The Miser | Page 9

are greater
mysteries than you think. His name is not by any means to be divulged,
and he is to be introduced to you to-day at a house provided by him, so
that he may hear from yourself all about your position and your family;
and I have not the least doubt that the mere name of your father will be
sufficient to accomplish what you wish.
CLE. Particularly as my mother is dead, and they cannot deprive me of

what I inherit from her.
LA FL. Well, here are some of the conditions which he has himself
dictated to our go-between for you to take cognisance of, before
anything is begun.
"Supposing that the lender is satisfied with all his securities, and that
the borrower is of age and of a family whose property is ample, solid,
secure, and free from all incumbrances, there shall be drawn up a good
and correct bond before as honest a notary as it is possible to find, and
who for this purpose shall be chosen by the lender, because he is the
more concerned of the two that the bond should be rightly executed."
CLE. There is nothing to say against that.
LA FA. "The lender, not to burden his conscience with the least scruple,
does not wish to lend his money at more than five and a half per cent."
CLE. Five and a half per cent? By Jove, that's honest! We have nothing
to complain of,
LA FL. That's true.
"But as the said lender has not in hand the sum required, and as, in
order to oblige the borrower, he is himself obliged to borrow from
another at the rate of twenty per cent., it is but right that the said first
borrower shall pay this interest, without detriment to the rest; since it is
only to oblige him that the said lender is himself forced to borrow."
CLE. The deuce! What a Jew! what a Turk we have here! That is more
than twenty-five per cent.
LA FL. That's true; and it is the remark I made. It is for you to consider
the matter before you act.
CLE. How can I consider? I want the money, and I must therefore
accept everything.
LA FL. That is exactly what I answered.

CLE. Is there anything else?
LA FL. Only a small item.
"Of the fifteen thousand francs which are demanded, the lender will
only be able to count down twelve thousand in hard cash; instead of the
remaining three thousand, the borrower will have to take the chattels,
clothing, and jewels, contained in the following catalogue, and which
the said lender has put in all good faith at the lowest possible figure."
CLE. What is the meaning of all that?
LA FL. I'll go through the catalogue:--
"Firstly:--A fourpost bedstead, with hangings of Hungary lace very
elegantly trimmed with olive-coloured cloth, and six chairs and a
counterpane to match; the whole in very good condition, and lined with
soft red and blue shot-silk. Item:--the tester of good pale pink Aumale
serge, with the small and the large fringes of silk."
CLE. What does he want me to do with all this?
LA FL. Wait.
"Item:--Tapestry hangings representing the loves of Gombaud and
Macée. [Footnote: An old comic pastoral.] Item:--A large walnut table
with twelve columns or turned legs, which draws out at both ends, and
is provided beneath with six stools."
CLE. Hang it all! What am I to do with all this?
LA FL. Have patience.
"Item:--Three large matchlocks inlaid with mother-of-pearl, with rests
to correspond. Item:--A brick furnace with two retorts and three
receivers, very useful to those who have any taste for distilling."
CLE. You will drive me crazy.

LA FL. Gently!
"Item:--A Bologna lute with all its strings, or nearly all. Item:--A
pigeon-hole table and a draught-board, and a game of mother goose,
restored from the Greeks, most useful to pass the time when one has
nothing to do. Item:--A lizard's skin, three feet and a half in length,
stuffed with hay, a pleasing curiosity to hang on the ceiling of a room.
The whole of the above-mentioned articles are really worth more than
four thousand five hundred francs, and are reduced to the value of a
thousand crowns through the considerateness of the lender."
CLE. Let the plague choke him with his considerateness, the wretch,
the cut-throat that he is! Did ever anyone hear of such usury? Is he not
satisfied with the outrageous interest he asks that he must force me to
take, instead of the three thousand francs, all the old rubbish which he
picks up. I shan't get two hundred crowns for all that, and yet I must
bring myself to yield to all his wishes; for he is in a position to