It was then that he changed his tactics. Instead of taking his profits at each liquidation, he now opposed himself to any realisation whatsoever. In the face of such a dangerous system, I timidly risked some remarks:— ‘No one could guide me better than you do, and I would be already _too rich_ if, as before, you took advantage of every fluctuation of the market, instead of opposing yourself to the realisation of the profits. It is true there is a large margin on your purchases, but our prosperity is only artificial, since it is but the result of recharges and not of liquidated operations. That is to say, by this system we are constantly laying ourselves open to emergencies.’ It was also under this mysterious inspiration that I then took an engagement to buy out the interest of my sleeping partners. Always under the same guidance, our business affairs rapidly created an opulent position for me. The upward movement of stocks continued, and if at times a slight reaction arose, it could only touch a small part of the profits already acquired, and constantly carried over. The dangerous system of non-realisation, we see, had not been abandoned. I often complained. It was thus that on the 1st January 1870 (a Sunday, I think), the _Coulisse_ having quoted on the boulevards 75·05 francs, and this rate assuring us a profit of 30,000 francs on one affair alone, I implored him to consent to realising. He refused energetically, saying, ‘Money-jobbing does not suit me, I have put you in a position which will be your last affair.’ Moreover, he affected a great dislike to my profession, saying he desired to see me leave it as speedily as possible. Sometimes the spirit dropped certain exclamations, aside, as it were, the most frequent of which was, ‘_What a struggle!_’ I paid no attention to this, and it was only after the tragic _dénouement_ of this affair that the souvenir of these exclamations, although so frequently repeated, came back to my memory. The circumstances which follow sadly demonstrate that during two and a half years the aim, so patiently followed, was simply to bribe my confidence with strange revelations, and to keep me under his thumb. This result obtained, he had only to use influence in order to keep me in a position whose importance could not help being fatal, in view of coming events, and which the unknown’s power of penetration permitted him to foresee. It was in the midst of all this, in a way, borrowed prosperity, since it only resulted from non-realised operations, that I took possession of my new residence, Rue d’Enghien, No. 11. For several months, although it was impossible for stock to rise above seventy-five francs, faithful to his system, the unknown refused to sell out. It was therefore necessary to continue. But could I complain if funds remained stationary? The profits entered into cash as a consequence of the rise of stocks, which seemed a sufficient guarantee against any event whatsoever.