THE BANK IS FOUNDED
Difficulties arose, the affair dragged along, and in fact five
months rolled by without anything being settled. The latter days of
September had already been reached, and it enraged Saccard to find
fresh obstacles continually arising, a whole series of secondary
questions, which it was necessary to solve beforehand, if they wished
to establish anything serious and substantial. His impatience became
so great, that at one moment he was on the point of renouncing the
idea of a syndicate, haunted and seduced by the sudden thought of
carrying out the affair with the Princess d'Orviedo alone. She had the
millions necessary for the first launching; why should she not put
them into this superb affair, leaving the smaller investors to come
in later on, at the time of the future increase of capital which he
had already in view? He thought of this in all good faith, convinced
that he was offering her an investment in which she could increase her
fortune tenfold--that fortune of the poor, which she was scattering in
charities ever on a more extensive scale.
So one morning he went up to the Princess's rooms, and, like a friend
who is also a man of business, he explained to her the motive and the
mechanism of the bank which he dreamed of. He told her everything,
spread the contents of Hamelin's portfolio before her, did not omit one
of the many Oriental enterprises. Yielding to the faculty he possessed
of becoming intoxicated by his own enthusiasm, and of acquiring faith
by his burning desire to succeed, he even revealed the mad dream of
the Papacy established at Jerusalem, spoke of the final triumph of
Catholicism, the Pope enthroning himself in the Holy Land, dominating
the world, and assured of a royal budget, thanks to the creation of the
Treasury of the Holy Sepulchre.
The Princess, an ardent devotee, was solely struck by this supreme
project, this crowning of the edifice, the chimerical grandeur of which
was in keeping with the disorderly imagination which prompted her to
throw away her millions in good works of colossal and useless luxury.
The French Catholics had just been startled and irritated by the treaty
which the Emperor had concluded with the King of Italy, and by which
he pledged himself, under certain conditions, to withdraw the French
troops from Rome. It was very certain that this meant the abandonment
of Rome to Italy; and the Catholics already saw the Pope driven away,
reduced to soliciting alms, and wandering through the cities of Europe
leaning on a beggar's staff. But what a prodigious _dénouement_ that
would be: the Pope again finding himself Pontiff and King at Jerusalem,
installed and sustained there by a bank in which the Catholics of
the whole universe would regard it an honour to become shareholders!
It was so beautiful a conception that the Princess declared it the
grandest idea of the century, worthy to incite the enthusiasm of any
well-born person possessed of faith. Success seemed to her absolutely
certain, and her esteem for the engineer Hamelin, whom she treated with
consideration, knowing him to be a constant worshipper, increased.
Nevertheless, she flatly refused to go into the affair; she intended
to remain faithful to her oath to restore her millions to the poor,
without ever deriving from them a single copper of interest, for she
desired that this money, the fruit of gambling, should be lost, drunk
up by poverty, like some poisoned water that must disappear. The
argument that the poor would profit by the speculation did not touch
her; it even irritated her. No, no! the accursed source must be dried
up, exhausted; she had undertaken no other mission.
Disconcerted, Saccard could only profit by her sympathy to obtain from
her an authorisation which he had hitherto vainly solicited. It had
been his idea to install the Universal Bank in the mansion itself;
or, at least, Madame Caroline had suggested this idea to him; for he
himself saw things on a grander scale, and would have liked a palace
forthwith. However, they might content themselves with roofing the
court, yard with glass and transforming it into a central hall; whilst
the entire ground floor, the stables, and coach-houses might be fitted
up as offices. Then on the first floor he would give up his _salon_,
which would do duty as a board-room, whilst his dining-room and six
other rooms could be turned into additional offices. For himself,
he should merely retain a bed-chamber and dressing-room, taking his
meals and passing his evenings upstairs with the Hamelins; so that at
small expense they would provide the Bank with somewhat limited but
very respectable quarters. The Princess, as proprietor, had at first
refused her consent, through her hatred of all traffic in money. Never,
said she, should her roof shelter such abomination. But when she found
that religion entered into the matter, she was moved by the grandeur
of the purpose, and consented. It was an extreme concession, and she
felt a little shudder pass through her at the thought of that infernal
machine, a financial establishment, a house of speculation and jobbery,
with its machinery of ruin and death, being set up underneath her.
Finally, a week after this abortive effort, Saccard had the joy of
seeing the affair, so long thwarted by obstacles, concluded in a few
days' time. Daigremont called to tell him that he had secured all
needful support, and that they could go ahead. Then, for the last time,
they went together over the proposed bye-laws, and drew up the articles
of association. And it was a great time too for the Hamelins, whose
circumstances were growing difficult again. Hamelin had for years had
but one dream--to become the consulting engineer of a great financial
establishment; as he expressed it, he undertook to bring the water to
the mill. So, little by little, Saccard's fever had gained upon him,
and he now burned with the same zeal and impatience. Madame Caroline,
on the contrary, after her first enthusiasm at the idea of the
beautiful and useful things which they were going to accomplish, seemed
to grow colder and wore a dreamy air, now that they were reaching the
briars and bogs of execution. Her great good sense, her upright nature,
scented all sorts of dark and unclean holes; and she particularly
trembled for her brother, whom she adored and whom she sometimes
laughingly called 'a big stupid' in spite of all his science; not that
she in the least doubted the perfect honesty of their friend, whom
she saw so devoted to their fortune; but she experienced a singular
sensation, as if the earth were moving under her feet, and feared lest
she should fall and be swallowed up at the first false step.
That morning, Saccard, when Daigremont had gone, went up to the
workroom with a beaming face. 'At last, it is settled!' he cried.
Hamelin, in a transport, stepped forward with moist eyes, and grasped
his hands, as if he would crush them. And as Madame Caroline simply
turned towards him, a little pale, Saccard added: 'Well, and you, is
that all you have to say to me? Doesn't this news please you?'
Thereupon she smiled pleasantly. 'Why, yes, I am very glad, very glad,
I assure you.'
And when he had given her brother particulars respecting the syndicate
now definitely formed, she intervened with her peaceful air: 'So it is
permissible, eh? for several persons to meet and divide stock among
themselves, before it has been issued?'
He made a violent gesture of affirmation. 'Why, certainly, it is
permissible! You don't think us silly enough to risk a failure? To
say nothing of the fact that we need the support of men of standing,
men who can control the market should matters be difficult at the
outset. And now, at any rate, four-fifths of our shares are placed in
sure hands. We can proceed to sign the articles of association at the
notary's.'
She was daring enough to oppose him. 'I thought that the law required
the subscription of the entire capital before that was done?'
This time, greatly surprised, he looked her in the face. 'You read the
Code then?' he asked.
She coloured slightly, for he had guessed the truth. On the previous
day, yielding to her uneasiness, that secret fear without any precise
cause, she had read the law which regulated joint-stock companies.
