THE BOOM BEGINS
It was on April 1, in the midst of _fêtes_, that the Universal
Exhibition of 1867 was opened with triumphal splendour. The Empire's
great 'season' was beginning, that supreme gala season which was to
turn Paris into the hostelry of the entire world--a hostelry gay with
bunting, song, and music, where there was feasting and love-making in
every room. Never had a _régime_ at the zenith of its power convoked
the nations to such a colossal spree. From the four corners of the
earth a long procession of emperors, kings, and princes started on the
march towards the Tuileries, which were all ablaze like some palace in
the crowning scene of an extravaganza.
And it was at this same period, a fortnight after the Exhibition
opened, that Saccard inaugurated the monumental pile in which he had
insisted upon lodging the Universal. Six months had sufficed to erect
it; workmen had toiled day and night without losing an hour, performing
a miracle which is only possible in Paris; and a superb façade was now
displayed, rich in flowery ornamentation, suggestive in some respects
of a temple, in others of a music hall--a façade of such a luxurious
aspect that passers-by stopped short in groups to gaze upon it. And
within all was sumptuous; the millions in the coffers seemed to have
streamed along the walls. A grand staircase led to the board-room,
which was all purple and gold, as splendid as the auditorium of an
opera house. On every side you found carpets and hangings, offices
fitted up with a dazzling wealth of furniture. Fastened in the walls of
the basement, where the share offices were installed, were huge safes,
with deep oven-like mouths, and transparent glass partitions enabled
the public to perceive them, ranged there like the barrels of gold
that figure in the folk-tales, and in which slumber the incalculable
treasures of the fairies. And the nations with their kings on their
way to the Exhibition would be able to come and view them, for all was
ready, the new building awaited them, to dazzle them, catch them one by
one, like an irresistible golden trap scintillating in the sunlight.
Saccard was enthroned in a most sumptuously adorned office with Louis
Quatorze furniture of Genoa velvet and gilded woodwork. The staff had
again been increased; it exceeded four hundred employees; so now it
was quite an army that Saccard commanded with the pomp of a tyrant who
is both adored and obeyed, for he was very open-handed in the matter
of presents and gratuities. And, despite his mere title of manager, it
was he in reality who reigned, above the chairman of the board, above
the board itself, which simply ratified his orders. Madame Caroline
was consequently ever on the alert, busy in finding out his decisions,
to try and thwart them if she thought it necessary. She disapproved
of this new, unduly magnificent establishment, though she could not
blame it in principle, having recognised the necessity of having
larger quarters in the fine days when she had been all confidence,
and had joked her brother for growing anxious. The argument she now
used in combating all this luxury was that the Bank lost its aspect of
honest modesty, of deep religious gravity. What would the customers,
accustomed to the monkish solemnity, the discreet half-light prevailing
on the ground floor of the Rue Saint Lazare, think on entering this
palace in the Rue de Londres, with its lofty storeys enlivened with
sound and flooded with light? Saccard answered that they would be
overwhelmed with admiration and respect, that those who brought five
francs would take ten from their pockets, swayed by self-pride and
intoxicated with confidence. And he was right in thus estimating
the effect of all this tinsel. The success of the building was
prodigious; as an effective advertisement it surpassed Jantrou's most
extraordinary puffs. The pious little capitalists of the quiet parts
of Paris, the poor country priests arriving in the morning from the
railway stations, stood gaping beatifically before the doors, and came
out flushed with pleasure at the thought of having their funds in such
a palace.
In reality, the point which more particularly vexed Madame Caroline was
that she could no longer constantly be in the establishment exercising
supervision. She was only able to go to the Rue de Londres at long
intervals on some pretext or other. She now lived alone in the workroom
at home, and scarcely saw Saccard, except in the evening. He had kept
his rooms in the Rue Saint Lazare, but the entire ground floor, as well
as the offices on the first floor, remained closed; and the Princess
d'Orviedo, happy in reality at being freed from the remorse of having
that bank, that money shop, installed underneath her, did not even
try to re-let the premises, indifferent as she was to the question
of making money, even in the most legitimate way. The empty house,
echoing to every passing vehicle, seemed like a tomb. Madame Caroline
now only heard that quivering echo ascending through the ceilings
from the closed wickets whence for two years there had ever come a
faint jingling of gold. Her days now seemed to her of greater length
and increasing dulness. Yet she worked a great deal, always kept busy
by her brother, who required her to do no end of writing for him. At
times, though, she would pause in her work and listen, instinctively
feeling anxious, desirous of knowing what was going on at the Bank. But
she heard nothing, not a breath; the rooms below were stripped of their
furniture, empty, dark, securely locked. Then a little shiver would
come upon her and she would forget herself for a few minutes in her
anxiety. What were they doing in the Rue de Londres? Was not the crack
appearing at that very moment--the crack which would cause the collapse
of the whole edifice?
A report, vague and faint as yet, was spreading to the effect that
Saccard contemplated a fresh issue of shares. He wished to raise the
Bank's capital from one hundred to one hundred and fifty millions.
It was a time of particular excitement, the fatal time when all the
prosperities of the reign, the vast works which had transformed
the city of Paris, the frenzied circulation of money, the _furore_
of luxury and greed, were bound to culminate in a high fever of
speculation. Each wished to have his share of wealth and risked his
fortune on the _tapis vert_, in order to increase it tenfold and reap
enjoyment like so many others who had enriched themselves in a single
night. The banners of the Exhibition flapping in the sunlight, the
illuminations and orchestras of the Champ de Mars, the crowds from
all over the world which streamed along the streets, completed the
intoxication of the Parisians, made them dream alike of inexhaustible
wealth and sovereign dominion. During the clear evenings, from all
the huge city _en fête_, seated at table in exotic restaurants, amid
a colossal fair where pleasure was freely sold under the stars, there
arose the supreme fit of madness, the joyous, voracious folly which
seizes upon great capitals threatened with destruction. And Saccard,
with the scent of a cut-purse, had so clearly divined the advent of
this paroxysm, this desire of one and all to empty their pockets and
throw their money to the winds, that he had just doubled the amount
allowed for advertising, urging Jantrou to raise the most deafening din.
Day by day, ever since the opening of the Exhibition, the voice of
the Press had been like a peal of bells ringing the praises of the
Universal. Each morning brought its clash of cymbals to make the
world turn round and look: some extraordinary news 'par,' some story
of a lady who had forgotten a hundred shares in a cab; some extract
from an account of a journey in Asia Minor, in which it was explained
that the first Napoleon had predicted the advent of the establishment
in the Rue de Londres; some leading article in which the _rôle_ of
this financial house was considered from a political point of view
in connection with the approaching solution of the Eastern question,
to say nothing of the constant notes in the financial journals, all
enlisted and marching together in a compact mass. Jantrou had made
annual contracts with the small financial prints, which assured him
a column in every number; and in utilising this column he displayed
astonishing fertility and variety of imagination, going so far even as
to attack the Bank, for the sake of refuting the attack and triumphing
afterwards. The famous pamphlet which he had meditated had just been
launched through the entire world to the extent of a million copies.
His new agency was also established--that agency which, under the
pretext of sending a financial bulletin to the provincial newspapers,
made itself absolute master of the market in all the important towns.
And finally 'L'Espérance,' shrewdly conducted, was daily acquiring
greater political importance. Much attention had been attracted by a
series of articles issued after the decree of January 19, which to
the old formula of an address from the Corps Législatif substituted
the right of interpellation--a fresh concession on the part of the
Emperor on his path to the re-establishment of Parliamentary liberty.
