THE ROMANCE OF THE ROTHSCHILDS

IGNATIUS BALLA

THE ROMANCE OF THE ROTHSCHILDS

35 809

THE ROMANCE OF

ite. Biog

IGNATIUS BALLA

LONDON EVELEIGH NASH 1913

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

THE ROMANCE OF THE ROTHSCHILDS

T

THE RISE OF THE ROTHSCHILDS

The Rothschilds, who have held in their hands for more than a century the threads of the financial life of the Old World, were described by Heine many decades ago as the first bankers in Europe. Even to-day there is not one of the more recent financial dynasties that can boast a wealth equal to that of the famous Jewish financiers. The mere mention of their name suggests the power of millions, and, to those who are ever ready to pay homage to wealth, these descendants of a petty hawker of the Frankfort ghetto seem to be the very personification of earthly riches.

But the conscientious historian who would relate the almost legendary course of their story will find it useless to explore the dusty archives of States and finger the mouldering

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disabilities, yet the quick-witted and quiettempered Jew never abandoned his race and
religion. He struggled against prejudice, and
toiled for the welfare of his family; he strove
to raise himself above the crowd and to place
the future of his house on foundations of
granite. "Work" was his knightly motto; and
for the sake of his wife and children he worked
assiduously from early morning until night,
when the civic authorities fastened, with heavy
chains and locks, the doors which confined
Maier Amschel and his co-religionists in their
narrow ghetto. He bore oppression in silence;
he was one of the patient—one, indeed, of the
most patient of the sons of Israel in the old
Hansa city.

The patent of nobility of the Rothschild family and their diploma of barony are hardly a century old, yet the story of this hundred years is not the mere story of a banking house; it is, if we regard it aright, the history of Europe, the story of the debts and loans of its constituent States during a century. Nearly every civilised State in Europe figures in that

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calendar, on some more or less important occasion, for some comparatively large sum of money. What State was there in the nineteenth century that needed money to cover its debts and did not turn to the Rothschilds? Even when it did not have direct recourse to their coffers, it sought their powerful mediation. It was by means of State loans that the house attained its unique position as a financial autocracy and cosmopolitan power. As Ludwig Börne says, with his caustic humour: "The balance of power in Europe is maintained by the Jews. They find money for one country to-day, for another to-morrow, for all of them in turns, and they thus preserve the general peace."

The higher nobility of Germany and Austria-Hungary have done considerable business with the Frankfort and Vienna branches of the firm, and we find the name of many a prince and lord of the land in the old ledgers of the offices in the Frankfort ghetto. The following list of nobles to whom money was advanced by the Rothschilds during the sixth decade of the

last century will give some idea of the extent of their operations 1—

The Rothschilds, however, never cared for loans to private individuals. "If there is question of a loan, let it be to a State," was their motto. It would be extremely difficult to

^<sup>1 The German figures are expressed throughout in round English sums.—Trans.

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Within the space of a hundred years the Rothschild family made a fortune amounting to more than four hundred million pounds sterling. Amongst the many contemporaries

who endeavoured to penetrate the secret of this marvellous success was the distinguished diplomatist and friend of Prince Metternich, Friedrich von Gentz, who wrote as follows—

"The question how the Rothschild house could do all that it has done in so short a time has assuredly occupied the attention of many a business man and politician. Possibly, however, it is not so difficult to give an answer as is generally believed. Any one who disregards chance gains and realises that in all large operations success depends, not only on seizing and using the favourable moment, but still more on a strict adhesion to certain fundamental principles, will easily see that there were two maxims in particular of which this house never lost sight, and to which, apart from its shrewd conduct of business and taking advantage of favourable opportunities, it owes the greater part of its actual prosperity.

"The first of these principles was the determination of the five brothers to conduct the whole of their business in constant co-operation. That was the dying command of their

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father. If they have prospered, it is because they have been absolutely faithful to this rule. After the death of the father every offer, no matter whence it came, was discussed by them collectively; every operation of the least importance was carried out according to an agreed plan, and by their joint exertions, and they all shared equally in the profit. No matter how great the distance was between their centres—Frankfort, Vienna, London, Paris and Naples—it never interfered with their common understanding. In fact it had the additional advantage that each of them could be perfectly acquainted with the situation in his own part of Europe and assist more effectively in carrying out the business undertaken by the whole house.

"The other principle they kept in mind was, not to strain after an excessive profit in any operation, to impose definite limits on all they undertook, and, as far as human foresight and prudence could achieve it, leave nothing to chance. This maxim—Servare modum finemque tenere (Be moderate, and never

lose sight of the goal')—is one of the chief secrets of their strength.

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not by audacity, but by prudence and perseverance.

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they adopted a fresh coat of arms, the motto of which consists of the three Latin words, "Concordia, Integritas, Industria" (Concord, Integrity, Industry).

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political conditions of every land, were enabled to make a shrewd calculation of the chances of war breaking out, and, according to the aspect of the political horizon, either to buy up or throw all their holdings on the market.

sisting of shares of a hundred florins each. The shares were handed over to them at 96 florins, and they sold them at 130. This gave them a clear profit of 34 per cent. They had at their command many means of increasing the interest of the public in the new loan and confidence in themselves. Whenever they regarded a stock as good, there was quite a struggle to secure it. Everybody wanted to invest in it, so as to secure a better return on his capital. Other business men would have been satisfied with the above-mentioned profit which the Rothschilds secured at one stroke. They thought otherwise; they bought and sold the stock over and over again, according as they rose or fell in value. In this way they drew enormous sums into their coffers.

It is said that in order to depreciate the price of the stock, they floated a new loan shortly after the first; they had decided on this in concluding the first arrangement, but the general public had no suspicion of it. Then, when the new issue brought down the value of the preceding one, they entered the market as buyers.