Still, just for a moment, she was on the point of denying it. Then she
confessed with a laugh: 'Yes, it's true; I read the Code yesterday;
and after my perusal, I found myself examining into my own honesty and
that of others, just as after reading medical books one fancies oneself
afflicted with every disease.'
He, however, took offence; for the circumstance that she had wished
to inform herself showed that she distrusted him, and was prepared to
watch him, with her searching intelligent woman's eyes.
'Ah!' he replied, with a gesture which swept all vain scruples away,
'do you suppose that we are going to conform to the trumperies of the
Code? Why! we could not take two steps; we should be met by obstacles
at every turn, while others, our rivals, would go ahead at full speed
and outstrip us. No, no, I certainly shan't wait till all the capital
is subscribed; moreover, I prefer to reserve some shares for ourselves,
and I shall find a man with whom I will open an account, and who, in
short, will be our man of straw.'
'It is forbidden,' she declared, simply, in that beautiful, grave voice
of hers.
'Oh yes, it is forbidden, but all companies do it.'
'They do wrong, then, since it isn't right.'
Calming himself by a sudden effort of will, and smiling in his turn,
Saccard thereupon thought it best to turn to Hamelin, who, in his
embarrassment, was listening without intervening. 'I hope that you
don't doubt me, my dear friend; I am an old stager of some experience;
you can trust yourself in my hands, so far as the financial side of the
affair is concerned. Bring me good ideas, and I will undertake to make
them yield all desirable profit with the least possible risk. I believe
that a practical man can say nothing better.'
The engineer, with his invincible timidity and weakness, turned the
matter into a joke, in order to avoid giving a direct answer. 'Oh!
you will have a real censor in Caroline,' said he. 'She is a born
schoolmistress.'
'But I am quite willing to join her class,' declared Saccard gallantly.
Madame Caroline herself had begun laughing again. And the conversation
continued in a familiar good-natured way.
'You see,' she said, 'I love my brother very much, and I like you
yourself more than you think, and it would give me great sorrow to see
you engage in shady transactions with nothing but disaster and grief
at the end of them. Thus I may say, now that we are upon the matter,
that I have a great terror of speculation and Bourse gambling. I was so
glad, therefore, to read in the eighth clause of the proposed bye-laws
which you made me copy that the company forbade itself all dealings
"for account." That was a prohibition of gambling, was it not? And then
you disenchanted me by laughing at me and explaining that it was simply
a show clause, a formula which all companies made it a point of honour
to insert in their bye-laws, but which none of them ever observed. Do
you know what I should like? Why, that instead of these shares, these
fifty thousand shares which you are going to issue, you should issue
only debentures. Oh! you see that I have become very learned since I
read the Code; I am no longer ignorant that folks do not gamble in
debentures, that a debenture-holder is a simple lender who receives
a certain percentage for his loan without being interested in the
profits, whereas the shareholder is a partner who runs the risk of
profit and loss. So, why not debentures? That would tranquillise me so
much; I should be so happy!'
She jocularly exaggerated the supplicating tone of her request in order
to conceal her real anxiety. And Saccard answered in the same tone,
with comical passion: 'Debentures, debentures! No, never! What would
you have us do with debentures? They are so much dead matter. You must
understand that speculation, gambling, is the central mechanism, the
heart itself, of a vast affair like ours. Yes, it attracts blood, takes
it from every source in little streamlets collects it, sends it back
in rivers in all directions, and establishes an enormous circulation
of money, which is the very life of great enterprises. But for this,
the great movements of capital and the great civilising works that
result therefrom would be impossible. It is the same with joint-stock
companies. Has there not been a great outcry against them? Has it
not been said again and again that they are gambling, cut-throat
institutions? But the truth is that without them we should have no
railways nor any of the huge modern enterprises that have made the
world a new one; for no single fortune would have sufficed to carry
them through, just as no single individual or group of individuals
would have been willing to run the risk. The risk and the grandeur of
the object are everything. There must be a vast project, the magnitude
of which will strike the imagination; there must be the hope of a
considerable gain, of some stroke that will increase the investment
tenfold, provided it is not swept away; and then passions kindle,
life abounds, each brings his money, and you can knead the earth over
again. What evil do you see in that? The risks incurred are voluntary,
they are spread over an infinite number of persons, they are unequal,
limited by the fortune and audacity of each. One man loses, but another
wins; all hope to secure a lucky number, but must always expect to draw
a blank; and humanity has no more obstinate, no more ardent dream,
than that of trying fortune, of striving to obtain everything from its
capricious decisions, of becoming a king, a demi-god!'
Little by little, Saccard had ceased laughing, and straightening
himself upon his short legs, he became inflamed with a lyric ardour,
indulging the while in gestures that scattered his words to the four
corners of heaven. 'See!' he cried, 'we, with our Universal Bank, are
we not going to open up a broad horizon, pierce through that old world
of Asia, that unlimited field for the pickaxe of progress and the
dreams of the goldfinder? Certainly there was never a more colossal
ambition, and, I grant it, never were the chances of success or failure
more obscure. But, precisely for that reason, we are within the very
terms of the problem, and shall arouse, I am convinced, extraordinary
infatuation among the public as soon as we become known. Our Universal
Bank will, in the first place, be one of the orthodox establishments
which transact all banking and discount business, which receive funds
on deposit, and contract, negotiate, or issue loans. But what I
especially wish to make of it, is a machine to launch your brother's
grand projects: that will be its real _rôle_, the _rôle_ in which it
will find increasing profits and a gradually commanding power. We
establish it, in short, in order that it may assist the financial and
industrial companies which we shall organise in foreign countries, the
companies whose shares we shall place, and which will owe us life and
assure us sovereignty. And now that we are already in sight of this
dazzling future of conquest, you come and ask me if it is allowable
to form a syndicate and grant a premium to the syndicators, a premium
which will be charged among the initial expenses. You worry yourself
about inevitable petty irregularities, such as unsubscribed shares,
which the Bank will do well to retain under cover of a man of straw;
in short, you start on a campaign against gambling--gambling, good
heavens! which is the very soul, the furnace, of the mechanical giant
that I dream of! Know then that all this is nothing! that this paltry
little capital of twenty-five millions is a simple faggot thrown under
the machine to heat it! that I hope to double, quadruple, quintuple
this capital as fast as our operations extend! that we must have a hail
of gold, a dance of millions, if we wish to accomplish over yonder
the prodigies we have predicted! Ah! I won't say there will be no
breakage--one can't move the world, you know, without crushing the feet
of a few passers-by.'
She looked at him, and, in her love of life, of all that was strong
and active, she ended by finding him handsome, seductive, by reason of
his fervour and faith. Accordingly, without espousing his theories, at
which the uprightness of her clear intelligence revolted, she pretended
to be vanquished.
'Well, then, say that I am only a woman, and that the battles of
existence frighten me. Only do try to crush as few people as possible,
and especially crush none of those I love.'