Saccard, who inspired these articles, did not venture to openly attack
his brother, who, despite everything, was still Minister of State,
resigned, such was his passion for power, to defend to-day that which
he had condemned yesterday; still it could be seen that the financier
was on the look-out, watching Rougon in his false position, caught as
he was between the Third Party hungering for his inheritance, and the
Clericals who had leagued themselves with the despotic Bonapartists
against the establishment of a liberal empire. Indeed, insinuations
were already beginning; the paper was again becoming a mouthpiece of
militant Catholicism, commenting tartly on each one of the Minister's
acts. The accession of 'L'Espérance' to the ranks of the Opposition
journals would mean popularity, and would finish carrying the name of
the Universal to the four corners, not only of France, but of the world.
Then, as an effect of all the formidable advertising, the probability
of an increase of capital, the rumour of a new issue of fifty millions,
fevered even the most sensible of that agitated society, ripe for
every folly. From humble dwellings to aristocratic mansions, from
the dark dens of door-porters to the drawing-rooms of duchesses, all
heads took fire; the general infatuation became blind faith, heroic
and ready for battle. Folks enumerated the great things done by the
Universal--its first startling successes, its unexpected dividends,
such as no other company had distributed in the early phases of its
existence. They recalled that happy idea of the United Steam Navigation
Company, which had so speedily yielded a magnificent profit, and
whose shares already commanded a premium of a hundred francs. Then
there was the Carmel silver-mine, with its miraculous yield of the
precious metal, to which a reverend preacher had referred during Lent
from the pulpit of Notre-Dame, calling it a gift from the Most High
to trusting Christians.[21] And, besides this, there was another
company established to work the immense deposits of coal which had been
discovered; and yet another which was going to work the vast Lebanon
forests, felling a certain number of trees every year, to say nothing
of the establishment of that substantial concern, the National Turkish
Bank at Constantinople.
There had not been one check; good fortune, ever on the increase,
changed everything that the Universal touched into gold. There
was already a large _ensemble_ of prosperous creations, providing
an immovable basis for future operations and justifying the rapid
increase of the capital. Then there was the future which opened before
overheated imaginations--the future so big with great enterprises
that it necessitated that call for another fifty millions, the mere
announcement of which was sufficient to upset men's brains. In this
respect there was an unlimited field for Bourse and drawing-room
rumours; however, the approaching grand affair of the Oriental Railway
Company stood out amid all other projects, found its way into all
conversations, decried by some and exalted by others.
The women especially became excited, and carried on enthusiastic
propaganda in favour of the scheme. In boudoirs and at gala dinners,
behind flowery _jardinières_ at the late hour of tea,[22] even in the
depths of alcoves, there were charming, persuasive, caressing creatures
who thus catechised men: 'What! you have no Universals? But they are
the only shares worth having! Make haste and buy some Universals if you
wish me to love you!' It was the new Crusade, they said, the conquest
of Asia, which the Crusaders of Peter the Hermit and Saint Louis had
been unable to effect, and which they, these ladies, undertook to
accomplish with their little purses of chain gold. They all pretended
to be well-informed, and talked in technical terms of the main line
which would be opened first from Broussa to Beyrout by way of Angora
and Aleppo. Later on would come the branch line from Smyrna to Angora;
later, that from Trebizond to Angora by way of Erzeroum and Sivas;
later still, that from Damascus to Beyrout. And then they smiled, and
winked, and whispered that perhaps there would be another one, oh! a
long time hence, from Beyrout to Jerusalem, by way of the old cities of
the coast--Saida, Saint Jean d'Acre, and Jaffa. And afterwards, _mon
Dieu_! who could tell? there might be one from Jerusalem to Port Said
and Alexandria. To say nothing of the fact that Bagdad was not far from
Damascus, and that, if a line should be carried to that point, why,
Persia, India, and China would some day be united to the West.
At a word from their pretty lips it seemed as though the treasures of
the Caliphs were found again and were shining resplendently, as in
some tale of the 'Arabian Nights.' The jewels and gems of dreamland
rained into the coffers of the palace in the Rue de Londres; whilst
Carmel supplied smoking incense and a vague, delicate background of
Biblical legends, hallowing the mighty appetite for gain. Did it not
mean Eden reconquered, the Holy Land delivered, religion triumphing in
the very cradle of humanity? And then the ladies paused, refusing to
say any more, but their eyes beaming at thought of that which it was
necessary to hide. That could not even be whispered in a lover's ear.
Many of these ladies were ignorant of the secret, but none the less
pretended to know it. That was the mystery, the thing which perchance
might never happen, and which perchance might some day burst upon the
world like a thunderbolt: Jerusalem purchased from the Sultan, given to
the Pope with Syria for a kingdom; the Papacy provided with a revenue
supplied by a Catholic bank--the Treasury of the Holy Sepulchre--which
would place it beyond the pale of political disturbances; briefly,
Catholicism would be rejuvenated, would be no longer forced to any
compromises, but would acquire renewed authority, and dominate the
world from the summit of the height where Christ the man expired.
And of a morning now, in his luxurious Louis Quatorze office, Saccard
was forced to forbid his door when he wished to work; for there were
endless assaulting parties, or rather a court procession, coming, as
it were, to a king's levée--courtiers, business people, applicants of
all kinds soliciting and adoring his omnipotence. One morning, during
the early days of July, he was particularly inflexible, giving the most
stringent orders to admit no one. Whilst the ante-room was filling
with people, who, despite the usher, persisted in waiting and hoping
that they would be received, he shut himself up with two heads of
departments to finish planning the new issue of shares. After examining
various projects, he pronounced in favour of a combination which,
thanks to this new issue of a hundred thousand shares, would permit
the complete release of the two hundred thousand old ones, upon each
of which only one hundred and twenty-five francs had been paid. This
result was arrived at by issuing the new shares--which were reserved
for existing shareholders--at the price of eight hundred and fifty
francs; that is to say, five hundred francs for the share itself and
three hundred and fifty francs premium, this premium effecting the
proposed release. However, certain complications arose, due to the
large amount of its own stock which the Bank held, and it was necessary
to find a means of filling up certain gaps, the worry of which acted
upon Saccard's nerves. The sound of the voices in the ante-room,
moreover, irritated him. That cringing Paris, whose homage he usually
received with the good-nature of a despot prone to familiarity, filled
him on this occasion with contempt. And Dejoie, who served him as usher
in the morning, having ventured to take a roundabout way and enter by a
little door opening from a passage, he turned on him in a fury: 'What!
I told you nobody, nobody; do you understand? Here! take my walking
stick, place it at my door, and let them kiss it.'
Dejoie impassively ventured to insist. 'Excuse me, monsieur, it is the
Countess de Beauvilliers. She begged so hard, and, as I know Monsieur
wishes to be agreeable to her----'
'What!' cried Saccard in a fit of anger; 'let her go to the devil with
the others.'
Then with a gesture of repressed wrath he immediately reconsidered the
matter: 'Show her in,' said he, 'since it seems certain that I cannot
be left in peace. And by the little door, mind, so that the whole flock
may not enter with her.'
The welcome which he extended to the Countess de Beauvilliers was
fraught with the abruptness of a man just recovering from excitement.
Even the sight of Alice, who accompanied her mother, silently
meditating, did not calm him. He had sent the two heads of departments
away, and was only thinking of how soon he would be able to call them
back so as to continue his work.
'Pray speak quickly, madame, for I am terribly busy.'
