The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1888-07-21

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learned the Dukes sentiments upon the
matter which he had SO much at heart.
He had Redeemed like schoolboy, and his
eyes plainly beamed with satisfaction. The
Duke had paused, and was apparently
awaiting reply; so Mr.. Brooke said-and,
almost unconsciously, he had looked round
at the luxurious apartment ere he spoke :
"Wealth is, of course, comparative term;
for what would be opulence to a man of
moderate views might be poverty to noble
of high rank" II shall not conceal from
you the extent of my means, and although, as
you may infer, am neither destitute nor
in any way dependent, my entire capital
would not equal the annual income of a
poor English nobleman." Mr.. Brooke
heard this statement with unmixed salts
faction, and could not help thinking that it
was rather mean of him to feel pleasure for
such cause.
II have come to London, continued the
Duke, Sin order to invest the money [
possess, and before leaving my country l
realized all the property [ had for this
purpose. You will, doubtless, conjecture
| that l had special object in view. Such
is the case, and if my venture prospers, |
shall no longer be a poor man; though l
may not become wealthy in the English
acceptation of the word | shall now lay
before you my plan, as L am confident that
it is safe in your keeping, and that you will
not divulge it, Mr.. Brooke was about to
make some protestation of his good faith,
but the Duke raised his hand to signify
that this was unnecessary and proceeded:
'For many generations it was tradition
in my family that if ever time of need
should arise our fortunes would be restored
by the riches which were contained in q
small territory which we owned in Phry-
gia. There were known to exist here GER
tain old gold-mines which had remained
unworked probably from the time of the
ancient Persian monarchy, but which were
thought still to contain large auriferous
deposits. None of my ancestors, however,
seem to have had the energy to reopen the
workings; or, perhaps, fortunately for
themselves, they never experienced the
need of doing so. My father, however,
who at one period of his life was much in
want Of money, instead of seeking to test
the accuracy of this tradition Of our house,
actually sold the territory where the old
mines were situated. Since my fathers
death have often resolved to obtain again
possession of this land; and recently, chiefly
for my daughters sake, [ decided to take
active steps in the matter. Butas | found
that all [ had in the world would be needed
to purchase the ground, which in other
respects would have proved but poor in
vestment, determined that ere | conclud
ed the bargain should personally investi
gate tha value of the old workings. After
some trouble 1 made the discovery that our
family tradition had fallen far short Of the
truth, and that the mines still contained
untold wealth. [ conducted my researches
with as much secrecy as possible; but either
through the treachery of servant, or in
some way unknown to me, the result of my
examination leaked out, and before | could
obtain possession of the land it was bought
by an English capitalist, who, in turn, dis
posed of it at an enormous profit to a joint
stock company, which was formed to work
the mines. The promoters of the company
are at the present time endeavoring to place
their shares in the London market. But
Providence does not seem yet to have alto
gether deserted the fortunes of my house;
because the English public, owing to the
distance of the mines, and the meagre ma
ture of the information regarding them,
are shy of buying the shares, which have
in consequence fallen to very low price.
have resolved to avail myself of the op-
portuuity, and so secure at least portion
of the wealth which Fightfqlly ought to
have been mine.
Apart from other considerations the
pathos in the old mans voice and the ma
ture of his narrative had completely en-
listed Mr.. Brooke's sympathy; so in an
swer to the question, "Will you aid me by
investing my money for me ?" he gave
ready assent On hearing this reply the
Duke went to y small safe which stood in
a corner of the room, where, as it was in
closed in case of mahogany and was COW
cred by piece of fancy work, its true
nature could not be discerned by casual
observer Unlocking this, the Duke took
out a roll of Bank-of- England notes, which,
to Mr.. Brooke's surprise, he placed in his
hands, bidding him COUNT them. Mr..
Brooke found that there wers hundred
of them, and that each was Of the value of
one hundred pounds.
"Quite correct, replied the Duke when
Mr.. Brooke made this statement. "You
hold ip your hands all the money l possess,
and in order to procure it haFe disposed
of all my saleahle property, But it for
tune favors me | shall still be rich man,
for the money you hold in your hands may
be increased ten-aye, fifty fold. If you
will but consent to render ME a slight favor
my prosperity is assured beyond the posi-
bility of doubt.
afop cap certainly reckon On my assis-
tance,
"You will thus place me under the deep
est obligations. But do not fear that lam
about to put any severe test upon your
friendship or generosity, as the only favor
l shall ask of you is, after all, a small one;
but the results will be great, and it is by
these that shall measure your kindness.
Retain the money, please; ( do not wish
you to return it, The service | wish you
to perform for me Is to take that money
into the city and give your broker the or
der to buy ten thousand Phrygian gold
mine shares. They are f5 shares, but, as
the public are keeping aloof, they have
fallen to 81; at which price, / see from the
newspapers, they are at present quoted in
buy them for me is that if | were to get an
Introduction to any broker myself my mo-
tive would be guessed, and if it was known
that 1 was willing to back my opinion of
the mine by purchasing shares the price
would certainly be raised against me, per-
haps to an extent which would render my
benefit small. Many are aware that | re-
Gently purposed to work the mines on my
own account. If I were merely desirous
of speculating would not seek your as
and | do not doubt that it is
against your principles to have anything to