The Bank of
France, as everybody knows, affords exact information about all the
large fortunes in Paris and the provinces. The names of des Grassins
and Felix Grandet of Saumur were well known there, and they enjoyed
the esteem bestowed on financial celebrities whose wealth comes from
immense and unencumbered territorial possessions. The arrival of the
Saumur banker for the purpose, it was said, of honorably liquidating
the affairs of Grandet of Paris, was enough to avert the shame of
protested notes from the memory of the defunct merchant. The seals on
the property were taken off in presence of the creditors, and the
notary employed by Grandet went to work at once on the inventory of
the assets. Soon after this, des Grassins called a meeting of the
creditors, who unanimously elected him, conjointly with Francois
Keller, the head of a rich banking-house and one of those principally
interested in the affair, as liquidators, with full power to protect
both the honor of the family and the interests of the claimants. The
credit of Grandet of Saumur, the hopes he diffused by means of des
Grassins in the minds of all concerned, facilitated the transactions.
Not a single creditor proved recalcitrant; no one thought of passing
his claim to his profit-and-loss account; each and all said
confidently, "Grandet of Saumur will pay."
Six months went by. The Parisians had redeemed the notes in
circulation as they fell due, and held them under lock and key in
their desks.
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