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They bought their own stock for less than they had sold it for, and in the continual rise and fall, which they controlled with masterly skill, they won an enormous profit. The five cities—London, Vienna, Paris, Frankfort and Naples—were an excellent theatre for observing the ebb and flow of the financial tide and deploying the speculative power of the Rothschilds. Naturally, they reaped their best harvests at times of grave disturbance, especially during war. In such cases the secret of their success was to learn the coming events before all others; and this was not a work of chance, but the outcome of their distinguished connections and the fine organisation of their business.

As they knew well that a rise, even for a few minutes, may be of the greatest importance on the Exchange and lead to immense gains and losses, they were always very careful to enter into the closest possible relation to the decisive factors. They therefore succeeded in drawing into their sphere of interest distinguished politicians and men of high social standing, so that they could learn important events before

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sums that he received from the Rothschilds for such services. They were shrewd enough to know that in financial matters we have not to deal with supernatural beings, but mortals, whose god is gold.

By the organisation of State loans, shrewd moves on the Exchange, and their excellent supplies of information, the children of the ghetto at length attained the position of which a writer of the time said: "There is only one Power in Europe, and that is Rothschild; his satellites are a dozen other bankers, his soldiers are all decent merchants and workers, his sword is speculation. Rothschild is a result that was bound to come; if it were not Rothschild, it would be another. He is, however, by no means a chance result, but an inevitable outcome of the State principles which have ruled Europe since 1813. Rothschild needed the State in order to become Rothschild, and the 26

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States of Europe needed a Rothschild. Now that he has become what he is he needs the State no longer; the State needs him."

power which enables them to exert so powerful an influence.

"In the course of twenty-eight years the house of the Rothschilds has, in the many loans which it has made to England, Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, Naples, Denmark, Belgium, and most of the princes of the German Confederation, paid hundreds of millions to these States, with remarkable promptitude, and often at a time of grave political crisis, and has in this way proved the strength of its resources. Yet all who had a share in these transactions saw their speculations always crowned with success, and the general confidence in the Rothschilds was unlimited.

"When, in recent years, the speculative spirit turned to industrial concerns, and railways became a need of the continent, they again took the initiative and put themselves at the head of the movement. The Versailles Railway on the right bank of the Seine is their creation, and in Austria they gave the first impetus to undertakings of this nature by con-

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structing the great Northern Railway; wherever a really national work was to be undertaken one could rely on the co-operation of their capital.

and no Government undertook any large financial operation without their assistance. In their third period, which extends to the year 1830, their repute and influence as the leading financial power continued to rise. Then the July Revolution suddenly broke out and shook European credit to its foundations, and with that begins the fourth and most brilliant stage of their financial activity.

"Large numbers of banking houses were destroyed by the lightning of the political storm, while the Rothschilds not only sustained the tempest, but offered the aid of their great resources to the new French Government, which seemed to them a security for the maintenance of law and order. The incalculable sums which they put at the disposal of the Powers in that critical period and the fine diplomatic tact they displayed in the most delicate situations won for them the unreserved confidence of the various cabinets. The Rothschilds at that time did more for the maintenance of peace than the world suspected.

"The question naturally occurs, how they

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found it possible to keep their position and influence in France under so many different governments? But the answer is not difficult. They belong to no political party; they are friends of the country, of law, and of peace, and as such they could offer their great financial influence just as easily under the heterogeneous ministries of Decaze, Villèle, Martignac, or Polignac, as under the government of Louis Philippe.

"The unquestioned power that the Rothschilds have over commerce in general is equally just in its foundation and beneficent. Their motto is, 'Peace and the Development of Industry'—and these alone promote the welfare of nations. The age of illusions is over; nations have long been convinced that their efforts to maintain peace do far more for their material interests than the sanguinary clash of political theories. A wealthy people is a powerful people, and will not suffer any arbitrary oppression.

"History will quote the firm of the Rothschilds as a remarkable example of the attain-

ment of enormous wealth and far-reaching political influence by a shrewd spirit of speculation, perseverance, and fraternal unity, aided by fortune and wit."

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Since the year 1840, which brought a tempest upon the economic life of the European States, the business transactions of the Rothschilds have found an additional channel. They turned to the increasing branches of industry—railways, mines, ironworks, etc.—and founded banks, and thus found a means of making fresh and hitherto unexploited wealth. They retained their dominant position in the financial world, as the magical power of their name was enhanced. They were now the unquestionable masters, not only of the Exchange, but of trade and commerce. Numbers of prosperous banks and industries sprang up at their command, and they became owners of mines, mills, factories, and estates in every part of the world.

The actual power of the Rothschilds cannot be compared with that of the five brothers in earlier days, though their fortune is larger than ever. This is due, however, not to a depreciation of ability in their descendants, but to a change of circumstances. The financial position of the various States in Europe has so immeasurably improved during the last hundred years that they no longer need an

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intermediary in contracting loans. Rival banks have also done their share in bringing to a close the supremacy of the Rothschilds. But, if their autocracy in the money-world is ended, their vast fortune remains, and surpasses that of any of the American millionaires. Neither Rockefeller, nor Carnegie, nor Astor, nor any other Transatlantic prince of finance, has a capital equal to that of the Rothschilds. It is estimated at more than four hundred million sterling, and it increases daily. It would be bound to increase even if they never engaged in another transaction, as, invested at an interest of not more than four per cent., their capital would yield more than £16,000,000 yearly, or more than £45,000 a day.

The mind almost reels in considering these colossal sums. Baron Albert of Vienna was guilty of no exaggeration when he said: "The house of the Rothschilds is so rich that it cannot do bad business." And this enormous fortune has been amassed by one family in the course of a single century.

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of the damned for centuries. What a land Egypt was! Its products have defied time. Its pyramids are indestructible, its mummies as incorruptible as ever; and just as indestructible is that mummy of a people which wanders over the earth, swathed in its ancient documents, a petrified piece of history, a spectre that maintains itself by money-changing and the sale of old clothes."

