THE FOUNDATION OF AARON'S FORTUNE.
Eventful indeed to Aaron Cohen had been the twenty years since he left
Gosport. In the South of France, where they remained for a much longer
time than he intended, Rachel was restored to health, and Aaron had
the joy of seeing her move happily about the house and garden, and of
hearing her sing to her babe the songs and lullabies which, from a
mother's lips, are so fraught with melodious and tender meaning. It
almost seemed as if she had inward cause for thankfulness that
blindness had fallen upon her, for Aaron had never known her to be so
blithe and light-hearted as during those weeks of returning health.
Prissy was invaluable to them, and proved to be a veritable treasure.
The short time it took her to learn her duties, the swiftness and
neatness with which they were performed, the delight she took in the
babe, who soon replaced Victoria Regina in her affections, and the
care and skill with which she guided her mistress's movements, amazed
Aaron. He had divined from the first that she was a shrewd, clever
girl, and he had the satisfaction of discovering that she was much
cleverer than he would have ventured to give her credit for. She was
tidier in her dress, too, and never presented herself unless she was
clean and neat. She became, in a sense, her mistress's teacher, and
Rachel was so apt a pupil that Aaron's apprehensions that she would
meet with an accident if she moved too freely about were soon
dispelled.
"Is it not wonderful, love?" she said. "I think I must have eyes at
the tips of my fingers. But it is Prissy I have to thank for it."
She repaid the girl, be sure. Gradually Prissy's mode of expressing
herself underwent improvement; she did not use so many negatives, she
dropped fewer h's, she learned to distinguish between g's and k's; and
Aaron himself laid the first stone in her education by teaching her
the a b c. One thing Prissy would not learn; she obstinately refused
to have anything to do with the French language. English was good
enough for her, she declared, and to the English tongue she nailed her
colours.
Fond as she was of babies, she would not countenance French babies,
and said it was a shame to dress them so. "I'm a troo bloo, sir," she
said to Aaron; "please don't force me." And with a hearty laugh he
desisted.
He himself spoke French fluently, and to this may be ascribed the
first change in his fortunes. Easy in his mind respecting Rachel, easy
respecting money, he found himself at leisure to look about him and
observe. He made friends, and among them a poor French engineer of
great skill. In conversation one day this engineer mentioned that
tenders were invited for the construction of a local bridge. It was
not a very important matter; the lake it was to span was of no great
dimensions, and the bridge required was by no means formidable.
"There are only two contractors who will tender for it," said the
engineer, "and they play into each other's hands. They will settle
privately the amount of their separate tenders, and the lowest will
obtain the contract. They will divide the profits between them. If I
had a little money to commence with I would tender for the work, and
my tender would be at least ten thousand francs below theirs. Then it
would be I who would construct the bridge, and public money would be
saved."
"What would be your profit?" asked Aaron.
"Twenty thousand francs," was the reply; "perhaps more."
"And the amount of your tender?"
"Eighty thousand francs. I have the plans and specifications, and
every detail of expense for material and labour in my house. Will you
come and look over them?"
Aaron examined them, and submitting them to the test of inquiry
as to the cost of labour and material, found them to be correct. A
simple-minded man might have been taken in by a schemer who had
prepared complicated figures for the purpose of trading with another
person's money, and standing the chance of winning if the venture
resulted in a profit, and of losing nothing if it resulted in a loss;
but Aaron was not simple-minded, the poor engineer was not a schemer,
and the figures were honestly set down.
"It would not need a great amount of money," said the engineer. "If a
certain sum were deposited in the bank, a further sum could be raised
by depositing the contract as security; and, moreover, as the work
proceeds, specified payments will be made by the local authorities."
"How much would be required to commence operations, and to make
everything safe?"
"Ten thousand francs."
Roughly, that was four hundred pounds. The five hundred pounds he had
received from the lawyers was as yet untouched, for they lived very
economically and were in a part of the world where thrift was part of
the people's education. Aaron believed the project to be safe.
