Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1904-07-12
CHAPTER wv

To save further interruption to the
course of the story, it is necessary to
glance a little ahead. and give a brief
account of the course Of events in the
matter of Guillaume Grandet's affairs. A
month after des Grassins had gone,
Grandet received a certificate for hun
dred thousand livres per annum of rentes,
purchased at eighty francs. As for Gull
laume Grandet's creditors, everything
had happened as the cooper had intended
and foreseen.
At the Bank of France they keep &C.
curate lists Of all great fortunes. The
names of des Grassins and of Felix
Grandet of Saumur were duly to be
found inscribed therein; indeed, they
shone conspicuous there as well-known
names in the business world, as men who
were not only financially sound, but own
ers of broad acres. And now it was
said that des Grassins of Saumur had
come to Paris with intent to call meet
ing of the creditors of the firm of Gull
laume Grandet; the shade of the wine
merchant was to be spared the disgrace
of protested bills. The seals were broken
in the presence Of the creditors, and the
family notary proceeded to make out an
inventory in due form.
Before very long. in fact, des Gras-
sins called a meeting of the creditors,
who, with one voice, appointed the hank
er of Saumur as trustee conformity with
Francois Keller, the head of a large
business house, empowering them to take
such measures as they thought fit. in
order TO save the family name. The fact
chat des Grassins was acting as his
agent produced a hopeful tone in the
meeting, and things went smoothly from
the irst; the banker did not find a single
dissentient voice. Each one said to linn
self;
"Grandet of Saumur is going to pay.
Six months went by. The Partisan
merchants had withdrawn the bills from
circulation. and had consigned them to
the depths of their portfolios. The coop
er had gained his first point. Nine months
after the first meeting the two trustees
paid the creditors a dividend of forty
seN Ell per cent. This sum had been rails
ed BY the sale of the late Guillaume
Gran6et's property, goods, chattels and
general effects; the most scrupulous in
tegrity characterized these proceedings;
indeed, the whole affair was conducted
with the most conscientious honesty, and
the delighted creditors fell to admiring
Grandet's high-minded probity.
Twenty-three months after Guillaume
Grandet's death. many of the merchants
had forgotten all about their claims in
the course OF events in q business life.
or they only thought Of them TO say TO
themselves: Wy
1T begins to look as though the forty
= oil I shall yet
out Of that business"
The cooper had reckoned on the aid
of Time, who, so he was wont 10 say,
is a good fellow. BY the end of the
third year des Grassins wrote TO Gran
Diet. saving that he had induced most OF
the creditors TO give up their bills. and
that the amount now owing was only
about ten per cent Of the outstanding two
millions four hundred thousand francs
Grandet replied that there yet renamed
the notary and the stock broker, whose
failures had been the death OF his broth
or. they were still alive. They might be
solvent again by this time, and proceed
ings ought TO be tgssen against ITEM
something might be recovered IA this way
which would still furthels reduce the sum
I total OF the deficit.
When the fourth ye2a drew 10 a Close
the deficit had beer duly brought down 70
the sum OF 1.o00.U0 francs: the limit ap-
I peared TO have been reached. Six months
/ were further speIt in parleyings be-
/ tween the trustee and the creditors. and
between Grandet and the trustees In
short, strong pressure being brought 10
bear upon Grandet OF Saamur. he an
nounced. somewhere about the ninth
month OF the same year. that his nephew.
who had made fortune in the East In