At that time the Jews were more hardly treated in Frankfort than in any other German town. In the fourteenth century the fathers of the city had confined them in a "Jews' street," which was closed with chains every night. They also passed a law that not more than two Jewish couples were to marry every year, so concerned were they at the extraordinary industry, endurance, and increasing range of the children of the ghetto. For centuries the followers of Moses vegetated in this narrow street, and no one could have dreamed that from it a man would issue who would lay the foundation of the greatest financial power in the world.

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For five centuries the Frankfort Jews struggled against their oppressors, and at last the hour of deliverance struck. With a stroke of the pen Napoleon lifted the yoke from their shoulders, and opened the other streets of the city to them. As soon as the French army had left the city, however, the citizens again took from them their liberty, and compelled the Jews to purchase it later at the price of about £40,000.

The ancestor of the Rothschilds, Amschel Moses, lived in Jew Street, in an overcrowded house. History tells us nothing further about him, and the most industrious research has discovered little more than that he was a Jewish hawker. The year of his birth cannot be determined, and even the origin of the name Rothschild is obscure. According to some it was derived from some town or other, as many Jewish families in Germany took their name from a place—either their birth-place or the last place in which their fathers lived—and were distinguished in this way from the other Jews in their new home. The Oppenheimers,

Wieners, Pragers, Hamburgers, Frankfurters, and Berliners—all Jewish families—owe their names to this custom.

^<sup>1 In German "rothes schild," hence, it is suggested, the name Roth-schild (pronounced Röt-sheelt, not Röths-child, in our preposterous English way).—Trans.

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inanimate things, and painted a ship, a castle, a sickle, a star, or a bouquet on the board, for the purpose of identification. When a house was mentioned, it was customary to name the figure on its shield, which was enough to distinguish it. It is very probable that the name Rothschild arose in this simple way.

In this house with the red shield, then, Maier Amschel, later the founder of the financial dynasty, saw the light. When he bought the house in 1780, it already had a number—69. The shield had in the meantime been painted green, but it remained "red [roth]" in the memory of the people, and so Maier Amschel was called Rothschild. His father, who had not succeeded in rising out of the class of trading Jews, had died on October 6, 1754. Maier Amschel, the eldest son of Amschel Moses, was born in the year 1743, and was therefore only in his twelfth year when his father died.

Very little is known about his childhood; hardly more than about the early years of any other child of the ghetto. Who gave any

thought to a boy of the "Street". He was no different as yet from the others, and the Frankfort ghetto cannot possibly have dreamed that one of its children would become lord of war and peace, which depend so much on finance.

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in the Oppenheimer bank, and soon won the confidence of his chief by his industry and modesty. Maier Amschel Rothschild worked for many years at his plain desk in the bank, and the master entrusted the former candidate for the position of rabbi with the conduct of various important concerns, which he managed so well that Oppenheimer at length took him into partnership.

He could now look forward confidently to a future free from care, but the ambitious youth from Frankfort had other ideas. It is possible that he already dreamed of a vast banking business, to be founded by himself or some one of his blood. He felt that he was called to something higher than life in the service of another, and was convinced that his ability would yield far more if he were independent and worked on his own responsibility. He left Hanover and returned to his native town, and began at once to put his idea into execution. At Frankfort, one of the most important commercial towns of Germany, the situation at that time was particularly favourable to the develop-

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the young Jew, and he drew the attention of the Landgrave to Rothschild.

^"Do you play chess?"

^"Yes; and if Your Highness will kindly

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make this move, the game will be decided in your favour in three moves."

It was, as a matter of fact, a master-stroke that Rothschild recommended, and the Land-grave won the game. When it was over, he entered into conversation with the insignificant little Jew, and, when Rothschild had gone, he said to Baron Estorff—

"General, that is certainly no fool you have brought to me."

"I trust Your Highness will be just as pleased with the other good qualities of Rothschild," said Baron Estorff.

"I hope so, if he is as honest as he is clever," was the reply.

That happened about the year 1785, in which the Landgrave acceded to the throne of his little kingdom. His business relations with Rothschild were for a time of no great consequence; the Jew merely obtained old coins and medals for the Landgrave and negotiated bills from London, which the Landgrave, like his father, received from the English Government for supplying soldiers. At that time

every German prince had the right to maintain any army he pleased, and this unrestricted power led to a very selfish traffic in men. Landgrave Karl of Hesse had started this traffic in human flesh, and by means of it raised his fortune to more than a million sterling. His grandson Frederick II had followed the footsteps of his "wise" ancestor and made a good deal out of this profitable business. After his death William IX did not hesitate to maintain the traffic, and in the second year of his reign he contracted with England to supply 12,000 men. For this he received more than £80,000, which he added to the £2,500,000 which his "glorious" predecessor had got for selling his subjects to the North American colonies.

These immense sums, which made the young Landgrave and later Prince William one of the wealthiest monarchs of his time, were the direct occasion of the rise of the Rothschilds to the position, which they held for half a century, of the "sixth great Power in Europe." William IX wished to invest his money in the 46

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most profitable way, and kept quite a staff of agents for the purpose. Rothschild was one of this staff, and he found plenty of opportunities to prove his ability and show that he deserved the confidence granted him. His confidence was at that time the chief capital of the founder of the Rothschild dynasty, and William IX gave it him without reserve.

On the strength of this confidence Rothschild, in 1789, asked the prince, who had now been living at Cassel for four years as the successor of his father, to entrust him, like the Hanau bankers, with the sale of the English bills of exchange, reminding him of the many years he had served him. The Landgrave, however, was extremely prudent in moneymatters; he was not satisfied with the personal impression which his agents made on him, but made exhaustive inquiries before he would grant such a request as that of Rothschild. From good authorities at Frankfort and Hanau he learned that Rothschild always had good credit with the Hanau brokers and thoroughly deserved it. He could secure the highest terms

in exchange and was regarded as an industrious and honest man, so that, on business principles, one could safely grant him the credit he asked.