Saccard, intoxicated by his own outburst of eloquence, as triumphant
at the mere exposition of his vast plans as though the work were
already done, made a display of great good-nature. 'Oh, don't be
afraid!' said he; 'if I play the ogre, it is for fun. We shall all be
rich.'
Then they talked quietly of the arrangements which had to be made, and
it was agreed that Hamelin should proceed to Marseilles and thence to
the East, to hasten the launching of their grand enterprises.
Rumours were already spreading, however, about the Parisian market;
the name of Saccard emerged from the troubled depths in which it
had temporarily sunk; and the reports which circulated, at first
in a whisper, but gradually in a louder key, so clearly trumpeted
approaching success that once again, as at the Parc Monceau in former
days, his ante-room became filled every morning with applicants. He
saw Mazaud call, as if by chance, to shake hands with him and talk
over the news of the day; he received other brokers, Jacoby the Jew
with the thundering voice, and his brother-in-law, Delarocque, a stout
red-haired man who made his wife very unhappy. The _coulisse_ came
also, personified by Nathansohn, a little fair-haired, active man,
borne onward on the wave of fortune. And as for Massias, resigned
to the hard lot of an unlucky _remisier_, he already appeared every
morning, though as yet there were no orders to be received. Day by day
the crowd increased.
One morning at nine o'clock Saccard found the ante-room full. Not
having yet engaged any special staff, he had to content himself with
such assistance as his valet could give, and, as a rule, he took the
trouble to usher in his visitors himself. That day, as he opened the
door of his private room, Jantrou wished to be admitted, but among
those waiting Saccard caught sight of Sabatani, for whom he had been
searching for two days past.
'Excuse me, my friend,' said he, stopping the ex-professor in order to
receive the Levantine first.
Sabatani, with his disturbing, caressing smile and adder-like
suppleness, left the speaking to Saccard, and the latter, like one who
knew his man, plainly set forth his proposition. 'My dear fellow,'
said he, 'I have need of you. We want the loan of your name. I will
open an account with you, set you down as the buyer of a certain number
of our shares, which you will pay for simply by a manipulation of
accounts. You can see that I come straight to the point, and treat you
as a friend.'
The young man looked at him with his handsome velvet eyes gleaming
softly in his long dark face.
'The law, dear master, formally specifies that payment must be made in
cash. Oh! it is not for myself that I tell you that. You treat me as a
friend, and I am very proud of it. Anything you like.'
Thereupon Saccard, to be agreeable to him, spoke of the esteem in which
he was held by Mazaud, who was now willing to take his orders without
cover. 'And, by the way,' he added, 'we shall also need signatures to
make certain operations regular--transfers, for instance. Can I send
you the papers to sign?'
'Why, certainly, dear master. Anything you like!'
He did not even raise the question of payment, knowing that such
services are priceless; and, as the other added that they would give
him a franc per signature to compensate him for his loss of time, he
acquiesced with a simple nod of the head. Then, with his familiar
smile, he said: 'I hope, too, dear master, that you won't refuse me
your advice. As you will be so well placed, I shall come to you for
information.'
'Quite so,' concluded Saccard, who understood. 'Till we meet again, be
careful of yourself; don't listen too readily to the ladies.'
Then, with a laugh, for Sabatani was reported to be for some mysterious
reason a remarkable favourite with the fair sex, he dismissed him by a
private exit, which enabled him to send people away without making them
pass through the ante-room again.
Having gone to open the other door, he next called Jantrou, who, as he
saw at a glance, was in sore straits, at the very end of his tether,
clad in a frock-coat, the sleeves of which had been worn threadbare
by long leaning on _café_ tables during his endless 'wait' for a
situation. The Bourse continued to be a hard-hearted mother to him, and
yet he bore himself jauntily, with his fan-shaped beard, still cynical
and lettered, at times dropping a flowery phrase, betokening the former
university man.
'I meant to write to you shortly,' said Saccard. 'We are drawing up
a list of employees, upon which I have inscribed your name among the
first, and I expect I shall place you in the issue office.'
Jantrou stopped him with a gesture. 'You are very kind, and I thank
you. But I have a proposal to make to you.'
He did not explain himself forthwith, but, starting with generalities,
inquired what part the Press would play in the launching of the
Universal Bank. The other took fire at the first words, declared that
he was for advertising on the largest scale, and would devote all
available money to it. Not a trumpet was to be disdained; not even the
penny trumpets; for he laid it down as an axiom that every noise was
good from the simple fact that it was a noise. The ideal would be to
have every paper at one's service; only that would cost too much.
'Is it your idea, then, to organise our advertising?' he at last
inquired. 'Perhaps that wouldn't be a bad scheme. We will talk it over.'
'Yes, later, if you like. But what would you say to a paper of your
own, completely your own, and which I should manage for you? Every
morning there would be a page reserved for you, articles that would
sing your praises, or paragraphs reminding people of you, with
allusions to you in contributions altogether foreign to financial
matters--in short, a regular campaign, in which, _à propos_ of
everything and nothing, you would be incessantly exalted on the
slaughtered bodies of your rivals. Does that tempt you?'
'Why yes, if it doesn't cost the devil.'
'No, the price will be reasonable.'
And at last he named the paper he had in view--'L'Espérance,' which
had been founded two years previously by a little group of Catholic
notabilities, the violent members of the party, who waged ferocious
war upon the Empire. The success of their efforts was however
absolutely null, and every week there circulated a fresh report of the
paper's disappearance.
'Oh, it doesn't print two thousand copies!' cried Saccard.
'But it will be our business to raise its circulation.'
'And besides, it is impossible: it drags my brother in the mud; I
cannot afford to offend him at the very outset.'
Jantrou gently shrugged his shoulders. 'There is no need to offend
anyone. You know as well as I do that, when a financial house has
a paper of its own, it is of little consequence whether this paper
supports or attacks the Government; if it is an officious journal, the
house is certain to be included in all the syndicates organised by the
Minister of Finance to insure the success of the State and Communal
loans; while if it is an opposition print, the same minister is very
considerate in his treatment of the bank which it represents, prompted
by a desire to disarm it and win it over, which often finds expression
in still more favours. So don't trouble yourself as to the politics of
"L'Espérance." Have a paper, it is a power.'
Silent for a moment, Saccard, with that alertness of intellect which
in a trice enabled him to appropriate another's idea, examine it,
and adapt it to his needs, to the point of making it entirely his
own, swiftly thought out a complete plan: he would buy 'L'Espérance,'
silence its bitter attacks, lay it at the feet of his brother--who
would be obliged to show his gratitude--but at the same time keep it
Catholic, as a menace, a machine ever ready to resume its terrible
campaign in the name of the interests of religion. And, if the folks in
power were not amiable with him, he would brandish Rome in their faces,
and risk the grand Jerusalem stroke. It would be a pretty trick to
finish with.
'Should we be free to do as we chose?' he asked abruptly.
'Absolutely free. They have had enough of it; the paper has fallen
into the hands of a needy fellow who will hand it over to us for ten
thousand francs or so. We can then do what we like with it.'
