Banks and banking -- France -- History -- 19th -- Fiction
In jumping out of bed, he had at last just thought of a name for this
company, such as he had long been seeking. The words 'Universal Bank'
had suddenly flamed up before him, in letters of fire as it were, in
the still dark room. 'The Universal Bank,' he kept on repeating whilst
he dressed himself, 'the Universal Bank, that is both simple and grand;
it takes in everything, covers the world. Yes, yes, it is excellent!
the Universal Bank!'
Until half-past nine o'clock he walked up and down his spacious rooms,
absorbed in doubt as to where he should begin hunting for the necessary
millions in Paris. Twenty-five millions of francs--such a sum is still
to be found at a turn of the street; it was rather the embarrassment of
making a selection that made him reflect, for he wished to proceed with
some method. He drank a glass of milk, and evinced no vexation when
the coachman came up to tell him that his horse was not well, having
undoubtedly caught cold, so that it would be prudent to send for the
veterinary surgeon.
'All right, do so. I will take a cab,' said Saccard.
Once out of doors, however, he was surprised by the keen bitterness of
the wind; it was like a sudden return of winter in this month of May,
which only the night before had been so mild. It was not yet raining
certainly, but dense yellow clouds were rising on the horizon. Still he
did not take a cab; a walk, he thought, would warm him up; he might,
first of all, go on foot to Mazaud's office, in the Rue de la Banque;
for he had an idea of sounding the broker with regard to Daigremont,
the well-known speculator, the lucky member of every syndicate. On
reaching the Rue Vivienne, however, such a shower of hail and water
fell from the sky, now overspread with livid clouds, that he took
refuge under the carriage entrance of a house.
He had been standing there for a moment, watching the downpour, when,
above the noise it made, there arose a jingling sound of gold, which
attracted his attention. Continuous, light, and musical, this sound
seemed to come from the bowels of the earth, as in some tale of the
'Arabian Nights.' He turned his head, took his bearings, and saw that
he was standing in the doorway of a house occupied by a banker named
Kolb, whose especial business it was to deal in gold. Buying up specie
in states where it was cheap, he melted it, and sold it in ingots
in the countries where it commanded higher prices; and thus, from
morning till night, on casting days there arose from the basement that
crystalline jingle of gold coins carried by the shovelful from cases to
the melting-pot. The ears of the passers-by fairly rang with the sound
from one year's end to the other. Saccard smiled with satisfaction
as he heard this music, which was like the subterranean voice of the
entire Bourse district. He interpreted it as a happy omen.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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