
of conduits to it so that fountains of sweet water might appear in
private houses and in public places, and, though the levy was no
light one, it was paid cheerfully enough by all the councillors, who
were now curiously proud of their town’s aggrandizement; even among
the mass of poor ratepayers there were no executions, but only one
mild case of torture, and perhaps a dozen bastinadoes.
“The public money so spent was very well worth while. The improvement
in my property was immense; and when a fine road, bordered with
trees, was laid down all along the embankment I obtained very heavy
compensation from the city for the use of the ground and the cutting
off of my approaches to the river.
“I, on my side, was not niggardly. I promised 100 gold pieces to the
building of a new mosque in the centre of the place, on condition
that ninety-nine others should do the same, and I started a hall of
public recreation, the price of admission to which barely repaid the
expenses of upkeep and cleaning, taxes, heat and light, interest on
debentures (which I had myself very handsomely subscribed), service,
literature, and secretarial expenses, decoration, approaches, annual
depreciation, and at the most a profit of six to eight per cent. I
also provided kitchens where the poorer citizens could purchase food
at very little more than its value. These were of great service to
the police, who had here a central place whence the movements of my
less fortunate neighbours could be traced. I presented also public
fountains with solid pewter mugs, attached to the stonework by strong
chains lest they should be stolen, and I even went so far as to
provide, free of all cost, public plans of the new quarter showing
where unleased sites still remained and the terms on which they might
be acquired.
“I made it a rule that any man building a house on my land should
promise to give it up to me for nothing after twenty years; but as
many people were too poor to build their own houses I established
a fund whence they could borrow the money at the ordinary rates of
interest and the few dues, fees, deductions, etc., inevitable to
such transactions. In every way did I develop and benefit this my
creation of a new town.
“I had my reward in the profound respect and honour paid me by my
fellow-citizens. These were convened by the Council at an appropriate
date to decide what recognition should be made of my services.
They finally agreed, after long discussion and many very eloquent
discourses, upon an illuminated parchment, which was presented to me
with the most flattering cheers and songs upon the public square of
the new quarter, in a tent of purple silk specially voted for the
occasion and later claimed as a perquisite by my butler.
“I replied in a suitable manner to the acclamations of the crowd and
the kindly flattery of the councillors; but I told them, at the end
of my address, that I should feel ungrateful indeed if, upon such
an occasion, a certain humble fellow-worker of mine were overlooked
in the public rejoicings. Thereupon I extended my hand to the
Enthusiast, that young Engineer of Parts whom I had so fortunately
met some months before and whom I had arranged should be near the
steps of my dais at the required moment. I handed him up. I smiled
benignantly upon him as he blushed with happy shame and pleasure. I
even set him at my side.
“‘It is all very well, my friends,’ said I, as I concluded my little
speech, ‘to speak as you do of the foresight and business acumen,
organizing power, and the rest of it, which--I hope justly--you
ascribe to me when you tell me how, as with a magic wand, I raised
all this new city from the marsh which preceded it. But what would
such gifts be had they not been aided and supplemented by talents
no less essential, such as those which we all admire in this young
friend at my right? He it is who has performed, sometimes in a very
literal sense, the spade-work. His has been the hard, obscure,
constant labour and vigilance, without which my own more conspicuous
efforts would have been in vain!’
“After a few subdued cheers from the assembly, most of whom had
never heard of the young man, while the rest had forgotten him, all
dispersed, and I was free to seek repose in my own new and sumptuous
house.
“I am glad to say that this public mention of my worthy young
colleague was not all I did for him. As the agreed salary which I
paid him by our contract would now soon expire, I arranged with the
Council that he should have a permanent post as keeper of the public
squares, at a wage more than double that of the gardeners, and be
granted (on condition of good behaviour) a limited pension when he
should reach his seventieth year, the same to be deducted in small
weekly sums from his pay: which sums, as he was not yet thirty-two
would accumulate to much more than was necessary and leave over and
above his retiring stipend a balance for anything the Council might
think useful. He was also lent, rent free, a small four-roomed house
with a nice strip of front garden and a wooden shed at the side. His
duties occupied him from a little before sunrise to the pleasant dusk
of eve, with an hour off for meals and a fortnight’s holiday in the
autumn.
“Even his little sister was not forgotten. I obtained for her, from
my friends among the religious authorities (notably the Mufti, who
was most strenuous in her cause) the post of head cleaner at the new
mosque. Her salary there was necessarily somewhat smaller than her
brother’s, nor had she any holidays, while her hours were a trifle
longer. But, on the other hand, she had no responsibilities.
“Shortly after all this I determined to sell my holding in this new
property and to betake myself to other mercantile adventures in
further lands. I had been in this place more than a year. I had made
very good friends. It was the scene of a success greater than any
I had yet experienced. Nevertheless I felt I could remain there no
longer. The field was too small for my expanding opportunities. There
was nothing left to take.
“I announced, therefore, my intentions to realize, and allowed a
certain interval for a public decision upon the purchase of my land,
and leases, and other interests.
“A curious discussion arose. One party, composed mainly of wealthy
but intelligent young men, of university professors and of
jail-birds, were insistent that the Town Council should buy all my
land and the city possess it for the future; for it was obviously
wrong (they agreed) that improvements in land and houses should go
to private individuals. The other party, which was made up almost
entirely of builders and auctioneers, furiously opposed this scheme
which (they said) struck at the roots of all morals and family
life. _These_ stoutly maintained that, in the natural scheme of
Providence, all should be parcelled out among the highest bidders.
“For my part I was, like the great mass of the taxpayers, indifferent
to either argument. All that interested me was the obvious fact that
in the competition between these two groups on the Council the value
of my property necessarily rose.
“At last the first party prevailed, the city bought me out (really a
most interesting social experiment!), and I received the sum of two
million pieces of gold.”
“Two million pieces!” shouted the astonished little nephews in chorus.
“My children,” said the old man with a kindly smile, “to you, coming
as you do from such a home as that of your father, my dear brother,
the sum must seem fabulous, though to me to-day it sounds moderate
enough. Nevertheless, you are right. From that moment I count the
great change in my life and the confirmation of that Divine Mercy
which had always watched me hitherto, as I now know, but which
henceforward was gloriously present in every act of my life.
“Before the day when I first saw that river and that town, first
met the enthusiastic young Engineer, first formed my decisive plan,
I had been a man subject to grave anxieties and sufferings; now
precariously affluent, now starving; now again doubtfully possessed
of some fleeting money. Then came the marvellous year I have just
recited. Since then I have enjoyed the results of so much persistence
and skill. I have gathered and enjoyed without cease the fruits of
great and increasing wealth.”
“Oh, uncle, what are these?”
“They are,” said the good old merchant in grave and reverent tones,
“the honour of neighbours, the devotion of friends, the admiration of
all mankind, a permanent self-respect, and--what is more important
than them all--the Strong Peace of the Soul.”
The intolerable howl of the Muezzin checked his nephews’ reply, and
they, their happy eyes shining as though they themselves were the
recipients of these seven figures went home in a dream of gold.
القرطاس من المصنوع الفلوس
AL-FULÚS AL-MASNÚ MIN AL-QIRTÁS
That is:
THE MONEY MADE OF PAPER