Saccard reflected a minute longer. 'Well, it is settled,' he eventually
said. 'Make an appointment and bring your man here. You shall be
director, and I will see to centralising all our advertising in your
hands. I wish it to be something unheard of, enormous--oh! later on
when we have the wherewithal to set the machine going properly.'
He had risen. Jantrou also rose, concealing the joy he felt at finding
bread, beneath a bantering laugh, the laugh of one who has lost caste,
and is weary of all the mire of Paris.
'At last, then, I shall return to my element, my dear _belles lettres_!'
'Don't engage anybody as yet,' said Saccard, as he escorted him to the
door. 'And while I think of it, just make a note of a _protégé_ of
mine, Paul Jordan, a young man whom I find remarkably talented, and in
whom you will have an excellent literary contributor. I will write him
a letter and tell him to call upon you.'
As Jantrou was going out by the private door, this happy arrangement
of the two outlets struck him. 'Why, this is convenient,' said he, in
his familiar style. 'One can conjure people away. When beautiful ladies
come, like the one I saluted just now in the ante-room, the Baroness
Sandorff----'
Saccard did not know that she was there, and with a shrug of his
shoulders he sought to express his indifference; but the other
chuckled, refusing to believe in such disinterestedness. Then the two
men exchanged a vigorous handshake, and Jantrou went off.
When he was alone, Saccard instinctively approached the mirror, and
brushed back his hair, in which not a white thread as yet appeared. He
had not, however, spoken falsely to Jantrou, for women scarcely entered
his thoughts, now that business had again taken entire possession of
him; and he merely yielded to the involuntary gallantry which makes it
impossible for a Frenchman to find himself alone with a woman without
fearing that she will look upon him as a blockhead if he does not
conquer her. And so, as soon as he had ushered in the Baroness, he
showed himself remarkably attentive.
'Be seated, madame, I pray you.'
Never had he seen her so strangely seductive, with her red lips, and
her burning eyes with bruised lids, set deeply under thick eyebrows.
What could she want of him? And he was much surprised, almost
mortified, when she had explained to him the motive of her visit.
'_Mon Dieu_! monsieur, I beg your pardon for disturbing you without
advantage to yourself; but between people who move in the same circle
it is necessary one should render each other these little services.
You lately had a cook, a _chef_, whom my husband is on the point of
engaging. I have therefore simply come to inquire about him.'
Thereupon he allowed himself to be questioned, answering with the
greatest obligingness, and at the same time never taking his eyes off
her; for he fancied that all this was a mere pretext: in her heart
she cared little or nothing about the cook, she evidently came for
something else. And, in fact, by manœuvring, she finally referred to
a common friend, the Marquis de Bohain, who had spoken to her of the
Universal Bank. So much trouble and worry were attached to investments,
said she, it was so difficult to find reliable securities. And at last
he understood that she would willingly take some shares, with the
premium of ten per cent. given to the syndicators; and he understood
still better that, if he should open an account with her, she would not
pay.
'I have my private fortune, she said, 'my husband never meddles with
it. It gives me a deal of worry, but supplies a little amusement also,
I confess. People are astonished--are they not?--to see a woman busy
herself with money matters, especially a young woman, and they are
tempted to blame her. There are days when I am in mortal embarrassment,
having no friends who are willing to advise me. Last fortnight, for
want of proper information, I lost a considerable sum. Ah! now that
you will be in such a good position to know things, if you would be
obliging, if you would only----'
Through the woman of society pierced the gambler, the fierce mad
gambler. Such was the passion of this daughter of the Ladricourts,
one of whose ancestors had taken Antioch, this diplomat's wife before
whom the foreign colony of Paris bent almost double--a passion which
led her, like some equivocal applicant, to the offices of everyone who
dabbled in finance. Her lips bled, her eyes flamed more brightly, her
desire shot forth, seemingly stirring all her ardent nature. And he was
simple enough to believe that she was prepared for everything, provided
that he admitted her into his great enterprise, and gave her some
useful financial tips when opportunity offered.
'Why, I ask nothing better, madame,' said he, 'than to lay my
experience at your feet.'
He had drawn his chair nearer, and he took her hand. But at this she at
once seemed sobered. Ah! no, she had not yet come to that point! And
she rose up in a revolt of birth and breeding.
'So you say, monsieur, that you were satisfied with your _chef_?' she
exclaimed.
Quite astonished, Saccard rose in his turn. Had she hoped that he would
put her name on the list and give her information for nothing? However,
he merely replied: 'Very well satisfied, I assure you. It was only a
change in my household arrangements which led me to part with him.'
The Baroness Sandorff hesitated, though scarcely for a second. Then
she responded with a simple inclination of her head to the respectful
bow with which he bade her good-day; and he was accompanying her to
the little door when it was suddenly opened in a familiar manner. The
intruder was Saccard's son Maxime, who was to breakfast with him that
morning. He stepped aside, likewise bowing, and allowed the Baroness to
pass. When she had gone, however, he gave a slight laugh, followed by a
few bantering words.
Then seating himself in a large arm-chair, and taking up a newspaper,
he added: 'Don't mind me; finish your receiving, if I am not in the
way. I have arrived too early, but the fact is I wanted to see my
doctor, and I did not find him at home.'
Just then the valet came in to say that the Countess de Beauvilliers
requested to be received. Saccard, a little surprised, although he had
already met his 'noble neighbour,' as he called her, at the Institute
of Work, gave orders for her immediate admittance; then, recalling the
valet, he told him to send everybody else away, as he was tired and
very hungry.
When the Countess entered, she did not even see Maxime, who was
hidden by the back of the large arm-chair. And Saccard was still more
astonished to find that she had brought her daughter Alice with her.
This lent additional solemnity to the visit: these two women so sad and
so pale, the mother slender, tall and very white, with a past-century
air, and the daughter already ageing, with a neck elongated to the
point of ugliness. He set chairs for them with a bustling politeness,
the better to show his deference. 'I am extremely honoured, madame,'
said he; 'can I have the happiness to be of any use to you?'
With great timidity, which her haughty manners failed to conceal, the
Countess finally explained the motive of her visit.
'Monsieur,' she said, 'it is in consequence of a conversation I lately
had with my friend, the Princess d'Orviedo, that the idea occurred
to me of calling on you. I confess to you that I hesitated at first,
for at my age one cannot easily change one's ideas, and I have always
been very much afraid of certain things of nowadays which I do not
understand. At last, however, I have talked matters over with my
daughter, and I believe it is my duty to stifle my scruples, so that I
may try to assure the happiness of my children.'
And she continued; saying how the Princess had spoken to her of the
Universal Bank, certainly a financial establishment like the rest
of them in the eyes of the profane, but endowed in the eyes of the
initiated with an irreproachable excuse, an object so meritorious and
lofty as to silence the most timorous consciences. She named neither
the Pope nor Jerusalem; those were matters not to be spoken of,
scarcely to be whispered among the faithful; therein lay the mystery
destined to excite enthusiasm; but each of her words, allusions, and
hints revealed a hope and faith which imparted a true religious flame
to her belief in the success of the new bank.