The Countess, always slow with her words and movements, always
preserving the sadness of a fallen queen, stopped short in evident
surprise. 'But if I disturb you, monsieur'--she began.
He had to offer them seats, and the girl, the braver of the two, sat
down the first in a resolute way whilst her mother continued: 'I
have come for some advice, monsieur. I am in a state of very painful
uncertainty, and am afraid that I shall never be able to come to a
decision by myself.'
Then she reminded him that at the time of the establishment of the
Bank she had taken a hundred shares, which she had doubled at the
time of the first increase of capital and again at the time of the
second increase, so that she now held four hundred shares, upon which,
inclusive of premiums, she had paid the sum of eighty-seven thousand
francs. Twenty thousand francs of this amount had been supplied by her
savings, and the rest--some seventy thousand--she had been forced to
borrow on her farm, Les Aublets.
'And it now happens,' she continued, 'that I have just found a
purchaser for the farm. And I understand that there is to be a new
issue of shares. If that is so, I may perhaps place our entire fortune
in your house.'
Saccard was now calming down, flattered at finding these two poor
women, the last members of a great and ancient race, so trustful and
anxious in his presence. He went into figures and rapidly supplied them
with information.
'A new issue--yes, there is to be one, I am just attending to it,' he
said. 'The shares will be priced at eight hundred and fifty francs,
inclusive of premium. You say that you now have four hundred shares;
well, two hundred of these new ones will be allotted to you; so that
you will be required to pay one hundred and seventy thousand francs.
But all your shares will be released, and you will have six hundred
belonging to you entirely without any further liability with regard to
them.'
They did not understand, and he had to explain to them how the premium
would release the shares; and they turned a little pale at the big
figures that were mentioned, oppressed by the thought of what an
audacious stroke they would have to risk.
'As for the money,' murmured the mother at last, 'that will be all
right. I am offered two hundred and forty thousand francs for Les
Aublets, which were formerly worth four hundred thousand; so that,
after repaying the sum I have already borrowed, there would be just
enough left to pay for the shares. But what a terrible thing, _mon
Dieu_! this fortune displaced, our whole existence ventured in this
fashion!'
Her hands trembled, and there was a spell of silence, during which
she reflected how this financial machinery had already drawn in both
her savings and the seventy thousand francs that she had borrowed, and
now threatened to take the entire farm. Her old respect for landed
property, ploughed fields, meadows and forests, her repugnance for
traffic in money--that base calling of the Jews, unworthy of her
race--came back to her and filled her with anguish at this decisive
moment, when everything was on the point of being consummated. Her
daughter meantime looked at her in silence, with her pure yet ardent
eyes.
Saccard gave an encouraging smile.
'Well,' said he, 'it is very certain that you will have to place
confidence in us. But there are the figures. Examine them, and
hesitation seems to me impossible. Suppose you decide to do it, then
you will have six hundred shares, which will have cost you two hundred
and fifty-seven thousand francs. Now they are quoted to-day at an
average rate of thirteen hundred francs, which would give you a total
of seven hundred and eighty thousand francs. You have already more
than tripled your money. And it will continue; you will see how the
quotations will go up after the new issue! I promise you that your
shares will be worth a million before the end of the year.'
'Oh, mamma!' said Alice, allowing the words to escape her in a sigh, as
if despite herself.
A million! The mansion in the Rue Saint-Lazare freed from its
mortgages, cleansed of the mire of poverty! Life replaced on a proper
footing; an end to the nightmare of those who have a carriage but lack
bread! The daughter married, with a respectable dowry, able at last to
have a husband and children, that joy which is permitted to the lowest,
poorest creature of the streets! The son, whom the climate of Rome was
killing, relieved, able to maintain his rank, pending the time when he
might serve the great cause, which at present utilised him so little!
The mother reinstated in her high position, able to pay her coachman,
no longer hesitating to add a dish to her Tuesday dinners, no longer
forced to fast for the rest of the week! That million flamed before
them; it meant salvation, the realisation of their dream.
Conquered for her own part, the Countess turned to her daughter to ask
for her adhesion: 'Well, what do you think of it?'
But the girl would say nothing more; she let her eyelids slowly fall to
hide the glow of her eyes.
'Ah! true,' continued the mother, smiling in her turn, 'I had forgotten
that you wished to let me remain sole mistress in the matter. But I
know how brave you are, and all that you hope for.'
Then, addressing Saccard, she said: 'Ah! people speak so highly of you,
monsieur. We can go nowhere without hearing the most beautiful and
touching things about you. It is not only the Princess d'Orviedo, but
all my friends, who are enthusiastic over your work. Many of them are
jealous of me because I was one of your first shareholders, and if I
were to take their advice I should sell even my mattresses in order to
buy more shares.'
She jested in a mild, gentle way. 'I even think them a trifle crazy,'
she continued--'yes, really a trifle crazy. No doubt it is because I am
no longer young enough to understand it all. But my daughter is one of
your admirers. She believes in your mission, and carries on propaganda
in all the houses where we visit.'
Quite charmed, Saccard looked at Alice, who at that moment was so
animated, so penetrated with lively faith, that she actually seemed
to him very pretty, albeit already faded, with yellow complexion, and
scraggy neck. And he deemed himself very great and good at the idea of
having brought happiness to that sad creature whom the mere hope of a
husband sufficed to beautify.
'Oh!' said she in a very low, seemingly distant voice, ''tis so
beautiful to think of, that conquest yonder--yes, a new era, the Cross
radiant----'
But that was the mystery of which no one spoke; and her voice sank
lower yet, died away in a breath of rapture. Moreover, Saccard reduced
her to silence by a friendly gesture, for in his presence he would
not tolerate any mention of the grand affair, the supreme, hidden end.
His gesture implied that it was necessary one should always aim at
attaining that end, but that one should never open one's lips to speak
about it. In the sanctuary the censers swung in the hands of the few
initiated.
After an interval of feeling silence, the Countess at last rose. 'Well,
monsieur,' said she, 'I am convinced. I shall send my notary word that
I accept the offer which is made for Les Aublets. May God forgive me,
if I do wrong!'
Standing before her, Saccard declared with mingled gravity and emotion:
'It is God himself who inspires you, madame; be certain of it.'[23]
And as he accompanied them into the little passage, avoiding the
ante-room, which was still thronged with people, he met Dejoie, who was
prowling about with an embarrassed air.
'What's the matter? Not someone else, I hope?'
'No, no, monsieur. If I dared to ask Monsieur's advice--it is for
myself.'
And he manœuvred in such a way that Saccard found himself in his office
again, while Dejoie stood on the threshold in a very deferential
attitude.
'For you. Ah! true, you are a shareholder also. Well, my man, take the
new shares which will be reserved for you; take them even if you must
sell your shirts to do so. That is the advice which I give to all our
friends.'
'Oh! monsieur, the slice is too big a one, my daughter and I are not
so ambitious. At the outset I took eight shares with the four thousand
francs which my poor wife saved up and left to us; and I still only
have those eight, for at the time of the other issues, you see, when
the capital was twice doubled, we hadn't the money to take up the
shares which we were entitled to purchase. No, no, that is not the
question; one need not be so greedy as that. I simply wanted to ask
Monsieur, without offending him, if he is of opinion that I ought to
sell?'
'What! that you ought to sell?'