"If I advanced it," he asked, "what proposition do you make?"
"We would make it a partnership affair," replied the poor engineer,
eagerly.
Upon that understanding the bridge was tendered for, and the tender
accepted. In four months the work was executed and passed by the
inspectors; the contractors received the balance due to them, and a
division of the profits was made. After paying all his expenses Aaron
was the richer by three hundred pounds. He gave fifty pounds to the
poor, which raised him in the estimation of the people among whom he
was temporarily sojourning. He had not been idle during the four
months occupied by the building of the bridge; under the guidance of
his partner he had superintended the workmen and undertaken the
correspondence and management of the accounts; and new as these duties
were to him he had shown great intelligence and aptitude.
"We met on a fortunate day," said the engineer.
At about this time a new engineering project presented itself. It was
on a larger scale than the first, and the two men, emboldened by
success, tendered for it. Again did fortune favour them; everybody,
with the exception of rival contractors, was on their side. In the
carrying out of their first contract there had not been a hitch; they
had paid their workmen better wages, they had behaved honestly and
liberally all round, and they had already achieved a reputation for
liberal dealing with the working man. Moreover, people were talking of
Rachel's kindness and of Aaron's benevolence. Hats were lifted to
them, women and children left flowers at their door; rich was the
harvest they gathered for their charity.
When it was known that they had obtained another contract, the best
workmen came to them for employment, and they learned what all
employers of labour may learn, that it is wise policy to pay
generously for bone and muscle. The hateful political economy of
Ricardo, which trades upon the necessities of the poor, and would
grind labour down to starvation pittance, could never find lodgment in
the mind of such a man as Aaron Cohen. The new venture was entirely
successful, and being of greater magnitude than the first, the profits
were larger. Aaron was the possessor of two thousand pounds. He gave
two hundred pounds to the poor. He did more than this. The doctor who
had attended Rachel in Gosport had declined to accept a fee, and Aaron
now wrote him a grateful letter, enclosing in it a draft for five
hundred pounds, which he asked the doctor to distribute among the
local charities. This five hundred pounds he regarded as a return of
the sum he had received from the London lawyers. That the receipt of
this money afforded gratification to the doctor was evidenced by his
reply. "Every one here," he said, "has kind words for you and your
estimable wife, and the general feeling is that if you had continued
to reside in Gosport it would have been a source of pleasure to all of
us. When I speak of your good fortune all the townsfolk say, 'We are
glad to hear it.'" Thus did good spring out of evil.
Aaron felt that his foot was on the ladder. He entered into a regular
partnership with his friend the engineer, and they executed many
public works and never had a failure. The justness of their trading,
their consideration for the toilers who were helping to build up a
fortune for them, the honest wages they paid, earned for them an
exceptional reputation for rectitude and fair dealing. In these
matters and in this direction Aaron was the guiding spirit. He left to
his partner the technical working out of their operations, and took
upon himself the control of wages and finance. Occasionally there were
arguments between him and his partner, the latter hinting perhaps that
there was a cheaper market, and that money could be saved by employing
middlemen who offered to supply labour and material at prices that
were not equitable from the point of view of the toilers and
producers. Aaron would not entertain propositions of this kind. "We
are doing well," he said, "we are making money, we are harvesting. Be
satisfied." His partner gave way. Aaron's character was too strong for
resistance. "Clean and comfortable homes," said Aaron, "a good
education for their children, a modest enjoyment of the world's
pleasures--these are the labourers' due." Hearing of this some large
employers called him quixotic, and said he was ruining trade; but he
pursued the just and even tenor of his way, satisfied that he was a
saviour and not a spoiler. Upon the conclusion of each transaction,
when the accounts were balanced, he devoted a portion of his profits
to benevolent purposes, and he became renowned as a public benefactor.
The thanks that were showered upon him did not please him, but tended
rather to humiliate and humble him; he would not listen to expressions
of gratitude; and it will be presently seen that when he returned to
England he took steps to avoid the publicity which was distasteful to
him.