Saccard himself was astonished at her suppressed emotion, at the
trembling in her voice. As yet he had only spoken of Jerusalem in the
poetical phases of his fever. In his heart he distrusted that mad
project, scenting something ridiculous in it, and quite prepared to
abandon it and laugh at it if it should be greeted with jests. And the
emotional application of this pious woman who brought her daughter
with her, the earnest way in which she gave him to understand that
she and all her kindred, the entire French nobility, would believe
and become infatuated with the scheme, struck him forcibly, gave
substance to what had been purely a dream, and infinitely enlarged his
field of evolution. Was it true, then, that he had a lever here, the
employment of which would permit him to move the world? With his gift
of rapid assimilation, he at once entered into the situation, talking
in mysterious terms of this final triumph which he would pursue in
silence; and his speech was full of fervour, for he had really just
acquired faith--faith in the excellence of the instrument placed in his
hands by the crisis through which the Papacy was passing. He indeed had
the happy faculty of believing, as soon as the success of his plans
required it.
'In short, monsieur,' continued the Countess, 'I have decided upon a
thing which has hitherto been repugnant to me. Yes, the idea of making
money work, of putting it out at interest, had never entered my head.
Mine are the old ways of viewing life, scruples that are becoming a
little stupid, I know; but what would you have? One cannot easily
throw off the ideas acquired in childhood, and I imagined that land
alone, extensive estates, ought to support people like ourselves.
Unfortunately, large estates----'
She blushed slightly, for she was coming to the confession of the ruin
which she had so carefully concealed. 'Large estates can now scarcely
be found in France; we have been sorely tried, and now we have but one
farm left.'
Thereupon Saccard, to spare her further embarrassment, began blazing
away. 'But nowadays, madame, no one lives on land. The landed fortune
of olden times is an out-of-date form of wealth, which has ceased
to have its _raison d'être_. It was the very stagnation of money,
the value of which we have increased tenfold by throwing it into
circulation, and by inventing paper money, and securities of all sorts,
commercial and financial. It is by this means that the world is to be
renewed, for nothing would be possible--neither the applications of
science nor the final universal peace--without money, liquid money
which flows and penetrates everywhere. Oh! landed wealth! it has gone
to keep company with the old stage-coaches. With a million in land
a man dies; whereas with a fourth of that capital invested in good
enterprises at fifteen, twenty, and even thirty per cent., he lives.'
Gently, and with infinite sadness, the Countess shook her head. 'I
scarcely understand you, and, as I have told you, I am a survivor
of an epoch in which these things were feared, as things wicked and
forbidden. However, I am not alone; above all, I must think of my
daughter. In the last few years I have succeeded in laying aside, oh! a
little sum----'
Her blush appeared again.
'Twenty thousand francs, which lie idle at home in a drawer. Later on
perhaps I might feel remorseful at having left them thus unproductive;
and since your enterprise has a good object, as my friend has confided
to me, and since you are going to labour for what we all wish, and wish
most ardently, I will make the venture. In short, I shall be grateful
to you if you can reserve for me some shares in your bank, say to
the amount of ten or twelve thousand francs. I wanted my daughter to
accompany me, for I will not conceal from you that this money is hers.'
So far Alice had not opened her mouth, but had kept quite in the
background, in spite of her look of keen intelligence. Now, however,
she made a gesture of loving reproach. 'Oh, mine, mamma! Have I
anything that is not yours?'
'And your marriage, my child?'
'But you know very well that I do not wish to marry.'
She had said this too quickly; the chagrin of her solitude cried out
in her shrill voice. Her mother silenced her with a distressful glance;
and they looked at each other for a moment, unable to lie, compelled as
they were to share each other's daily sufferings and secrets.
Saccard was greatly moved. 'Madame,' said he, 'even though there were
no more shares left, I would find some for you. Yes, if necessary, I
will take them from my own. Your application touches me infinitely; I
am highly honoured by your confidence.' And at that moment he really
believed that he was making the fortune of these unfortunates; he
associated them for a share in the golden rain that was about to pour
upon him and around him.
The ladies had risen and were retiring. Only at the door did the
Countess venture on a direct allusion to the grand affair, which they
did not speak of. 'I have received,' she said, 'from my son Ferdinand,
who is at Rome, a distressing letter respecting the sadness which the
announcement of the withdrawal of our troops has produced there.'
'Patience!' declared Saccard, in a tone of conviction. 'We are here to
save everything.'
They exchanged profound bows, and he accompanied them to the landing,
passing this time through the ante-room, which he fancied was empty.
But, as he came back, he noticed, on a bench, a tall, withered fellow
of fifty, clad like a working man in his Sunday best, and accompanied
by a pretty girl of eighteen, slender and pale.
'What! What do you want?'
The girl had risen first, and the man, intimidated by this abrupt
reception, began to stammer a confused explanation.
'I had given orders that everybody was to be sent away!' added Saccard.
'Why are you here? Tell me your name at least.'
'Dejoie, monsieur, and I have come with my daughter Nathalie----'
Then he again became confused, so much so that Saccard in his
impatience was about to push him to the door, when he finally
understood that Madame Caroline had known the fellow for a long time
and had told him to wait.
'Ah! you are recommended by Madame Caroline! You should have said so at
first. Come in, and make haste, for I am very hungry.'
On returning to his room, he allowed Dejoie and Nathalie to remain
standing; nor did he even sit down himself, wishing to despatch them
more quickly. Maxime, who had risen on the departure of the Countess,
was no longer discreet enough to hold aloof, but scrutinised the
new-comers with an air of curiosity. And Dejoie told his story at
length.
'This is how it is, monsieur. After I served my term in the army I was
engaged as office-porter by M. Durieu, Madame Caroline's late husband,
when he was a brewer. Then I entered the employ of M. Lamberthier, the
salesman at the Central Markets; after which I worked for M. Blaisot,
a banker, whom you must have known. He blew his brains out two months
ago, and so I am now out of work. I must tell you first of all that
I had married. Yes, I married my wife, Josephine, when I was with M.
Durieu, and when she was cook to Monsieur's sister-in-law, Madame
Leveque, whom Madame Caroline knew very well. Then, when I was with
Monsieur Lamberthier, she could not get a situation there, but got
suited at a doctor's in Grenelle, Monsieur Renaudin. Then she went to
the linen-draper's shop, the Trois-Frères, in the Rue Rambuteau, where
by ill-luck I could never get a situation----'
'In short,' interrupted Saccard, 'you come to ask me for employment,
don't you?'
Dejoie, however, was determined to explain the great grief of his life,
the ill-fortune which had led him to marry a cook with whose employers
he had never succeeded in obtaining a situation. It was as if they had
not been married, never having a home they could call their own, but
having to meet at wine-shops, and kiss each other behind kitchen-doors.