Thereupon, with all sorts of circumlocutions, prompted by anxiety and
respect, Dejoie explained his situation. At their present price of
thirteen hundred francs his eight shares represented a total of ten
thousand four hundred francs. So he could easily give Nathalie the
dowry of six thousand francs which the pasteboard-maker required. But,
in presence of the continual rise of the shares, an appetite for money
had come to him also--an idea, vague at first and then all-absorbing,
of securing a share of the spoil for himself, a little income of six
hundred francs a year, which would enable him to retire. For that, a
capital of twelve thousand francs would be required, which added to his
daughter's portion of six thousand would make the, to him, enormous
total of eighteen thousand francs; and he despaired of ever getting
such an amount together, for to do so he must wait till the shares
should rise to a value of two thousand three hundred francs.
'You understand, monsieur,' said he. 'If the shares won't rise any
higher I prefer to sell, because Nathalie's happiness should come
before everything, shouldn't it? But if they continue going up, why, I
shall be heartsick at the thought of having sold them.'
'Come, my man, you are stupid!' exclaimed Saccard vehemently. 'Do you
think that we are going to stop at thirteen hundred? Do _I_ sell? You
shall have your eighteen thousand francs, I answer for it. And now be
off and turn out all those people--tell them that I have gone.'
When he found himself alone again, Saccard recalled the two heads of
departments and was able to finish his work in peace.
It was decided that an extraordinary meeting of shareholders should
be held in August in order to vote the fresh increase of capital.
Hamelin, who was to preside, landed at Marseilles towards the end of
July. For two months past his sister, in each letter that she had
written him, had been more and more pressingly advising him to return.
Amidst all the success of the Bank, which day by day was growing
more pronounced, she experienced an instinctive feeling that danger
was covertly approaching, an unreasoning fear which she did not even
dare to speak of; and she preferred that her brother should be on
the spot to see things for himself, for she had come to the point of
distrusting her own mind, of fearing that she might be strengthless
against Saccard and allow herself to be blinded to such a degree even
as to betray this brother whom she loved so much. Ought she not to
have confessed her _liaison_ to him--that _liaison_ which, in the
innocence of his piety and science, passing through life in ignorance
of so many of its aspects, he certainly did not suspect? This idea was
extremely painful to her; and she at last sought refuge in cowardly
compromises; she discussed with duty, which, now that she knew the man
and his past, clearly ordered her to tell everything, that her brother
might be on his guard. In her hours of strength she promised herself
that she would have a decisive explanation, and would not suffer the
uncontrolled disposal of such large sums of money by criminal hands,
in which so many millions had already melted away to the ruin of such
numbers of people. Was it not the only virile, honest course she could
take, the only course worthy of her? Then her lucidity, however, left
her; she grew weak and temporized, finding no grievances except the
irregularities common to all financial houses, as he affirmed. Perhaps
he was right in telling her with a laugh that the monster she dreaded
was success, that success which in Paris resounds and strikes like a
thunderbolt, and which left her trembling, as if under the suddenness
and anguish of a catastrophe. She no longer knew what to do; there
were even times when she admired him the more, full of that infinite
affection which she retained for him, albeit she had ceased to esteem
him. Never would she have thought her heart so complicated; she felt
herself a woman; she feared lest she might not be able to act. And so
she was very happy at her brother's return.
On the very afternoon of Hamelin's arrival Saccard arranged to see him
in the work-room, where they were certain of not being disturbed, in
order to submit to him the resolutions which the board of directors
would have to approve of before they could be laid before the
shareholders. By a tacit agreement, however, the brother and sister
met shortly before the time agreed upon, and finding themselves alone
together were in a position to talk freely. Hamelin had come back very
gay, delighted at having brought his complicated railway affair to
a successful issue in that Eastern country, which was slumbering in
idleness and where political, administrative, and financial obstacles
were ever cropping up to defeat all efforts. However, in his case, the
success was complete; they would start on the first works, work-yards
would be opened in all directions as soon as the company should be
definitely formed in Paris, and he was so enthusiastic, so confident
in the future, that Madame Caroline acquired yet another reason for
preserving silence--it would cost her so much to spoil that beautiful
delight. Nevertheless she expressed some doubts to put him on his guard
against the infatuation which was carrying away the public. He checked
her and looked her in the face. Did she know of anything suspicious? If
so, why didn't she speak out? And she did not speak, she was unable to
think of any precise charge.
When Saccard came into the room, not having yet seen Hamelin since
his return, he threw his arms round his neck and embraced him with
the exuberant affection of a man from the South. Then, when Hamelin
had confirmed his last letters and given him particulars of the
absolute success which had attended his long sojourn abroad, he waxed
enthusiastic. 'Ah! my dear fellow,' said he, 'this time we are going
to become the masters of Paris, the kings of the market. I have been
working hard too; I have an extraordinary idea; you shall see.'
He forthwith explained his plan, which was, first, to raise the Bank's
capital from one hundred to one hundred and fifty millions by issuing
a hundred thousand new shares, and, secondly, to release the whole of
the shares, the old as well as the new ones. He intended, he said, to
offer the new shares at the price of eight hundred and fifty francs,
employing the premium of three hundred and fifty francs per share to
build up a reserve fund, which, with the amounts already set aside at
each distribution, would reach the figure of five and twenty millions.
And all that remained for him to do was to find an equal sum so as to
have in hand the fifty millions that would be necessary to release
the two hundred thousand old shares. It was here that his so-called
extraordinary idea came in. It was to draw up an approximative estimate
of the current year's profits, which in his opinion would at the least
amount to thirty-six millions of francs. From these he could quietly
take the twenty-five millions which he needed. And so, from December
31, 1867, the Universal would have a definitive capital of a hundred
and fifty millions represented by three hundred thousand fully paid-up
shares. They would afterwards unify the stock and make the shares
payable to bearer in order to facilitate their free circulation on the
market. That would be the stroke of genius entailing perfect triumph.
'Yes, a stroke of genius,' he repeated; 'the expression is none too
strong.'
Hamelin, somewhat dazed, turned over the pages of Saccard's memoir
on the subject, examining the figures. 'I hardly like this premature
balance-sheet,' he said at last. 'These are real dividends that
you will be giving your shareholders, since you will release their
shares; and one must be certain that the amounts are really earned,
for otherwise we might be rightly accused of distributing fictitious
dividends.'
Saccard grew excited. 'What! But I am below the estimates! Just look
and you will see if I have been reasonable; won't the steamers, the
Carmel mine, and the Turkish bank yield larger profits than those which
I have put down? You have brought me bulletins of victory from over
yonder; everything is marching on, everything is prosperous, and yet
you cavil about the certainty of success!'
Hamelin smiled, and calmed him with a gesture. Yes, yes! he had faith
in the future. Only he preferred that things should take their regular
course.
'And indeed,' said Madame Caroline, gently, 'why should you hurry?
Could not we wait till April for this increase of capital? Or, since
you need twenty-five millions more, why not issue the stock at a
thousand or twelve hundred francs at once, for in that way you would
not require to anticipate the profits of the current year?'
Saccard looked at her momentarily nonplussed, astonished that this
idea should have occurred to her.
'No doubt,' said he, 'if the shares were issued at eleven hundred
francs, instead of at eight hundred and fifty, we should then have
exactly the twenty-five millions we want.'
'Then settle things in that way,' she resumed: 'you can hardly fear
that the shareholders will kick at it. They will pay eleven hundred
francs as readily as eight hundred and fifty.'
'Oh yes, that is certain,' said Saccard. 'They'll pay whatever we like,
and they'll even fight together to decide who shall pay most. They have
quite lost their heads and would storm the building to bring us their
money.'