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William IX was regarded as one of the greatest capitalists of the time, so that any prince who needed money naturally turned to him. How these things were done is best seen

49

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prince's children with valuable presents, and promised to repeat his generosity if the heir to the throne placed no obstacles in his way with the old Landgrave. That was enough. The Crown Prince at once gave his consent, saying that he would be pleased to see the Danish request granted. Pleased with his success, Wächter hastened to Cassel, but there found himself opposed by a whole regiment of generals, ministers and councillors. They formed the Landgrave's "Council of War," and would not allow the Danish agent to make any progress until he had "paid his footing" with each of them.

William IX did not care for direct negotiations; his interest had often to be aroused by a third person before he would do anything. His financial affairs were controlled by a directive council consisting of four members, who received a commission of one per cent. on every loan, besides the presents made to them. That suited them very well, and, as they received bribes and gifts in connection with every transaction, they would only enter into deals

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with speedy repayment, in order to add to their gains. This circumstance explains the reluctance of princes and higher nobles to enter into direct negotiations with the Hesse court; they always used an experienced agent, as the prince himself afterwards liked to do. Thus, as both parties felt that it was desirable to have an experienced intermediary whom they could always trust, a number of agents won the favour of William IX, and one of those who were found worthy of this favour was Maier Amschel Rothschild.

Rothschild did not owe this entirely to his merits. He would never have been recognised on that account at the court of William IX, where every one was grasping and corruptible, if he had not shrewdly appreciated the situation. He enlisted influential officials in his interest, and allowed the directive council to have its share in his profits, as the Landgrave would do nothing without this council. Gradually he succeeded so well that at length it was most profitable to the prince's advisers if all the best transactions were put into the hands

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of Rothschild; it was of advantage to him and to them.

were much greater than those of Bethmann Brothers. It was clear that the offer was made on behalf of a third person. Lawaetz did not deny this, but would on no account give the name of his client. As a matter of fact, it was the son of the Frankfort ghetto, Maier Amschel Rothschild. He was not, of course, using money of his own; William IX was behind him, and this was the real reason for the secrecy.

It was probably Rothschild who let the Danish court have £12,000 in 1802, but no one knew in Copenhagen whence the money came. Then Lawaetz offered twice that sum, observing that his client was a Frankfort man who did not wish the bankers of that city to know anything of the business, and therefore wanted the bonds sent direct to Cassel, where the money would be paid at once. Although Rothschild did not allow his name to appear in the matter, the fact that Cassel was to be the place of payment shows us the source of the money. When the business was finally settled, however, Lawaetz directed that the coupons should be

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sent to the upper court-agent Maier Amschel Rothschild, who would deliver the money. From this the Danish ministers could easily conclude who was the real agent.

this contract the name of Rothschild appeared openly for the first time as an agent of Cassel.

Shortly afterwards Bethmann Brothers made the Danish court a somewhat better offer of a loan of £41,000. They found themselves, however, unable to keep their promise and to meet other obligations; indeed, they had to ask the return of a small advance that they had made to Denmark in February of that year. That strengthened the reliance on Rothschild, with whom such things never happened, for he always kept his word to the letter, no matter how the political conditions affected the moneymarket. Once more he came to the assistance of Denmark, which had been put in a very difficult position by the failure of the Bethmanns, and let them have £40,000 or £50,000 through Lawaetz of Altona.

It was in the year 1806 that Rothschild's star began to shine with greater splendour. The Danish loans had considerably increased the capital of Maier Amschel, and, what was far more important, he enjoyed the unqualified and unwavering confidence of William IX. This 56

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The French were fully informed of William's sentiments, and he in turn knew what Napoleon intended to do to him. Hence, when the

French took the field against Prussia and Russia, he dreaded the anger of the Corsican and fled from the country. At first he went to his elder brother at Schleswig, and soon afterwards, in 1808, began to live at Prague, where he was painfully surprised to learn that Napoleon had issued the following bulletin—

"The house of Hesse-Cassel has sold its subjects to England for many years, and the prince has made large sums of money by this means. This shameful avarice puts an end to his house. It has ceased to reign."

The first care of William IX, when he fled from his residence in Hesse, had been to save the enormous store of money which he had acquired, partly by inheritance, partly in the "honest manner" we have described. As he had absolute confidence in Maier Amschel, he felt that he could not leave his treasure in safer hands, though he also entrusted large sums to other individuals. There are various and contradictory versions of the amount which he confided to the care of Rothschild. According to some, the amount which Rothschild is sup-

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posed to have buried in his garden at Frankfort was about a quarter of a million sterling. There is some mistake in this report, as at that time no Jew was allowed to own land in Frankfort or the surrounding country. Rothschild certainly had a house in Jew Street, but there was no room for a garden there. The "Street" was so narrow that the causeway for foot-passengers was only a few feet in width. It was quite impossible for a carriage to draw up before the house.

The treasures of William IX, which Rothschild preserved very loyally, might easily have proved dangerous to him. On January 28, 1806, Marshal Augereau besieged Frankfort, and, as the citizens were accused of receiving English goods and protecting dangerous English agents, the marshal imposed on the city a contribution of four million francs. The wealth of William IX and even the life of Rothschild were in grave danger during that period. If the French had learned where the dethroned prince had deposited his fortune, they would certainly not have hesitated to appropriate it,

and Maier Amschel would have been severely punished for concealing it.

