Marmorne

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: strewn along its bed would thus be carried to the Yonne. In a word, M. de Marmorne proposed to do to our property what had already been done on a much more extensive scale at some distance from it, and with perfect success. The project, it was easily proved, would pay a very high interest, indirectly, by...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: strewn along its bed would thus be carried to the Yonne. In a word, M. de Marmorne proposed to do to our property what had already been done on a much more extensive scale at some distance from it, and with perfect success. The project, it was easily proved, would pay a very high interest, indirectly, by the increased value given to the woods at Boisvipere; and few men have the opportunity of investing capital with the certainty of such high returns, combined with such an entire absence of risk. Our friend, however, added that he shrank from the responsibility of superintending works of that magnitude, if decided upon; but that it was necessary, if the thing were to be done, that it should be undertaken at once, so as to be ready for the next cutting, which would take place in less than three years. My father became greatly interested in this project; but his health was steadily declining, and he dreaded the fatigues of the journey. I suggested that, as Emil was much too busy to leave England (for at that time he was immersed in the details of a very important lawsuit), my brother Julius would perhaps undertake the mission; but my father saw clearly that Julius was too much absorbed in his great African projects to have a mind free enough for business, and so it happened that, young as I was (for I had barely attained my majority), the mission was confided to me. My trunk was soon packed, and I quitted Segrave Park the next day. In passing through London I saw Emil for half an hour. He gave me some information about Boisvipere, and commented a little upon our friend Monsieur de Marmorne. You'll stay at his house, of course, said Emil; and his eyes, usually so intensely practical in their aspect, took an expression of absorbed reverie which I had never before seen them assu...