However, a daughter was born, Nathalie, whom he had been obliged to
put out to nurse until she was eight years old, until indeed he was
tired of living alone, and took her to join him in his little bachelor
lodging. And in this wise he had become the little one's real mother,
bringing her up, taking her to school, watching over her with infinite
care, his heart overflowing the while with growing adoration.
'Ah! I may certainly say, monsieur,' he continued, 'that she has given
me satisfaction. She's educated, and well behaved. And, as you can see
yourself, she's as nice-looking as can be.'
Indeed Saccard found this blonde flower of the Paris pavements quite
charming with her slight graceful figure and large eyes shining from
under quivering ringlets of light hair. She complacently allowed
her father to admire her, virtuous as yet, having no reason to be
otherwise, yet allowing a ferocious, quiet egotism to be seen in the
limpid brilliancy of her eyes.
'And so, monsieur,' continued Dejoie, 'she's now of an age to marry,
and a capital suitor has just come forward, the eon of a pasteboard
maker, our neighbour. But he wants to set up in business himself, and
asks for six thousand francs. It isn't much; he might expect a girl who
would bring him more. I must tell you that I lost my wife four years
ago and that she left us her savings, her little profits as a cook, you
see. Well, I have four thousand francs, but that's not six thousand,
and the young man is in a hurry. Nathalie too----'
The girl, who stood listening, smiling, with a clear, cold decided
look, here expressed assent with her chin. 'Of course,' said she, 'I
want to end the matter, one way or another.'
Saccard again interposed. He had already gauged the man--his intellect
might be limited, but he was upright, had a kindly heart, and was
accustomed to military discipline. Moreover, it sufficed that he had
presented himself with Madame Caroline's recommendation.
'Very well, my friend,' said the financier, 'I am about to purchase a
newspaper, and I will engage you as office attendant. Let me have your
address, and now good-day.'
Dejoie did not take his departure, however, but with fresh
embarrassment resumed: 'It's very kind of you, monsieur. I'll accept
the situation gratefully, for sure enough I shall have to work when I
have arranged Nathalie's matter. But I came for something else. Yes, I
have heard through Madame Caroline and other people too, that you are
about to start a big enterprise, monsieur, and will be able to place
your friends and acquaintances in a position to make as much money as
you may choose them to make. So if you would be kind enough, monsieur,
to interest yourselves in us, if you would consent to let us have some
of your shares----'
A second time was Saccard moved, more moved even than he had been
on the first occasion when the Countess likewise had intrusted her
daughter's dowry to him. Did not this simple man, this microscopical
capitalist, with savings scraped up copper by copper, personify the
believing, truthful multitude, the great multitude that means abundant,
substantial custom, the fanatical army that endows a financial
establishment with invincible power? If this worthy fellow hurried to
him in this fashion, before a single announcement had been made, a
single advertisement issued, what would it be when the offices opened?
He smiled with emotion upon this first little shareholder, in whose
coming he beheld an omen of immense success.
'Agreed, my friend, you shall have some shares,' said he.
Dejoie's face became radiant, as though some great unhoped-for favour
had been promised him. 'You are very kind, monsieur. And with my four
thousand francs I shall be able, shan't I? to gain two thousand more,
in six months' time or so, and then we can make up the amount we want.
And since you consent, monsieur, I would rather settle the matter at
once. I've brought the money.'
He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out an envelope which he offered
to Saccard, who stood there motionless, silent, struck with admiration
at this final proof of confidence. And he, the terrible corsair, who
had levied tribute on so many fortunes, ended by bursting into a hearty
laugh, honestly resolved that he would enrich this trusting man as well
as all the others.
'But, my good fellow,' he said, 'things are not managed in that way.
Keep your money. I will put your name down, and you will pay up at the
proper time and place.'
Thereupon he finally dismissed them, after Dejoie had made Nathalie
thank him, which she did with a smile of content lighting up her hard,
yet candid eyes.
When Maxime at last found himself alone with his father he remarked
with that insolently jeering air of his: 'And so now you dower young
girls?'
'Why not?' Saccard answered gaily. 'It's a good thing to invest in
other people's happiness.' Then before leaving his room he turned to
set some papers in order, and all at once exclaimed: 'And you, by the
way, don't you want some shares?'
Maxime, who was slowly walking up and down, turned round with a start,
and planted himself in front of his father. 'Oh no, indeed! Do you take
me to be a fool?' he asked.
Saccard made an angry gesture, for he found the answer sadly
disrespectful and witty. He was on the point of shouting that the
affair was really a superb one, and that he, Maxime, credited him with
little common sense if he imagined him to be a mere thief like others;
but as he looked at the young fellow, a feeling of pity came over him
for this poor boy of his, who at five and twenty was already exhausted,
worn-out, settled down, and even avaricious--so aged by vice, so
anxious as to his health that he no longer ventured on any expenditure
or enjoyment without carefully calculating the profits that might
accrue to him. And thereupon, thoroughly consoled, quite proud of the
passionate imprudence which he himself displayed at the age of fifty,
he once more began laughing, and tapped his son on the shoulder: 'Come,
let's go to breakfast, my poor youngster, and mind you are careful of
your rheumatism.'
Two days later, October 5, Saccard, accompanied by Hamelin and
Daigremont, repaired to the offices of Maître Lelorrain, notary, in
the Rue Sainte-Anne, and there executed the deed which established the
joint stock company of the Universal Bank, with a capital of five and
twenty millions of francs, divided into fifty thousand shares of five
hundred francs each, a fourth part of the amount alone having to be
paid on allotment. The offices of the company were fixed at the Orviedo
mansion in the Rue St. Lazare, and a copy of the bye-laws, drawn up in
accordance with the deed, was deposited at Maître Lelorrain's office.
Then, on leaving the notary's, as it happened to be a very bright,
sunny autumn day, the three gentlemen lighted cigars, and slowly
sauntered homeward by way of the boulevard and the Rue de la Chaussée
d'Antin, feeling well pleased with life, and as merry as boys escaped
from school.
The initial general meeting was not held until the following week,
in a hall in the Rue Blanche which had formerly been used for public
balls, and in which a scheming individual was now endeavouring to
start a fine art exhibition. The members of the syndicate had already
disposed of those shares which they had taken, but did not wish to
keep for themselves; and there came to the meeting one hundred and
twenty-two shareholders, representing nearly forty thousand shares,
which should have given a total of two thousand votes, since twenty
shares were necessary to entitle one to sit and vote. However, as no
one shareholder was allowed more than ten votes, whatever might be the
amount of stock held by him, the exact total number of votes proved to
be sixteen hundred and forty-three.