A reliable contemporary and eye-witness, the famous historian Schlosser, who lived in Frankfort at that time, writes as follows about the prince's wealth and the way in which Rothschild concealed it—

"All of us who then put our trust in Frankfort and Prussia and admired their manifesto were glad that, within a fortnight of the prince declaring himself neutral in the struggle against Napoleon, a punishment fell on him, and we only regretted that a sense of duty prevented us from telling the French that his ill-gotten gold was stored in Amschel Rothschild's cellar. It was hidden in Rothschild's wine-casks, as the decree of Napoleon had closed the Continent against England, and that country had ordered reprisals, so that nothing could be taken to England from German ports."

The legend given in Schlosser's words does not square with the facts. Tradition is apt to give an interesting and often a fantastic turn to facts, and in this case it departs from the

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truth. It is a fact that, when William IX fled from his little realm, he entrusted part of his money to Rothschild. But although according to Schlosser and others Maier Amschel hid the whole of it in his garden and his wine-casks, we have documentary evidence that these stories are at variance with the historical truth. It is possible that Rothschild hid part of the money in his cellar, but he was far too shrewd a business-man to let such an enormous capital lie fallow, especially at a time when gold was so scarce, and money could be invested with the greatest security at a very high rate of interest. Hence, before the French troops barred the way, Rothschild sent as much as he could of the Landgrave's money, as speedily as possible, to his son Nathan in London.

"We had no time to lose," Nathan Rothschild afterwards said, "and my father sent the money to me in England. On one single occasion I received £600,000 from him by post, and I invested this so profitably that the prince afterwards sent me the whole of his stores of wine and linen."

We thus learn from the words of Nathan, Maier Amschel's third son, that the prince entrusted to his Frankfort agent the enormous sum of £600,000. But it is further clear from Nathan's words that, owing to the breach of communication, his father did not succeed in sending the whole of the prince's money to London. It is certain, therefore, that the money confided to Maier Amschel amounted to more than £600,000. But the prince's fortune was much larger than this, not including precious stones. It is probable enough that the treasure which Maier Amschel hid in his cellar or garden consisted of these jewels, which could not be conveyed to London.

However that may be, the older Rothschild was fated never to restore this immense treasure to the hands of William IX. When William was at last free to return to his dominion, in the year 1813, Maier Amschel Rothschild had already passed to the realm of eternal peace.

The prince had, however, not to deplore the loss of his money; Maier Amschel's sons

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handed it over to him with considerable interest. The prince, who had almost regarded his treasure as lost, was the more surprised at this conduct, natural as it was, since he had not been accustomed to finding such honesty in his agents. The Rothschilds did not suffer for their honesty. The prince hastened to tell in every court in Europe how the Rothschild brothers had repaid with high interest the money he had entrusted to their father, and this won confidence for them, and laid the foundation of their financial greatness.

And the nearer they approached the courts of princes and saw their repute and capital grow, the more carefully they sought opportunities to find an outlet for their spirit of philanthropy. They had inherited this spirit from their father, who had always had quite a court of poor people about him. Maier Amschel had a way of his own of giving alms. As a devout Jew he believed that God is most pleased with those gifts for which the giver receives no thanks. He therefore went through the ghetto during the night, hurriedly thrust a

few pieces into the hand of the first needy man he met, and disappeared before the man could mutter his thanks.

As Frankfort became the capital of the reerected principality, the large-hearted prince granted the Jews the full rights of citizenship. Rothschild was appointed member of the Election Council as a recognition of his merits, but he had no opportunity to enjoy the dignity, as he died on September 19, 1812, in the seventieth year of his age.

When he felt that death was approaching, he gathered his five sons about him and exhorted them to work in union, and to discuss and carry out in common all their affairs. They must never abandon the religion of their fathers, and must ask the advice of their mother as long as she lived. And in order to preserve this unity in later generations, they must always choose wives in their own family.

The five Rothschild brothers and their children were loyal to their father. The youngest of them, James, the founder of the Paris firm, married his niece Betty, the daughter of his 64

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elder brother Solomon. They still follow this family tradition as far as possible.

The aged mother, who saw the influence of her sons increasing daily, rejoiced to see the

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power to which she had given birth. Once a Frankfort woman, not of the highest class of society, came to her to complain.

"War is breaking out," she moaned, "and they will take my only son, as I cannot pay the money to release him from military service."

The aged Gudula smilingly consoled the distressed mother with the words—

"Do not be afraid; there will not be war....

My sons will not provide the money for it."

This may seem at first sight to be a rather comical boast on the part of the old lady, yet it is an incontestable truth that money is needed for war, and that the Rothschilds meant "money." The star of the five sons of Gudula rose higher and higher, and the silver-haired mother of the Rothschilds, of whom Heine speaks with such feeling in reproducing a conversation with Börne, shared their greatness. The two German poets were walking one evening through Jew Street at Frankfort.

"Look here," said Börne, according to Heine, pointing to one of the houses; "in this little house lives the aged lady, the Lætitia, 66

The Founder of the House

was a good man, the very embodiment of piety and kindliness. He had a gentle face, with a pointed beard, and a three-cornered hat on his head; his clothes were more than modest—almost poor. He went about Frankfort in this way, always surrounded by a crowd of poor folk, like a court, to whom he gave alms or good advice; whenever you met a crowd of beggars on the street with smiling faces, you knew that old Rothschild had just passed that way."

The sons of the aged and kind-hearted Gudula were already barons, but still Jews. Their name then stood for absolute financial power, and her salon was filled with the choicest spirits and the élite of society. It gave the aged Frau Gudula great pleasure to see these proofs of unprecedented success, but it did not in the least alter the puritanically simple character of the white-haired little woman. Her sons gradually moved into the aristocratic quarters of Frankfort, Paris, and London, and became barons and consuls, but the aged Gudula would not leave the house in which her husband had died. There she was sheltered 68

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from the cares and agitations of the world, and there she trusted, in turn, to lay down her finefeatured head in her last slumber.