All at once, however, he recovered his self-possession, and with a
violent start of protest exclaimed: 'But come, what are you talking
about? I don't want to ask them eleven hundred francs on any account.
It would really be too foolish and too simple. Understand that in these
financial matters it is always necessary to strike the imagination.
The grand idea is to take money out of people's pockets before it has
even got into them. They at once imagine that they are not parting with
it. They fancy even that a present is being made to them. And besides,
can't you see what a colossal effect will be produced by the newspapers
notifying these anticipated profits, announcing with a flourish of
trumpets these thirty-six millions gained in advance? Why, the whole
Bourse will take fire; our shares will be quoted at over two thousand
francs, and will keep on rising and rising till there will be no
stopping them.'
He gesticulated as he spoke, erect, and stretching his little legs
till he really became taller, his arms waving among the stars, like
the inspired bard of Money, whose poetic flight, no failure, no ruin
had ever been able to check. To urge on his enterprises, to keep them
at a feverish gallop--that was his instinctive system, the course into
which he dashed, both heart and soul. He had compelled success, kindled
every greed by that lightning march of the Universal--three issues of
shares in three years, the capital leaping from five and twenty to
fifty, one hundred, and one hundred and fifty millions with a speed
which seemed to denote miraculous prosperity. And the dividends also
had increased by leaps and bounds--nothing the first year, then ten
francs, then thirty-three francs per share, and now thirty-six millions
to be apportioned amongst the entire stock and release it. And all this
had been achieved amidst the deceptive overheating of the machine, the
fictitious subscription of shares and their retention by the Bank, in
order to make people believe that they had really been taken up. Yes,
it had been achieved thanks to the impulse imparted by speculation at
the Bourse, where each fresh increase of capital had determined such an
exaggerated rise in the quotations.
Still deep in his examination of Saccard's scheme, Hamelin had not
supported his sister in her remarks.
Shaking his head, he now reverted to questions of detail.
'None the less, I don't approve of your anticipated balance-sheet,
since the profits have not actually been made. I am not now referring
to our enterprises, although, like all human affairs, they may meet
with accidents. But I see here the Sabatani account, three thousand
and odd shares, representing more than two millions of francs. Now
you place these to our credit, whereas we ought to be debited with
them, for Sabatani is only our man of straw. We can say these things
between ourselves, can we not? And stay! I also see here the names
of several of our employees, even some of our directors, all of them
_prête-noms_--oh! I can guess it easily enough, you need not tell me.
It makes me tremble to see that we are keeping such a large number of
our shares. We not only do not take in the cash which they represent,
but we bring ourselves to a standstill so far as they are concerned,
and we shall end by devouring ourselves some day.'
Madame Caroline gave him an encouraging look, for he was at last
giving voice to her hidden fears; he was putting his finger on the
cause of the secret uneasiness which had grown up within her as success
increased. 'Oh! gambling! gambling!' she murmured.
'But we do not gamble,' cried Saccard. 'Only it is surely allowable
for us to keep up the price of our stock, and we should be fools if we
did not prevent Gundermann and others from bringing it down by playing
against us for a fall. Although they have not quite dared to do so
yet, it may come all the same. That is why I am rather glad we have a
certain number of our shares in hand, and I warn you, if they force me
to it, I am even ready to buy some of those in the market--yes, I'll
even buy rather than see the quotations fall by a single centime.'
He spoke these last words with extraordinary vehemence, as if he were
swearing that he would die rather than suffer defeat. However, by dint
of effort he afterwards calmed himself, and began to laugh, though not
without some peevishness. 'So distrust is coming back again, is it?'
he said. 'I thought we had had an explanation once for all about all
these matters. You consented to place yourselves in my hands, so let
me go ahead. I seek nothing but your fortune, a great, great fortune.'
He paused and lowered his voice as though frightened himself by the
enormity of his desire. 'Do you know what I want?' he whispered. 'Why,
I want the shares to be quoted at three thousand francs!'
He waved his hand, as though over yonder, in space, he could behold
that triumphant quotation blazing in figures of fire which set the
horizon of the Bourse all aglow and ascended to the heavens like stars.
'It is madness!' said Madame Caroline.
'As soon as prices exceed two thousand francs,' Hamelin declared, 'each
fresh rise will constitute a danger; and for my own part I warn you
that I shall sell my shares so as not to take part in such lunacy.'
By way of reply Saccard began to hum a tune. People always talk of
selling and yet do not sell. He would enrich them, despite themselves.
Then again he began to smile in a very affectionate, though somewhat
mocking way. 'Trust me,' said he. 'It seems to me that I haven't
managed your affairs so badly until now. Sadowa brought you a million.'
This was true; the Hamelins had forgotten it. Yet they had accepted
that million fished out of the troubled waters of the Bourse. For a
moment they remained silent, turning pale, with the heart-pang felt
by those who are still honest but are no longer certain whether they
have acted rightly. Had the leprosy of gambling seized upon them also?
Were they, too, rotting in that maddening atmosphere of Money in which
circumstances compelled them to live?
'No doubt that is so,' the engineer at last muttered; 'but if I had
been here----'
Saccard would not let him finish. 'Nonsense,' said he. 'You need feel
no remorse; it was only so much money regained from those dirty Jews!'
At this all three began to laugh; and Madame Caroline, having seated
herself, made a gesture of tolerance and resignation. Could one let
oneself be devoured and not devour others? It was life. To do otherwise
would require virtues of too sublime a character, or else the solitude
of a cloister, far from all temptation.
'Come, come!' Saccard continued gaily. 'Do not appear to spit upon
money: in the first place, it would be idiotic to do so; and secondly,
it is only the powerless who disdain power. It would be illogical to
kill yourselves in labouring to enrich others without cutting off the
share you are legitimately entitled to. Otherwise, you might just as
well go to bed and sleep!' He dominated them and would not permit them
to say another word. 'Do you know that you will soon have a pretty
sum in your pockets?' he exclaimed. 'Wait a moment.' And then, with
a school-boy's petulance, he rushed to Madame Caroline's table, and,
taking a pencil and a sheet of paper, began covering the latter with
figures. 'Wait!' he said again. 'I am going to draw up your account.
Oh! I know it. At the outset you had five hundred shares, doubled a
first time and then doubled again, so that you now hold two thousand.
And you will have three thousand after our next issue.'
Hamelin tried to interrupt him.
'No, no!' said he. 'I know that you have the money to pay for them,
what with the three hundred thousand francs that you inherited on the
one hand, and your Sadowa million on the other. See! your first two
thousand shares have cost you four hundred and thirty-five thousand
francs, the other thousand will cost you eight hundred and fifty
thousand francs, in all twelve hundred and eighty-five thousand francs.
So you will still have fifteen thousand francs left you for pocket
money, to say nothing of your salary, now thirty thousand francs a
year, but which we shall raise to sixty thousand.'
Bewildered by his flow of words, they listened, and at last began to
take an acute interest in these figures.
'You can see very well that you are honest,' he continued 'that you pay
for what you take. But those matters are mere bagatelles. This is what
I wanted to get at!'
So saying he sprang to his feet again and flourished his sheet of paper
with an air of triumph. 'At three thousand francs apiece your three
thousand shares will yield you nine millions,' he said.
'Three thousand francs apiece!' they exclaimed, protesting with a
gesture against his mad obstinacy.
'Yes, of course!' said he. 'I forbid you to sell until that price is
reached. I shall know how to prevent you--oh! by force if necessary, by
the right a man has to prevent his friends from acting foolishly. Three
thousand francs, that is the quotation I must have, and I will have it!'
