The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-12-25

II CANNOT give you an answer JuSU
now sir, II said; "but if you will take the
trouble to call again at I'll see what
/ can do"
At quarter to Mr.. Felix made
his appearance. spoke to him with
candor:
81 should tell you, sir that I had no
thoughts of buying the house till the
owner prevailed ON me to do SO. You
say you want the house; any. other
will suit me equally as we'll $50 accede
to your terms"
'!You shall have draft on Paris for
the amount in q fortnight, " replied
Mr.. Felix, who bowed and withdrew,
apparently enchanted with my ways
of doing business.
A draft upon Paris! The circum-
stance appeared so unusual to me
that I thought l ought to send to
Paris to get it cashed. [ wrote &C
cordingly to Messrs. E'langes & Bege-
ret, the only firm I knew there. [
was in the habit of receiving through
them the interest of a small SUM that
had been left me by an uncle in
formed them that, having funds at
my disposal, l wished for information
as to the best mode of investing them.
The significance of the word ''funds"
varies very much according to the
name and position in life of the speak
err. The rumor of my legacy had
reached Paris; so that when l spoke
of sEfunds' it was evident that 1meant
a considerable sum. This was proved
by the following letter:
"Sir-We are in receipt Of your esteemed
favor OF the 18th current. which
reached us after the conclusion OF the last
loan negotiated by the Cortes, in which our
friends should have an opportunity OF par
ticipating in an investment which we'con-
slider profitable we have taken the liberty
of placing twenty thousand piastres to
your credit. Should that amount appear
too considerable, the rise OF those securl-
ties admits OF your selling out at pre-
MUM. :.
To this was added postscript by
the head of the firm:
ave have heard with pleasure OF the re-
cent good fortune that has fallen to the lot
of our old friend and correspondent, and
beg to Offer him our services as occasion
may require"
Twenty thousand piastresf 1 let
the letter fall in sheer amazement.
What would have been rny as
tonishment if more conversant
with the terms of commerce
and more attentive to the enclosed
amount current. Ihad seen that what
took for principal was only the year
ly interest? I lost no time in writing
to my correspondents to inform them
that the sum was much too large. 81
have received no money" said, 'from
Martinique, and it would be lmpos-
sible for me to meet my engagements" :"
An answer came by return OF post:
seWe learn with regret that you have
misgivings with regard to the Spanish
loan. According to your order we have
sold out all the stock assigned to you,
which brings in already net profit OF
eighty thousand francs. With regard
to your property at Martinique, we
are too well acquainted with the de-
| lays which bequests at such a distance
must necessarily involve to think Tor
O. moment that you can be immediate
ly put in possession OF your
inheritance, but your signature
will suffice to procure you all the
money you may require in the mears
time. We take the liberty of remind
ing you of the advantage OF making
timely investments, lest, when the legal
arrangements are ended, you should
find difficulty in getting good interest
for so large capital. With the hope
that you may entertain a better opin
ion of German securities than you dc
of Spanish, we hand you prospectus
for establishing a bank at Grunningen
You will please to observe, sir, that
no deposits is required and that, as
calls are made at long intervals, ii
will beeasyfo for you to sell your shares
should you changeyour mind, without
you having any occasion to make any
payment. We have placed fifty to
your credit, and have the honor to re
main," &c.
Eighty thousand francs! the amount
was a perfect mystery to me; no doubt
the clerk had made some mistakes il
thefgures. IMPOSITION was becoming
embarrassing. Congratulations pour
ed in from all llquarters, especially wher
I made my appearance in black from
head to foot. The Journal de Goub
mouches thought it right to publish 6
biographical sketch of my cousin; ane
the editor wrote to me asking fo,
further particulars. Ladies connected
with all sorts of societies begged tha
my name might be added to their lis
of subscribers, and the money Ihad tt
pay for postages was something alarm
ing. To escape from this avalanche O
! inquiries I hastily departed to Paris
, Directly I got there I called on m.
bankers, by whom I was received a.
heirs to a large property general.
are.
"Sorry that you have such a poo
opinion of the spanish stock" sait
Monsieur Bergeret; "there has been ,
great rise; however, we only sold ou
half your parcel" .-...
"Would you have the goodness t,
let me know what the present value O.
the remainder might be?'' replied.
Certainly, sir, ten thousand pias
tres stock at seventy (the piastres be
ing at five francs, thirty-fve centimes)
the sum already paid being-if yol
sell out to-day you will, with the pro
ceeds of last sale, have from two hun
dred and ten thousand to two hun
dred and twenty thousand francs"
Very well. You said somethin
about a German bank think?"