"Here," she used to say, "I have seen my sons grow rich and powerful, and I will leave

them their prosperity, for they would certainly lose it if I were to give way to pride and quit my humble home."

Her motherly heart, inclined to superstition—what mother does not watch the fate of her children with superstitious fear?—saw the fortune of her children intimately connected with the modest house in Jew Street. The house and the street were so unhealthy that the sons repeatedly tried to induce their aged and dear and superstitious mother to leave it and take up her residence with one of themselves. But, with the characteristic obstinacy of an old lady, she would on no account consent. As she would not go to the sons, they came to her. Every night, when the day's work was over, they went to the mother's house in Jew Street, which was so narrow that their elegant carriages had to remain at the corner and they had, like their mother when she came home from the theatre, to walk to the house on foot.

Maier Amschel's widow enjoyed perfect health until her ninetieth year; it was only in her later years that she began to ail, and that 70

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was merely due to advancing age. Even when her frame threatened to relax in its service, her spirit maintained its freshness, so that, even when she was not well, she used to joke with her sons and the physician. She was not satisfied with the medicines sent to her, and told the physician.

"For heaven's sake," said the physician, perhaps a little piqued, "what do you want me to do? Unfortunately, neither I nor my drugs can restore your lost youth."

"Dear doctor, you misunderstand me," the invalid said, smiling quietly; "I want your drugs to make me older, not younger."

And she lived to be four years older. In her ninety-fourth year she followed her spouse to the grave, closing her gentle and winning eyes for ever on May 7, 1849.

Her happy marriage with Maier Amschel, with whom she lived peacefully for forty-two years in the house of the green shield, issued in ten children, five sons and five daughters. The daughters—Charlotte, Isabella, Babette, Julie and Henriette—married into the Worms,

Beyfuss, Sichel and Montefiore families. Of her sons James was the founder of the Parisian house, Charles of the Neapolitan, Nathan of the London, and Solomon of that at Vienna. The eldest, Anselm, continued the ancestral house of the Rothschilds at Frankfort.

The sons of the aged Maier Amschel Rothschild had become princes of finance in five great cities. And these five cities stand for the five kingdoms which fell under the rule of the children of the Frankfort ghetto, the sons of the man who wished to be a Jewish rabbi.

Ш

THE ENGLISH ROTHSCHILDS

It is unquestionable that Nathan, the third of the five brothers, was the most gifted intellectually. His splendid business instinct and the clear-headedness which enabled him to appreciate at once the full significance of any event of commercial life made him the chief worker in building up the greatness and prestige of the Rothschilds. He had hardly been two decades in London when he enjoyed the unlimited confidence of the British Government, on account of the great services he had rendered it, and he retained it during the fifty years of his active life. Nathan was the founder of the great London house, although he was not the first Rothschild to stretch an arm across the sea from Frankfort to England. Old Maier Amschel himself had done business with London. His first connection in London

was the sale of bills in conjunction with the Van Notten firm; this became more important when the Prince of Hesse-Cassel began to use the Frankfort Jew as his agent and hand over to him the interest on the money deposited in the London bank, as well as the sums which were paid him for sending troops to North America on behalf of England. When the elder Rothschild had earned the entire confidence of the prince by his honest and profitable manipulation of the sums entrusted to him, he prevailed upon him to appoint his third son Nathan, who had meantime gone to London, his agent in that city.

Maier Amschel had been very far-seeing in choosing London out of all the cities of Europe for a filial establishment, and in the course of time it far surpassed in importance all the other houses, even that at Paris and the ancestral house at Frankfort. The financial situation in England and the everincreasing range of its commerce had much to do with this. The choice of London proved to be a most fortunate stroke, justified from

THE ROTHSCHILD OFFICES, St. Swithin's Lane, London, E.C. (House on the left with ornamental hanging sign.)

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every point of view. But it also gained in importance from the fact that the elder Rothschild selected his son Nathan for the post, for in Nathan the business ability of the Rothschilds reached its highest development.

A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

After the death of Maier Amschel the lion's share of the activity of the Rothschilds fell to Nathan, and we have ample and reliable proof how he accomplished his task, and with what marvellous good fortune his efforts were crowned. The evidence does not come from his own pen, it is true, but it is just as trustworthy as if it did. In a conversation which he had with Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton in 1834, when he was already an irresistible power on the Exchange, he told his guest the most interesting episodes of his stormy past. Buxton, who was then conducting an ardent crusade against slavery, and was destined to play a great part in abolishing it, was a guest 76

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in the house of the London financier, the uncrowned king of the money market, and Nathan described his early successes with the freshness of a man who was not spoiled by his later victories and looked back with satisfaction on the past.

"There was not room for us all in Frankfort," he said. "I dealt in English goods. One great trader came there, who had the market all to himself. He was quite the great man, and did us a favour if he sold us goods. Somehow I offended him, and he refused to show me his patterns. This was on a Tuesday. I said to my father: 'I will go to England.' I could speak nothing but German. On the Thursday I started. The nearer I got to England, the cheaper the goods were. As soon as I got to Manchester I laid out all my money, things were so cheap, and I made a good profit. I soon found out there were three profits—the raw material, the dyeing, and the manufacturing. I said to the manufacturer: 'I will supply you with material and dye, and you supply me manufactured goods.' So I got

three profits instead of one, and I could sell goods cheaper than anybody. In a short time I made my £20,000 into £60,000. My success all turned on one maxim. I said: 'I can do what another man can, and I am a match for the man with the patterns and all the rest of them.' I had another advantage. I am an off-hand man; I made a bargain at once."

