Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-01-02
COLONEL QUARITCH,V
By H. RIDER HAGGARD.

but still it can't be done for nothing, ant then there is a new wagon shed wanted, ant some odds and ends; yes, we had better say live thousand"
 Still MT. Quest made no answer, so ono,
 more the squire went on.
 "Well, you see, under these circumstances not being able to lay hands upon the neces
 sary capital from my private resources, o
 course have made up my mind to apply tt
 Cossey & Son for the loan. Indeed, consider
 ing how long and intimate has been the con nection between their house and the De ls
 Molle family, I think it right and proper te do so; indeed, I should consider it very wrong
 of me if neglected to give them the oppor
 tunity of the investment'- here a faint smile hickered for an instant on Mir. QuestH face and then went out. "Of course they will, as matter of business, require security and very properly so; but as this estate is | unentailed, there will fortunately be little difficulty about that. You can draw up the
 necessary deeds, and l think that, under the circumstances, the right thing to do would
 be to charge the Moat farm specifically with the amount. Things are bad enough, nc
 doubt, but can hardly suppose it possible
 farm would not be good for f5, ,OO0. How
 
 general clause as we'll and if it is so, although
 I consider it quite unnecessary, shall raise
 no objection to that course"
 Then at last Mir. Quest broke his somewhat
 omnous silence.
 II an very sorry to say, A1r. de la Molle, ?
 be said gently, ''that can hold out no pros
 pect of Cossey & Son being induced under any circumstances to advance another pound
 upon tho security of the Honham castle es-
 tates. Their opinion of the value of landed property as security has received so severe a shock that they are not at all comfortable as to the safety of the amount already invested. "
 MT. de h Molle started when he heard this most unexpected bit of news, for which he was totally upprepared. He had always found it possible to borrow money, and it had never occurred to him that a time might perhaps come in this country when the land, which he held in almost superstitious venera- tion, would be so valaeless 8 form of property that lenders would refuse it as security.
 "Why," he said, recovering himself, "the total incumbrances on the property do not amount to more than a25, 900, and when l succeeded my father, forty years ago, it was valued at fifty, and the castle and prem ises have been thoroughly repaired since then at a cost of five thousand, and most of the farm buildings also"
 "Very possibly, MT. de la Molle; but to be honest, very much doubt if Honham castle and the lands round it would now fetch e25,QCQ on a forced sale Competition and Radical agitation have brought estates down moro than people realize, and land In Aus tralia and New Zealand is now worth as much per acre as cultivated land in England, Perhaps as residential property and on ao- count of it's historical interest, 1t might fetch l,.H ,I,k -I1 l~ l. Molle, so anxious are Cossey & Son in the matter that l regret to have to tell you that so far from being willing to make n further advance, the firm have formally instructed me 10 serve the usual six months notice on you. calling in the money already advanced on mortgage, together with the interest, which must remind you is nearly year overdue, and this step propose to take to- morrow.n
 The old gentleman staggered for a mo- mept, and caught at the mantel piece. for the blow was a heavy one, and as unexpected as it was heavy. But he recovered himself in an instant, for it was one of the peculiarities of his character that his spirits always seemed to rise to the occasion i'll the face of urgent adversity-in short, he possessed an extraordinary share of moral courage.
 "lndeed," he said, indignantly, "indeed, 1t is pity that you did not tell me that at once, Mir. Quest; it would have saved me from putting myself in 6 false position by propos- ing business arrangement which is not ac- ceptable. AS regards the interest, admit that it is as you say, and very much regret 1t. That stupid fellow, George, is always so drsadfully behindhand with his accounts that can never get anything settled" He did not state, and indeed did not know, that the reason that the unfortunate George was behindhand was that there were no accounts to make up, or rather that they were all on the wrong side of the ledger. II will have that matter seen to at once. Of course, busi- ness people are quite right to consider their due, and do not blame Messrs Cossey in the matter, not in the least. Still, must say that, considering the long and intimate rela= tionship that has for nearly two centuries ex- isted between their house and my family, they might-well-have shown Q little mors 
 "Yes," said MT. Quest, "I dare say that tho step strikes you as a harsh one To be per fectly frank with you, Mir. de la Molle, 1t struck me as 0 very harsh one, but of course l amTonly servant, and bound to carry out my instructions. l sympathize with you very much-very much, indeed"
 "Oh, don't do that" said the old gentle AAsoA' VI SouA Sc, otuc1 hlI0I&eueuCS must be made; and, much as 1t will pain me to terminate my connection with Messrs. Cos sey, they shall be made.n
 "But think, ,p went on the lawyer, without any notice of his interruption, ..that you mis- understand the matter a little. Cossey 6 Son are only a trading corporation, whose object is to make money by lending 1t, or all hazards to mako money. The kind of feeling that you allude to, and that might induce them, in consideration of long intimacy and close connection in the past, to forego the opportunity of so doing, and even to run a risk of loss, is a thing which belongs to former generations But the present is a strictly commercial age, and we are the most commercial of the trading nations. Cossey 6 Son move with the time, that is all, and they would rather sell up a l dozen families which had dealt with them for two centuries than lose five hundred pounds, provided, of course, that they could l do SO without scandal and loss of general 1 respect, which, where banking house is l also means 9 loss of custom. l am great lover of the past myself, and be- l lieve that our ancestors ways of doing busi- l ness were, on the whole, better and more charitable than ours; but have to make my