What answer could they give to that terrible fellow, whose strident
voice sounded like the crow of a cock proclaiming his triumph? They
again laughed and affected to shrug their shoulders. Their minds were
quite easy, they declared, for that wonderful price would never be
reached. He, however, had again seated himself at the table, and was
making fresh calculations, drawing up his own account. Had he paid
for his three thousand shares? would he pay for them? That point
remained obscure. It was even probable that he possessed a still larger
number of shares; but the matter could not be easily elucidated, for
he also served as one of the Bank's _prête-noms_, and how was one to
distinguish the shares which really belonged to him among all those
that were entered in his name? His pencil continued jotting down line
after line of figures. Then all at once, with a rapid zig-zag stroke,
he effaced everything and crumpled up the paper. The amount he had
noted on it, with the two millions which he had picked up amid the
blood and mire of Sadowa, constituted his share of the spoil.
'I must leave you, I have an appointment,' he said, taking up his hat.
'But it's agreed, isn't it? In a week's time we'll have the board
meeting, and immediately afterwards the shareholders' meeting to vote
on the new scheme.'
When Madame Caroline and Hamelin, bewildered and weary, again found
themselves alone, they remained silent for a moment, seated opposite
each other.
'What would you have?' at last said the engineer, responding to his
sister's secret thoughts. 'We are in it and must remain in it. He is
right in saying that it would be stupid of us to refuse this fortune.
I have always looked on myself as a mere man of science who brings
water to the mill; and I have brought it, I think, clear and abundant
in the shape of excellent affairs, to which the Bank owes its rapid
prosperity. And so, since no reproach can fall upon me, let us keep
free from discouragement, let us work.'
She had risen from her chair, staggering and stammering: 'Oh, all that
money! all that money!' And, choking with invincible emotion at the
thought of those millions which were about to fall upon them, she hung
upon his neck and wept. It was with joy undoubtedly, with happiness at
seeing him at last worthily rewarded for his intelligence and labour;
but with pain also, a pain of which she could not have told the exact
cause, but in which there was a commingling of shame and fear. He began
to make fun of her, and they once more affected cheerfulness; yet a
feeling of uneasiness remained within them, a secret dissatisfaction
with themselves, unconfessed remorse at being forced into this soiling
complicity.
'After all, he is right,' repeated Madame Caroline; 'everybody does it.
Such is life.'
The board meeting was held in the new room in the sumptuous building of
the Rue de Londres. Here, there was no damp reception-room to which the
pale reflections from a neighbouring garden imparted a greenish hue,
but a vast apartment, lighted by four windows, overlooking the street,
an apartment with a lofty ceiling and majestic walls, decorated with
large paintings and streaming with gold. The chairman's arm-chair was
a veritable throne, dominating the other arm-chairs, which, superb and
grave, were ranged as if for a meeting of Cabinet Ministers around an
immense table, covered with red velvet. And, above the monumental white
marble chimney-piece, where trunks of trees blazed in winter time,
there stood a bust of the Pope,[24] a shrewd amiable face which seemed
to be smiling maliciously at the idea of finding itself in such a place.
Saccard had now acquired complete control over the board by buying
most of its members. Thanks to him, the Marquis de Bohain, compromised
in the matter of a _pot-de-vin_, the fraudulent appropriation of some
money which he had pocketed and spent, was able to stifle the scandal
by refunding the amount to the company he had robbed, and so he was now
Saccard's very humble servant, albeit he still carried his head high
like a perfect flower of nobility, the finest ornament of the board.
Huret, too, since Rougon had dismissed him for revealing the despatch
respecting the surrender of Venice, had been devoting himself entirely
to the fortunes of the Universal, acting as the Bank's representative
at the Corps Législatif, and fishing for it in the miry waters of
politics, though retaining for himself the larger part of the profits
accruing from his shameless jobbery, which some fine morning would
probably land him in Mazas. And the Viscount de Robin-Chagot, the
vice-chairman, pocketed a secret allowance of a hundred thousand francs
for giving all the signatures that were asked of him during Hamelin's
long absences. Banker Kolb also paid himself for his passive compliance
by utilizing the Universal's influence abroad, and even by compromising
it in his arbitrage operations. And Sédille, the silk merchant, shaken
by a terrible settlement, had borrowed a large sum which he had been
unable to refund. Daigremont alone remained absolutely independent, a
circumstance which at times disturbed Saccard, although the amiable
fellow continued treating him in a very charming way, inviting him to
his entertainments, and readily signing everything that was submitted
to him with the good grace of a Parisian sceptic, who as long as he
makes money considers that everything is going on all right.
On this occasion, in spite of the exceptional importance of the
business, the board was managed quite as easily as at other times. It
had indeed become a matter of habit--all the real work was done at the
petty meetings held on the 15th of the month; at the full meetings,
which took place a fortnight later, there was merely a question of
sanctioning the predetermined resolutions with due ceremony.
Such was the indifference now displayed by the directors, that
the minutes of each successive meeting threatened to become mere
repetitions of one another, trite records of unswerving, uniform
approval; and so it became necessary to attribute scruples and remarks
to sundry members of the board, to concoct indeed an entirely imaginary
discussion, which nobody was surprised to find recorded, when, at the
following meeting, the minutes were read over in all seriousness and
duly signed.
Knowing the good and grand news that Hamelin had brought with him,
Daigremont no sooner espied him than he rushed forward and heartily
grasped his hands. 'Ah! my dear chairman,' said he, 'how glad I am to
congratulate you!'
They all surrounded the engineer and welcomed him, including even
Saccard, who behaved as though he had not seen him before; and when
the meeting commenced, and Hamelin began to read the report which he
was to present to the shareholders, they listened--a very unusual
thing. The fine results already obtained, the magnificent promises
for the future, the ingenious system for increasing the capital, and
at the same time releasing the old shares, all announcements were
received with admiring nods of the head. And nobody had any thought of
asking for explanations. It was perfect. Sédille having pointed out
an error in a figure, it was even agreed not to insert his remarks in
the minutes in order not to disturb the beautiful unanimity of the
gathering; and then everyone signed in rapid succession, under the
influence of enthusiasm, and without making any observation.
The meeting was already over; they were on their feet, laughing
and joking, amid the resplendent gildings of the room. The Marquis
de Bohain described an imperial shooting party at Fontainebleau;
while Deputy Huret, who had lately been to Rome, related how he
had received the blessing of the Pope. Kolb had just disappeared,
running off to keep some appointment. And to the other directors, the
supernumeraries, Saccard, in a low tone, gave them his instructions
respecting the attitude which they were to take up at the approaching
meeting. Daigremont, however, worried by the Viscount de Robin-Chagot's
inordinate praise of Hamelin's report, caught hold of the manager's arm
as he passed by to whisper in his ear: 'Not too fast, eh?'
Saccard stopped short and looked at him. He remembered how he had
originally hesitated to bring Daigremont into the affair, knowing that
he was not over reliable in financial matters. And in a loud voice, so
that all might hear, he now replied: 'Oh! who loves me must follow me!'