This beginning of Nathan Rothschild's mercantile career in England must be fixed somewhere about the year 1800, when a number of German merchants went to live at Manchester. Nathan, however, soon decided to leave the north for London, where he felt that he would have better opportunities. We cannot determine the exact year of his settling in London; it was probably 1806, when he received a large sum of money from the Hesse Court, and married Hannah, the daughter of Barnett Cohen Levi. He had considerable difficulty in securing her hand, as, at the time when he courted her, he was still a comparatively small trader, and Barnett Cohen, 78

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who was wealthy, strongly opposed the engagement, so that at his first request Maier Amschel's third son ran some risk of being put out of the door. He was, however, a resolute and tenacious man, and nothing could turn him aside from his purpose. Barnett Cohen meantime learned the extraordinary ability of his would-be son-in-law, and saw that he would have a brilliant career. He was not deceived, as a great future awaited Rothschild in London, where Van Notten had hitherto been the exclusive agent of the Hesse Court, but was shortly afterwards displaced by the twenty-eight-year-old son of Maier Amschel.

"When I settled in London," Nathan Rothschild continued, "the East India Company had eight hundred thousand pounds' worth of gold to sell. I went to the sale and bought it all. I knew the Duke of Wellington must have it; I had bought a great many of his bills at a discount. The Government sent for me and said that they must have it. When they had got it, they did not know how to get it to Portugal. I undertook all that, and sent it

through France. It was the best business that I have ever done."

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sale of it, and the transport of the gold to Portugal. The fourfold profit richly rewarded Rothschild for the risk he had run. His fundamental principle came into play just as in his purchase of Manchester goods; the difference was that in one case he was dealing with manufactured goods and in the other with extremely delicate State business.

It goes without saying that he only decided to undertake these matters after mature reflection. He bought Wellington's bills because they were cheap; probably he got them directly from the agents, a discounting company that had the name of "Cab," and consisted of a Maltese, a Sicilian, and a Spanish group of bankers. This company exploited the difficult position of the British Government in the most shameless way. The most difficult part of Rothschild's bargain was to convey the gold through hostile territory to Portugal. He succeeded in an extraordinary degree, but here we are without details. We can, however, form some idea of it from a transaction of the year 1813, when England again wanted to send coin

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fallen. The sight of the dead and the wounded horrified him no longer. Before his eyes was the battlefield of the Exchange, and he hastened into action.

His heart overflowing with joy, he galloped wildly to Brussels, where, without losing an instant, he hired a carriage at an exorbitant charge and raced to Ostend as fast as the horses could go, in order to sail at once for England. He reached Ostend safely, but it then seemed as if all his exertions were thrown away; a fearful storm raged over the sea, and there was not a sailor to be found who would risk his life in such weather.

Rothschild, who lived in perpetual fear of attempts on his life, did not shrink before this danger. He was certainly no hero, but at the present moment he feared nothing. He offered 500, 800, and at last 1000 francs to any man who would take him through the storm to England. No one would do it. He was about to abandon the enterprise when a courageous sailor came forward and said that he would take the London Crossus across if he paid 2000

francs in cash to his wife beforehand. If they both went down, the widow at least would have something.

Nathan gladly paid the required sum, and, when he at length set foot on English soil, made a further generous payment to the brave skipper. He was half dead when he reached the English coast, but he could not rest a moment, and hurried on from Dover to London by express post. The next morning he was in his usual place at the Exchange, leaning against a column. His face was extraordinarily pale; he was completely exhausted, and stood with weary eyes and failing knees. He looked like a man broken in body and soul, as if he had aged ten years in a single night.

The hall of the Exchange was seething with excitement, like a hive of bees. The stock-brokers, usually so cold-blooded, walked about restlessly, speaking little to each other, every man shuddering in body and soul as if in presence of some dread unknown. Dismal news passed from mouth to mouth. In a low tone they discussed the defeat of Blücher, and

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it was whispered that Napoleon's heavy guard had beaten Wellington's army. Rumours that they had no means of checking sufficed at such a time to make them lose their heads altogether, and the state of things was made worse by the lamentable spectacle that Nathan Rothschild presented. He leaned against his column like a man who was condemned to death and seemed hardly able to stand on his feet: the placid, cold-blooded Cæsar, who had never before lost his balance in the most furious storms of the financial world.

What they had regarded as idle rumour seemed now to take the shape of undeniable truth, for the countenance of Nathan Rothschild told more than the vague whispers of the crowd. A fear, amounting to panic, broke on the entire Exchange like a flash of lightning: the passionate and irreconcilable enemy of England was once more free, and no one could now restrain him if he chose to fall on Europe again as the scourge of God.

The fear fell on the city like a devastating cyclone. The news increased in volume and

terror, and filled men with alarm. A wild panic ensued. The rate of exchange fell from minute to minute until it reached its lowest point, and, when it was seen that both Rothschild and his agents offered securities for sale in large quantities, even flung them on the market, nothing could arrest the disaster. It was as if a mania had seized the crowd; in a few minutes the strongest banks began to waver, and the value of the most solid securities sank alarmingly, as if they were the images of false gods which the disillusioned faithful, thirsting for vengeance, cast from their pedestals and trod under foot.

Meantime the deathly-pale man at the column laughed in his sleeve. While sympathetic souls expressed their concern for Nathan Rothschild, whose great firm, it was thought, must now sink into the dust, destroyed by its colossal losses, he was quietly buying up all the securities offered by means of secret agents whom no one knew.

The next day came the news that Blücher had won at Ligny and Wellington at Waterloo.

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Rothschild himself told it, with radiant countenance, at the opening of the Exchange, the rate advanced rapidly and reached an unprecedented height. In a single day he had gained nearly a million sterling. It was these events which gave rise to the saying: "The allies won the battle of Waterloo, but it was really Rothschild who won." The great storm in the financial world had subsided, and Rothschild emerged from the catastrophe more powerful than ever. If the whole story is true it is doubtful if so romantic and stirring an adventure could be repeated in the modern financial world, with all its means of communication; in any case, it would need a Nathan Rothschild.

