Omaha daily bee., 1874-08-12
HOW DIAMONDS SAVED US.
A Business Episode.

At the time | am writing abou
we were a strong firm. 1 say were
because six years ago we wound u
the concern, and a banking-hous
of not quite fifty years existence &
remarkably long business life for tn
United States), was closed in tn
most honorable way. The partner
IN the house were two. The eide
and head of the firm had a sount
mercantile education, was eminent,
conservative, and was u thoroug:
master of his business. The Othe
partner had brilliant talents, bu
was prone to be over-imaginative
and rather held to the idea that ro
nance, or the Inventive faculty
when called into play in business
was a necessity. The junior had 6
separate room, arranged rather like
a cabinet of curiosities than a bank
er's office. You would e neal
bronzes there, bits of majolica,
pieces of armor, and a few good pic.
lures. Twenty-Five years ago such
things in a business office were
thought rather out of place. A dis
tant relative Of the senior partner
of the house, / had the entire conf
dence of both members of the firm,
as l had been from the age of twelve
in the house, and was twenty when
the occurrences l am about to tell
happened. | was very warmly at
tached to both the gentlemen, but
was rather more fond of our junior.
who made me his companion.
One summers evening, long after
business hours, a private letter book
requiring indeXing, / shut myself
up in the juniors Office and COM
menced work. 1t was rather late
at night when the younger member
of the firm entered. "Seeing a
light in the Office" he said, .'as 1
was coming FROM the ferry, and for
getting that you were at work in
here, | came in; F" and he stretched
himself on a lounge and lit a cigar,
then took a book and commenced
reading. In a half hour my work
was finished; and thinking he was
asleep, ] put away the books, clos
ing the door Of the safe with a crash,
in order to wake him.
"Through? he said, and then
asked, Keep up your French, do
your"
"Yes, though whether lever will
be able to correspond in that Ian
guage as far as to render myself use
full for the French and Belgian bus
mess, / don't know"
Ever read Beaumarchais?" he
inquired.
ayes, but only his plays. | am
not familiar with his life"
What a magnificent dual exist
ence!r
CHOW so ~ inquired.
"He was merchant and author.
Carried on the heaviest mercantile
operations, and wrote the cleverest
of comedies Made out a list of in
voices and a phrase of comedy all
in the same breath, and perhaps
with the same pen. There was Ros-
coe, too, merchant and historian,
and Rogers, poet and banker, Lamb,
clerk and essayist-n
"May be So" / replied interrupt
ing him; ''but [ do not think ordi-
nary men can do two things at once
there may be exceptions" He
laughed, snd said, "That is good
sense. But there are men
with dual e~Xistences. Now l have
been reading this life of Beaumar-
chai's, and have been deeply inter-
ested in the eXertions he made in
behalf of u people when he sent
arms during the period of our Revo-
lutionary struggle" (which good
action ruined him." l said; and
l closed the safe, and was about
to the door, when he babe
stay. Drawing q chair close to
the table, after a short pause he said
to me: "Now listen. For the last
six months | have had an idea in
head-a secondary one, 1t is true
to another which has absorbed my
mind for years. God knows wheth-
er / have this duality or not, but l
must test 1t. Now this is what /
am driving at. Fifteen years ago !
went to South America. You know
my wife is a brazilian" Here he
and paused. There was a
rumor that he did not live happily
with his wife. awhile in South
1 made the deepest re-
searches into the history of the
aboriginal races. / went far be-
hind the times of the old Aymares.
Nance Capac and Cello Huaco are
to me as things of to-day. Modern
research has settled that the Pha-
rahos of the Bible were as near to
us, almost, chronologically, as Ma
vas. Every day the work
started in Egypt by Demon and
Lepsius shows us that we are only
at the threshold. South Ameri-
ca is the place to discover
earliest traces and to find
his primitive works. This may
not interest you much, but the Sec
ond part Of my idea will, I trust. 1t
is the corollary of the first. 1t was
business to study the political
of the country-a rather
Intricate and tangled work. Two
American States are OH the
eve of a contest" Tue mentioned the
name Of the two republics, which,
from measures Of preeaution, !
"and the government of
the smaller power, which is not
only in the right, but the stronger
and the richer, have called on me
to purchase arms and ammunition
for them. / can make hundreds of
of dollars out of the bust
ness. What is wanted is that I
should send a consignment of mill
tary equipments. The money of the
State is now on its way here, or /
shall have authority to draw on Lon
don for it. If / can accomplish
what they want, I find the means
out of the profit to go to South
America and open my glorious
work. 1t is Beaumarchais in the
century, but with higher
and pobler aims. / shall make re-
searches In the Peruvian plains,
and will exhume a wealth of artistic