Saccard positively insisted upon Hamelin presiding. He himself had
voluntarily disappeared among the crowd. He had put down the engineer's
name and his own for five hundred shares apiece, which were to be paid
for, temporarily at all events, by a manipulation of accounts. All the
members of the syndicate were present: Daigremont, Huret, Sédille,
Kolb, and the Marquis de Bohain, each with the group of shareholders
marching under his orders. Sabatani, one of the largest subscribers,
was also noticed there, together with Jantrou, accompanied by several
of the higher officials of the bank, who had entered upon their
duties a couple of days previously. And all the decisions which had
to be arrived at had been so well foreseen and settled beforehand,
that never was there a shareholders' meeting at which more splendid
calmness, simplicity, and harmony were displayed. The sincerity of the
declaration that the entire capital had been subscribed, and that one
hundred and twenty-five francs per share had been paid on allotment,
was endorsed by an unanimous vote; and then with all solemnity the
company was declared to be established. Immediately afterwards came the
appointment of the board of directors, which was to consist of twenty
members, who, in addition to attendance fees, calculated at an annual
total of fifty thousand francs, were, according to the bye-laws, to
receive ten per cent. upon the net profits.
This was not to be despised, so each member of the syndicate had
insisted upon having a seat on the board; and naturally, at the
head of the list of those who were elected, came Daigremont, Huret,
Sédille, Kolb, the Marquis de Bohain, and Hamelin, whom his colleagues
wished to appoint chairman, followed by fourteen others of minor
importance, selected from among the most subservient and ornamental
of the shareholders. At last Saccard, who so far had remained in the
background, came forward on Hamelin proposing him for the post of
general manager. A murmur of sympathy greeted the mention of his name,
and he also obtained a unanimous vote.
It then only remained for them to elect the two auditors, whose duty
it would be to examine and report on the balance sheets and in this
way check the accounts supplied by the management--functions, at once
delicate and useless, for which Saccard had designated a certain
Sieur Rousseau and a Sieur Lavignière, the first completely under
the influence of the second, who was a tall, fair-haired fellow with
very polite manners and a disposition to approve of everything, being
consumed with a desire to become a member of the board when the latter,
later on, should express satisfaction with his services. Rousseau and
Lavignière having been appointed, the meeting was about to end, when
the chairman thought it his duty to refer to the premium of ten per
cent. granted to the members of the syndicate, in all four hundred
thousand francs, which, at his suggestion, the meeting charged to the
preliminary expenses account. It was a trifle; it was necessary to make
an allowance to the promoters; and, this point being settled, whilst
the crowd of petty shareholders hurried away like a flock of sheep, the
larger subscribers lingered behind, shaking hands with one another on
the footway with smiling faces.
On the very next day the directors met at the Orviedo mansion, in
Saccard's former _salon_, now transformed into a board room. A huge
table, covered with a green velvet cloth and encompassed by twenty
arm-chairs upholstered in the same material, occupied the centre of
the apartment, where there was also a couple of bookcases, the glass
doors of which were provided with silk curtains, also green. Deep red
hangings darkened the room, whose three windows overlooked the garden
of the Beauvilliers mansion, whence came a kind of twilight, the
peacefulness as it were of some old cloister, sleeping in the greeny
shade of its trees. Altogether the apartment had a severe, aristocratic
appearance, conveying an impression of antique honesty.
The board had met to select its officers, and when four o'clock struck
almost all the members were present. With his lofty stature and little
pale aristocratic head, the Marquis de Bohain was quite typical of 'old
France;' whilst Daigremont, with his affability, personified the lofty
fortune of the Empire in all the splendour of its success. Sédille,
less worried than usual, began talking to Kolb of an unexpected turn
which business was taking on the Vienna market; and around them the
other directors, the band, stood listening, trying to glean some
information, or else chatting together about their own affairs, being
there merely to make up the requisite number, to pick up their share
of the spoils on the days when there might be booty to divide. As
usual, it was Huret who came late, out of breath, after escaping at
the last moment from some committee of the Chamber on which he served.
He apologised, and then they all seated themselves in the arm-chairs
ranged round the table.
The eldest of the directors, the Marquis de Bohain, had taken his seat
in the presidential arm-chair, which was higher and more lavishly
gilded than the others. Saccard, as general manager, had placed himself
at the other end of the table in front of him; and upon the Marquis
announcing that they were first about to select a chairman, Hamelin at
once rose up to decline nomination. He had reason to believe, said he,
that several gentlemen present had thought of him for the chairmanship,
but he wished to call their attention to the fact that he must start
for the East immediately, that he was altogether without experience in
banking, Bourse, and book-keeping matters, and that the chairmanship
altogether carried with it a weighty responsibility which he was unable
to accept. Saccard listened to him in great surprise, for only the
day before the matter had been quite decided between them; and he at
once divined that Madame Caroline had brought her influence to bear
upon her brother. They had, he knew, had a long conversation together
that morning. And so, as he was unwilling to have any other director
as chairman--any independent individual who might embarrass him--he
ventured to intervene, explaining that the office was mainly one of
honour, and that it sufficed for the chairman to put in an appearance
at the general meetings, and there support the proposals of the board
and deliver the customary speeches. Moreover, said he, they were going
to elect a vice-chairman, who would be empowered to sign for the board.
As for the rest, the purely technical parts of their business, the
account-keeping, the Bourse, the thousand and one details connected
with the inner management of a great financial establishment, would not
he, Saccard, be there, he the manager, expressly appointed to attend
to the matters in question? According to the bye-laws he had to direct
all the office work, see that money was collected and paid, attend to
current affairs, carry out the decisions of the board--in a word, act
as the company's executive officer. All this seemed sensible enough.
Nevertheless, Hamelin resisted for a considerable time longer, and
it became necessary for Daigremont and Huret to insist in the most
pressing fashion, whilst the majestic Marquis de Bohain affected to
take no interest in the matter.
At last the engineer yielded and was named chairman; and then the
vice-chairmanship was bestowed on an obscure agriculturist, the
Viscount de Robin-Chagot, formerly a Counsellor of State and a gentle
niggardly fellow, who would prove a first-rate signing machine. As for
the secretary, it was proposed that he should be selected not from
among the board members but from among the bank staff, and thereupon
the head of the issue department was chosen. Then, as dusk was falling
in the spacious, severe-looking room, a greeny dusk of infinite
sadness, the work accomplished was judged good and sufficient, and they
separated after fixing their meetings at two a month--the petty board
on the 15th, and the full board on the 30th.
Saccard and Hamelin went up together to the workroom, where Madame
Caroline was awaiting them. By her brother's embarrassment she clearly
realised that he had once more yielded through weakness; and for a
moment she was quite angry with him.
'But come now, this isn't reasonable!' exclaimed Saccard. 'Remember
that the chairman receives thirty thousand francs a year--which amount
will be doubled when our business shall have extended. You are not rich
enough to despise such an advantage. And besides, what is it that you
fear, tell me?'
'Why, I fear everything,' answered Madame Caroline. 'My brother won't
be here and I myself understand nothing about money matters. And about
those five hundred shares which you have put him down for, without
his paying for them at once, isn't that irregular? Would he not find
himself in trouble if the enterprise should come to grief?'
