Natalie brought out and laid on her mother’s dressing-table pearl necklaces, sets of jewels, gold bracelets, gems of every kind, piling them up with the inexpressible satisfaction that rejoices the heart of some women at the sight of these valuables, with which, according to the Talmud, the fallen angels tempted the daughters of men, bringing up from the bowels of the earth these blossoms of celestial fires.
“Certainly,” said Madame Evangelista, “although I know nothing of precious stones but how to accept them and wear them, it seems to me that these must be worth a great deal of money. And then, if we all live together, I can sell my plate, which is worth thirty thousand francs at the mere value of the silver. I remember when we brought it from Lima that was the valuation at the Custom House here.—Solonet is right. I will send for Élie Magus. The Jew will tell me the value of these stones. I may perhaps escape sinking the rest of my capital in an annuity.”
“What a beautiful string of pearls!” said Natalie.
“I hope he will give you that if he loves you. Indeed, he ought to have all the stones reset and make them a present to you. The diamonds are yours by settlement.—Well, goodnight, my darling. After such a fatiguing day, we both need sleep.”
The woman of fashion, the Creole, the fine lady, incapable of understanding the conditions of a contract that was not yet drawn up, fell asleep in full content at seeing her daughter the wife of a man she could so easily manage, who would leave them to be on equal terms the mistresses of his house, and whose fortune, combined with their own, would allow of their living in the way to which they were accustomed. Even after paying up her daughter, for whose whole fortune she was to receive a discharge, Madame Evangelista would still have enough to live upon.
“How absurd I was to be so worried!” said she to herself. “I wish the marriage was over and done with.”
So Madame Evangelista, Paul, Natalie, and the two lawyers were all delighted with the results of this first meeting. The Te Deum was sung in both camps—a perilous state of things! The moment must come when the vanquished would no longer be deluded. To Madame Evangelista her son-in-law was conquered.
Next morning Élie Magus came to the widow’s house, supposing, from the rumors current as to Mademoiselle Natalie’s approaching marriage to Count Paul, that they wanted to purchase diamonds. What, then, was his surprise on learning that he was wanted to make a more or less official valuation of the mother-in-law’s jewels. The Jewish instinct, added to a few insidious questions, led him to conclude that the value was to be included in the property under the marriage contract.
As the stones were not for sale, he priced them as a merchant selling to a private purchaser. Experts alone know Indian diamonds from those of Brazil. The stones from Golconda and Vizapur are distinguishable by a whiteness and clear brilliancy which the others have not, their hue being yellower, and this depreciates their selling value. Madame Evangelista’s necklace and earrings, being entirely composed of Asiatic stones, was valued by Élie Magus at two hundred and fifty thousand francs. As to the Discreto, it was, he said, one of the finest diamonds extant in private hands, and was worth a hundred thousand francs.
On hearing these figures, which showed her how liberal her husband had been, Madame Evangelista asked whether she could have that sum at once.
“If you wish to sell them, madame,” said the Jew, “I can only give you seventy thousand francs for the single stone, and a hundred and sixty thousand for the necklace and earrings.”
“And why such a reduction?” asked Madame Evangelista in surprise.
“Madame,” said he, “the finer the jewels, the longer we have to keep them. The opportunities for sale are rare in proportion to the greater value of the diamonds. As the dealer cannot lose the interest on his money, the recoupment for that interest, added to the risks of rise and fall in the market, accounts for the difference between the selling and purchasing value.—For twenty years you have been losing the interest of three hundred thousand francs. If you have worn your diamonds ten times a year, it has cost you a thousand crowns each time. How many handsome dresses you might have had for a thousand crowns! Persons who keep their diamonds are fools; however, happily for us, ladies do not understand these calculations.”
“I am much obliged to you for having explained them to me; I will profit by the lesson.”
“Then you want to sell?” cried the Jew eagerly.
“What are the rest worth?” said Madame Evangelista.
The Jew examined the gold of the settings, held the pearls to the light, turned over the rubies, the tiaras, brooches, bracelets, clasps, and chains, and mumbled out:
“There are several Portuguese diamonds brought from Brazil. I cannot give more than a hundred thousand francs for the lot. But sold to a customer,” he added, “they would fetch more than fifty thousand crowns.”
“We will keep them,” said the lady.
“You are wrong,” replied Élie Magus. “With the income of the sum now sunk in them, in five years you could buy others just as fine, and still have the capital.”
This rather singular interview was soon known, and confirmed the