Three days later, the specially summoned meeting of shareholders was
held in the grand Salle des Fêtes at the Hôtel du Louvre. They had not
cared for that bare sorry-looking hall in the Rue Blanche for such a
solemnity as this; they wanted the use of a gala gallery, still warm
with life between some banquet and some wedding ball. According to
the articles of association, it was necessary to hold at least twenty
shares in order to be admitted; and the shareholders who attended
were over twelve hundred in number, representing four thousand and
odd votes. The formalities at the entrance, the presentation of
tickets and signing of names in a special register, occupied over two
hours. A tumult of gay chatter filled the gallery, in which were to
be seen all the directors and many of the principal employees of the
Universal. Sabatani was there talking to a group of acquaintances about
his country, the East, in a languishing, caressing voice, relating
marvellous tales about it, as though the region were some Tom Tiddler's
ground where one need but stoop in order to pick up gold, silver, and
precious stones; and Maugendre, who in June had made up his mind to buy
fifty shares at one thousand two hundred francs apiece, convinced as he
was of a further rise, stood listening to the Levantine open-mouthed
and well pleased with the keenness of his scent. Meantime Jantrou, who,
since he had become rich had been leading an altogether depraved life,
chuckled to himself, his mouth twisted into an ironical grimace, and
his head heavy with his orgy of the previous night.
When Hamelin had taken the chair and opened the meeting, Lavignière,
who had been re-elected auditor and was soon to be raised to a position
on the board--his dream--was called upon to read a report on the
financial situation of the Bank, such as it would be at the end of next
December. In order to comply with the statutes, Saccard had devised
this plan of controlling, as it were, the anticipatory balance-sheet
which the meeting would have to deal with. Lavignière reminded the
shareholders of the balance-sheet of the previous year, presented at
the ordinary meeting in April--that magnificent balance-sheet which had
shown a net profit of eleven millions and a half, and after allowing
five per cent. for the shareholders, ten per cent. for the directors,
and ten per cent. also for the reserve fund, had admitted of the
further distribution of a dividend of thirty-three per cent. Then,
with a deluge of figures, he established that the sum of thirty-six
million francs given as the approximate profits of the current year,
far from seeming to him exaggerated, fell short of the most modest
hopes. Undoubtedly he was sincere, and had conscientiously examined
the documents submitted for his verification; but, in order to study a
set of accounts thoroughly, it is necessary to draw up another set.
Besides, the shareholders did not listen to him. Only a few devotees,
Maugendre and others, petty holders who represented a vote or two,
drank in his figures amid the persistent hum of conversation. For the
others the auditors' report was not of the slightest consequence. It
was only when Hamelin at last arose that a religious silence ensued.
Not at once, however, for applause broke out even before he had opened
his mouth, as a homage to the zeal and stubborn, brave genius of this
man, who had gone so far in search of barrels of money to empty them
upon Paris. After that came ever-increasing success, swelling into
triumph. The audience hailed a fresh reminder of the balance-sheet
of the previous year, which Lavignière had been unable to make them
hear. But the estimates of the approaching balance-sheet especially
excited their delight--millions for the Steam Navigation Company,
millions for the Carmel silver-mine, millions for the Turkish National
Bank; and the addition seemed endless, the thirty-six millions grouped
themselves in an easy natural fashion, and then fell in a cascade with
a ringing sound. But a further horizon was revealed, when the future
operations were dealt with. The Oriental Railway Company appeared--at
first the main line, the work in connection with which was about to
begin; then the branch lines, the whole network of modern industry
and enterprise thrown over Asia, humanity's triumphant return to its
cradle, the resurrection of the old world. And in the far distance
loomed up the mystery which they did not speak of, the crowning of the
edifice which was to astonish the nations. When Hamelin at last came
to the explanation of the resolutions which he intended to submit to
the meeting there was perfect unanimity. A thunder of applause greeted
the proposals to increase the capital and release the stock. Above
all heads could be seen Maugendre's fat hands clapping vigorously. On
the foremost benches, too, the directors and employees made a furious
uproar, through which pierced the voice of Sabatani, who had risen to
his feet and shouted 'Brava!' as though he had been at a theatre. All
the resolutions were then adopted by acclamation.
Saccard, however, had planned an incident, which was introduced into
the proceedings at this point. He was aware that he was accused of
gambling, and wished to efface even the slightest suspicions from the
minds of distrustful shareholders should there be any in the hall.
Accordingly, Jantrou, whom he had coached, rose up, and addressing
the chairman in his thick, husky voice, exclaimed: 'I believe, Mr.
Chairman, that I am acting as the mouthpiece of many shareholders in
inquiring if it is certain that the Bank possesses none of its own
shares!'
Hamelin, who had not been forewarned, remained embarrassed for a
moment. Then he instinctively turned towards Saccard, who had hitherto
been hidden away in his seat, but who now suddenly rose, and, perched
on tip-toe to increase his stature, replied in his strident voice: 'No,
not one, Mr. Chairman!'
Bravoes, no one knew why, again burst forth at this announcement.
Though Saccard really lied, it was nevertheless a fact that the Bank
had not a single share standing in its own name, since Sabatani and the
others covered it. And that was all; there was some further applause,
and then they all made their exit amid gaiety and noise.
The report of this meeting, published in the newspapers, at once
produced an enormous effect at the Bourse and all over Paris. For
this moment Jantrou had kept in reserve a last shower of puffs, the
loudest flourishes that had been blown for a long time on the trumpets
of advertising. Moreover, he had at last just executed his grand
stroke, the purchase of the _Côte Financière_, that substantial old
journal which had twelve years of stainless honesty behind it. It had
cost a great deal of money, but the serious customers, the trembling
middle-class folks, the prudent people with huge fortunes, the mass of
self-respecting men of money, had been gained by it. In a fortnight
the figure of fifteen hundred francs was reached at the Bourse, and
in the last days of August, by successive leaps, the shares rose to
two thousand. The infatuation was still at fever-heat; the paroxysm
became more and more intense each day. Folks bought and bought; even
the most prudent went on buying, convinced that the shares would
rise higher yet, go up indeed for ever and ever. It was as though the
mysterious caverns of the Arabian Nights were opening, as though the
incalculable treasures of the Caliphs were being offered to the greed
of Paris. Such was the public enchantment that all the dreams which for
months past had been spoken of in whispers now appeared to be on the
point of realisation: the cradle of humanity was being reoccupied, the
old historic cities of the coast were being resuscitated from their
sand. Damascus, then Bagdad, then India and China, would be exploited
by the invading troop of French engineers. The conquest of the East,
which Napoleon had been unable to accomplish with his sword, was to
be realised by a financial company sending an army of pickaxes and
wheelbarrows thither. Asia would be conquered by dint of millions, and
billions would be derived from it in return. And especially was this
the hour of triumph for the crusade undertaken by the women at their
little five-o'clock gatherings, at their grand midnight receptions, at
table and elsewhere. They had clearly foreseen it all. Constantinople
was taken; they would soon have Broussa, Angora, and Aleppo; later they
would secure Smyrna, Trebizond, all the cities to which the Universal
laid siege, until the day came when they should conquer the last one,
the holy city which they did not name, but which was, as it were, the
Eucharistic promise of the expedition. Fathers, husbands, and lovers,
compelled to it by the passionate ardour of the women, went to give
their brokers orders to the repeated cry of '_Dieu le veut_!'[25]
And at last came the dreadful crush of the small and humble, of the
tramping crowd that follows large armies, passion descending from the
drawing-room to the kitchen, from the merchant to the workman and the
peasant, and sweeping along in this mad gallop of millions innumerable
poor subscribers with but one share or three or four or ten shares
apiece, door-portresses nearly ready to retire, old maids living with
their cats, provincial pensioners with allowances of ten sous a day,
country priests whom almsgiving had left almost penniless; in fact,
the whole emaciated hungry mass of infinitesimal capitalists, those
whom a catastrophe at the Bourse sweeps away like an epidemic, and at
one stroke stretches in paupers' graves.