Saccard had begun laughing. 'A fine affair!' said he. 'Five hundred
shares, a first call of sixty-two thousand five hundred francs! Why, if
he won't be able to pay that out of his first profits before six months
are over our heads, we might just as well, all of us, throw ourselves
into the Seine at once, rather than take the trouble to launch anything
at all. No, you can be easy, speculation only devours fools.'
She retained her severity of demeanour in the growing darkness which
was filling the room. However, a couple of lamps were brought, and
a broad light then illumined the walls, the large plans, the bright
water-colours, which so often made her dream of the countries over
yonder. The plains were still barren, the mountains still barred the
horizon, and once more she conjured up a vision of the distressful
wretchedness of that old world asleep on its treasures, but which
science was going to reawaken in its filth and its ignorance. What
great and beautiful and good things there were to be accomplished!
Little by little, her vision showed her the generations of the future,
a stronger and happier humanity springing from the ancient soil which
progress would once more plough.
'Speculation, speculation!' she mechanically repeated, struggling with
her doubts. 'Ah! the idea of it fills my heart with disturbing anguish.'
Saccard, who was well acquainted with her usual train of thought, had
watched that hope in the future dawning on her face. 'Yes,' said he,
'speculation. Why does the word frighten you? Speculation--why, it is
the one inducement that we have to live; it is the eternal desire that
compels us to live and struggle. Without speculation, my dear friend,
there would be no business of any kind. Why on earth would you have
me loosen my purse strings and risk my fortune, if you do not promise
me some extraordinary enjoyment, some sudden happiness which will
open heaven to me? With the mere legitimate, moderate remuneration
of labour, the mere living wage--with nothing but well-balanced
equilibrium in all transactions, life becomes a desert of dreary
flatness, a marsh in which all forces slumber and stagnate. But, all at
once, just make some dream flare up on the horizon, promise men that
with one sou they shall gain a hundred, propose to all these sleepers
that they shall join you in the chase after the impossible, and gain
millions in a couple of hours, amidst the most fearful hazards--why
then the race at once begins, all energies are increased tenfold,
and amidst the scramble of people toiling and sweating for their own
gratification, birth is given to great and beautiful living things. It
is the same as in love. In love as in speculation there is much filth;
in love also, people think only of their own gratification; yet without
love there would be no life, and the world would come to an end.'
Madame Caroline was not prudish, and made up her mind to laugh. 'And
so,' said she, 'your conclusion is that we must resign ourselves since
all this enters into Nature's plan. You are right, life is by no means
clean.'
Genuine bravery came to her at the thought that each forward step in
the world's history and development is made through blood and mire.
One must have will-power, determination. Meantime her eyes, straying
along the walls, had not ceased gazing at the plans and drawings, and
the future appeared to her with its ports, canals, highways, railways,
rural districts with immense farms equipped like factories, new,
healthy, and intelligent cities, where the human race would live to a
great age and in the enjoyment of much knowledge.
'Well,' she resumed gaily, 'I must give way, I suppose, as usual. Let
us try to do a little good, that we may be forgiven.'
Her brother, who had remained silent, now drew near and embraced her.
She threatened him with her finger. 'Oh! you,' said she, 'you are a
coaxer. I know you well. To-morrow, when you have left us, you will
trouble yourself but little as to what may go on here; and as soon
as you have buried yourself in your work over yonder, you will find
everything going well and be dreaming of triumph, whilst here, perhaps,
the soil will be cracking beneath us.'
'But,' cried Saccard in a jocular way, 'since it's understood that
he will leave you here like a gendarme to lay hold of me if I behave
badly.'
All three burst out laughing.
'Yes,' said Madame Caroline, 'you may rely upon it, I shall lay hold of
you. Remember what you have promised, to ourselves to begin with, and
then to so many others, my worthy Dejoie for instance, whom I strongly
recommend to you. Ah! and our neighbours also, those poor Beauvilliers
ladies, whom I saw to-day superintending their cook whilst she washed
some of their linen, by way of reducing the laundry bill, no doubt.'
For another moment all three continued talking in a very friendly way,
and Hamelin's departure was definitely settled. Then, as Saccard
went down again to his private room, he learnt from his valet that a
woman had been obstinately waiting to see him, although she had been
told that there was a board meeting that afternoon, and that he would
in all probability be unable to receive her. At first, feeling quite
tired, Saccard became angry, and gave orders to send her away; then
the thought that he ought to be grateful for success and the fear that
he might change his luck should he close his door caused him to alter
his mind. The stream of applicants was increasing day by day, and the
swarming of this throng brought him intoxication.
His private room was lighted by a single lamp and he could not see his
visitor very clearly.
'It was Monsieur Busch who sent me, monsieur,' she began.
His anger kept him standing, and he did not even tell the woman to sit
down. By that shrill voice emanating from an unsightly mass of flesh
he had recognised Madame Méchain. There was a pretty shareholder for
you--a creature who bought securities by the pound weight!
She, however, calmly explained that Busch had sent her to get some
information respecting the issue of the Universal Bank shares. Were
there any still available? Could one hope to secure some with the
premium accorded to the members of the syndicate? But all this was
surely a pretext, a dodge to get in to see the house, to spy out what
was being done there, and to feel him, Saccard; for her tiny eyes,
gimlet-holes as they seemed, pierced in her puffy face, were ferreting
everywhere, and incessantly returning to him, as though to probe him to
the very soul. Busch, indeed, after long and patient waiting, ripening
the famous affair of the abandoned child, was now making up his mind to
act, and had sent her out to reconnoitre.
'There are none left,' answered Saccard brutally.
She realised that she would learn nothing further, and that any attempt
that day would be imprudent. And so, without waiting for him to push
her out, she at once stepped towards the door.
'Why don't you ask me for some shares for yourself?' he resumed with
the intention of offending her.
Thereupon, in her lisping, pointed voice in which there was a
touch of mockery, she replied: 'Me! Oh! that isn't my style of
business--I--wait.'
And, at that moment, catching sight of the huge, worn leather bag which
never left her, he felt a shudder pass through him. To think of it, on
a day when everything had gone off so well, when he had at last felt
so happy at beholding the long-desired birth of that great financial
establishment, this woman came to him. Would she, rascally old creature
that she was, prove to be the wicked fairy, the fairy who in the
familiar tales throws a spell over princesses in their cradles? That
bag which she had been carrying through the offices of his nascent bank
was--he realised--full of depreciated securities, stock that had ceased
to be quoted. And he understood, so he fancied, that she meant to wait
as long as might be necessary in order to bury his own shares in it,
when the fall of his enterprise should come. Her reply was like the cry
of the raven that starts with the army when it sets out on the march,
that follows it until the night of the carnage, then hovers and swoops
down, knowing there must be dead to eat.
'_Au revoir_, monsieur,' added La Méchain, as she retired panting and
very polite.