And this exaltation of Universal shares, this ascension which carried
them up as if on a divine wind, went on to the accompaniment of the
yet louder and louder music that arose from the Tuileries and the
Champ de Mars and of the endless festivities with which the Exhibition
intoxicated Paris. The flags flapped more noisily in the oppressive
atmosphere of the warm summer days; not an evening came but the burning
city sparkled beneath the stars like a colossal palace in which
debauchery went on until the dawn. The joy had spread from house to
house; the streets were an intoxication; a cloud of yellow vapour--the
steam of festivities, the sweat of revellers--travelled away to the
horizon, rolling its coils over the house-roofs, wrapping Paris in the
lurid night of Sodom, Babylon, and Nineveh.
Ever since May emperors and kings had been coming thither on pilgrimage
from the four corners of the world--endless processions, wellnigh a
hundred sovereigns, princes, and princesses. Paris was thoroughly
satiated with Majesties and Highnesses; it had welcomed the Emperor
of Russia and the Emperor of Austria, the Sultan of Turkey and the
Viceroy of Egypt; and it had thrown itself under the wheels of
carriages in order to get a nearer view of the King of Prussia, whom
Count von Bismarck followed like a faithful dog. Salutes of honour were
continually thundering from the Invalides, while the dense crowd at the
Exhibition made a popular success of the huge, sombre Krupp guns, which
Germany exhibited there. Almost every week the Opera was lighted up for
some official festivity. Folks stifled in the little theatres and the
restaurants, all crowded to excess, and the Boulevard footways were no
longer wide enough for the overflowing torrent of frail women. Napoleon
III. himself wished to distribute the awards to the sixty thousand
exhibitors in a ceremony which surpassed all others in magnificence--a
'glory,' as it were, burning on the brow of Paris, the resplendency of
the reign, when the Emperor, amid illusive radiance, appeared as the
master of Europe, speaking with the calmness of conscious strength and
promising peace. Yet on the very morning of the ceremony, tidings of
the frightful Mexican tragedy, the execution of Maximilian, had reached
the Tuileries. French blood and treasure had been lavishly expended for
naught; and the news was designedly concealed from the people in order
that the festivities might not be saddened. Nevertheless it was the
first stroke of the knell sounding solemnly already, albeit the reign
had scarce passed its meridian, and dazzling sunlight still prevailed.
And amidst this glory it seemed as if Saccard's star rose higher still,
attained also to yet greater brilliancy. At last, as had been his
endeavour for so many years, he had made fortune a slave, a thing of
his own, a thing one can dispose of, keep under lock and key, alive
and real. So many times had falsehood dwelt in his coffers, so many
millions had flowed through them, escaping by all sorts of unknown
holes! But this was no longer the deceptive splendour of the façade;
it was real sovereignty substantially based upon full sacks of gold;
and he did not exercise this sway like a Gundermann, after long years
of economy on the part of a whole line of bankers, he laid the proud
unction to his soul that he himself had acquired it like a soldier of
fortune who conquers a kingdom at a stroke. In the days of his land
speculations in the Quartier de l'Europe he had often risen very high;
but never had he felt conquered Paris fawning so humbly at his feet as
now. And he recalled the day when, breakfasting at Champeaux', ruined
once more, and doubting his star, he had cast hungry glances at the
Bourse, furiously eager for his revenge, feverishly longing to begin
everything, reconquer everything again. Accordingly, now that he had
become the master once more, great was his appetite for enjoyment! In
the first place, as soon as he believed himself omnipotent he got rid
of Huret, and instructed Jantrou to launch against Rougon an article
in which the Minister, in the name of the Catholics of France, was
openly accused of playing a double game in the Roman question. This was
the definitive declaration of war between the two brothers. Since the
convention of September 15, 1864,[26] and especially since Sadowa,
the French clerical party had pretended to be deeply anxious about the
Pope's position; and so now 'L'Espérance' resumed its old Ultramontane
politics and violently attacked the liberal Empire, such as the
decrees of January 19[27] had begun to make it. A remark of Saccard's
circulated in the Chamber: he had said that, in spite of his profound
affection for the Emperor, he would resign himself to Henry V., the
Count de Chambord, rather than allow the revolutionary spirit to lead
France into catastrophes. Then, his audacity increasing with his
victories, he no longer concealed his plan of attacking the great Jew
bankers in the person of Gundermann, whose billion he meant to breach
and breach until the time came for assault and final capture. As the
Universal had acquired such miraculous development, why should it not,
a few years hence, with the support of entire Christendom, become the
sovereign mistress of the Bourse? And Saccard, with warlike bluster,
affected the demeanour of a rival, a neighbouring king of equal power,
whilst Gundermann, very phlegmatic, without even indulging in a grimace
of irony, continued watching and waiting--to all appearances simply
interested by the continual rise of Universal stock--like a man who has
placed his firm reliance in patience and logic.
His passions had thus elevated Saccard, and his passions were fated
to ruin him. Gorged though he was, he would have liked to have found
a sixth sense to satisfy. Madame Caroline, who had come to that point
that she always smiled, even when her heart was bleeding, remained a
friend to whom he would listen with a kind of conjugal deference. But
the Baroness Sandorff, icily cold despite her ardent eyes, no longer
had any attraction for him. Besides, he was too busy, too absorbed
to indulge in a _grande passion_. All he wanted, all he cared about,
was some woman whom he might parade as a token of wealth, just like
another man might flaunt a huge diamond pin in his cravat. That pin
with some would be an advertisement; and it was for advertisement's
sake and for the mere satisfaction of vanity that Saccard, on his
side, wished to show himself to all Paris in the company of some woman
of exceptional notoriety. When this idea came to him his choice at
once fell upon Madame de Jeumont, at whose house he had dined on two
or three occasions in Maxime's company. Although six and thirty, she
was still handsome, with the regular, majestic beauty of a Juno, and
she was particularly notorious, for she had attracted the attention
of the Emperor, who had heaped gold upon her and had even created her
husband a Knight of the Legion of Honour. It proved a costly whim for
Saccard, but it keenly satisfied his vanity. One night a grand ball
was given at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the reception-rooms,
all ablaze with the light of the chandeliers, were crowded with bare
shoulders and dress coats, when Saccard entered in triumph, having
Madame de Jeumont on his arm, whilst her husband followed behind them.
At sight of them, the groups of guests were suddenly broken up, and
a broad passage was left for this scandalous exhibition of unbridled
licence and mad prodigality. It was the culminating moment of Saccard's
existence. Amid the all-prevalent, intoxicating _odor di femina_ and
the lulling music of the distant orchestra, folks smiled and whispered
together as the trio passed. In one _salon_, however, another stream of
inquisitive guests had gathered around a colossal individual, who stood
there, dazzling and superb, in a white cuirassier uniform. It was Count
von Bismarck, who, with his tall figure towering above all others, with
big eyes, thick nose and powerful jaw, crossed by the moustaches of
a conquering barbarian, was laughing broadly at some jocular remark.
Since Sadowa he had given Germany to Prussia; the treaties of alliance
against France, so long denied, had been signed for months; and
war--which had nearly broken out in May _à propos_ of the Luxemburg
affair--had now become inevitable. When Saccard in his triumph crossed
the room with Madame de Jeumont on his arm and the husband following
behind, Count von Bismarck for a moment ceased laughing like a
good-humoured, playful giant, and gazed at them inquisitively as they
passed.