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struggle for millions, demanding, as it did, a great fighting power, an incredible coolness, and a firm self-control, offered a wonderful spectacle to the observer. Here there were no regiments of dragoons galloping into action, no firing of guns, no body-guard to fling on the foe; there were merely two antagonists confronting each other—the State on the one side, and a single individual, Nathan Rothschild, on the other. They had been in friendly relations, yet they entered into a struggle, because victory meant a considerable material gain to the winner.

In Prussia the measures adopted by the Chancellor Hardenberg and the Minister of Finance Bülow required a great deal of money, and, as this was not to be had in the country, they had to seek it abroad. Barandon, the commercial representative at London, recommended the Prussian Government in November 1817 to place the loan at London. In his opinion Nathan Rothschild was the best man for the purpose, as he could command success everywhere owing to his universal credit.

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Barandon at once received orders to negotiate with him for a loan of £1,250,000, but Rothschild preferred a State loan of at least £2,500,000. In this he gave the first indication that he liked big operations; he had confidence in his own strength and resources.

They settled the general conditions, according to which they adopted the rate of the five per cent. French stock—namely, 70 per cent. But as the plans of France, Austria, and Russia in regard to new State loans were afterwards published and spoiled the market, Barandon could only take into consideration, in his draft of January 13, 1818, an issue at the rate of 60 per cent., as he informed Hardenberg. The envoy Humboldt said the same, though he found the terms exorbitant and thought that the matter should not be decided until some attempt was made to obtain better terms. Humboldt wrote as follows—

"If the loan is to be placed here I think that it can only be done through Rothschild, otherwise some other equally large house would have to be enlisted in our interest, which would

be difficult. Rothschild is now certainly the most enterprising financier. He is very well acquainted, through his brothers, with the position of the Prussian State, and he is on their account anxious to serve our court; it would not be easy to induce another house here to be equally obliging. The banker Rothschild is also a reliable man; the present Government does a good deal of business with him, and he is, as far as I know him, very honest and intelligent."

The envoy says in the same letter that Rothschild wishes to undertake the entire loan himself, and desires in future that the Prussian agent shall not intervene in the matter, as he has certain objections to him.

The new terms caused quite a storm of excitement at Berlin. However, Hardenberg and Rother, the director of the Treasury (which was distinct from the Ministry of Finance), determined, in opposition to the prevailing view, to place the loan abroad, and Rother went to Amsterdam for the purpose. There the Government refused to consent, as it feared 96

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Nathan Rothschild and Rother and Barandon discussed the subject for five whole days, from ten in the morning until six in the even-

97

Rother had foreseen this and had put the rate so high in order to draw a good offer from 98

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Rothschild; otherwise he was disposed to let the matter drop. Now new plans and proposals were discussed until at last Nathan Rothschild agreed to undertake the loan at 70 per cent., if he were guaranteed a commission of four per cent. To this Rother would not consent, and after a great deal of fatiguing discussion they came to terms: with a commission of four per cent., £2,500,000 should be issued at 70 per cent., £1,250,000 at 72½, and £1,250,000 at 75. When he returned home, however, and tested the figures Rother found that the State would not quite receive 70 per cent., and so the next morning he wrote as follows to Solomon Rothschild, who was in London helping his brother with the negotiations—

"You know me, and know that I keep my word in all things. You will therefore believe me when I say that, whether we do business or not, I am pleased to be in London and to have made the acquaintance of your brother, for whose mind and character I have the greatest admiration."

He adds that it is impossible for him to accept the business on the basis of the suggested rate, and goes on to say of his plenipotentiary powers—

"I will show you these when we meet, not as Herr von Rothschild but as my friend; until then the Rothschilds can do nothing in the matter."

To this clever letter Solomon Rothschild sent the following reply—

"Your Excellency's very pleasant letter has been delivered to me, and I have put its contents before my brother. We agree to do nothing until we have the pleasure of seeing you. No action shall be taken hastily, as here there is nothing but friendship and candour, and you must and shall have proof that we speak, not merely with the lips, but from the heart, when we say that we are your sincere and devoted friends. In haste,

"ROTHSCHILD BROTHERS."

Immediately afterwards Rother informed his

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Government from London that the negotiations had taken a favourable turn-

"The present Rothschild is a very estimable man and has an enormous influence on the whole business world here in London. It is often said, and is almost true, that he dictates the rate on the Exchange. His position as a banker is very strong. . . ."

On March 31, about three o'clock in the morning, just as the day was dawning, the business was concluded. Nathan Rothschild agreed to an issue at 70, 72½ and 75 per cent., and abandoned his claim of commission, so that the average rate was 72 per cent. That very day he shipped a million silver thaler [£125,000] to Rother at Hamburg, and promised to send an equal sum at once to Hamburg in bills. It was a splendid proof of his confidence in the Prussian statesman and his extraordinary dispatch in business. It also throws a light on the reserve of money which the Rothschilds always had, seeing that they were in a position to put a million thaler on board the moment they came to an agreement.

The money had scarcely reached a Prussian port when the indefatigable Rothschild plunged into new business. The dislike of the English for foreign loans put no slight difficulties in the way of his far-reaching activity. He had gradually to accustom them to the idea and make them see the immense importance of this class of business, until at last London, which had hitherto been merely the largest money-centre in Europe, became the emporium of the markets of the world and began to play the part that Amsterdam had filled in the eighteenth century. Strictly speaking, Nathan Rothschild was the first banker to negotiate loans in the modern form.

In all these operations he was singularly fortunate. No State with which he did business ever failed; in cases where one of them was behindhand in covering the coupons he always had money enough at his disposal to let the creditors have their interest out of his own coffers. As this enabled States to pay punctually always, men began to credit Nathan Rothschild with a wonderful foresight and to

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entertain that unreserved confidence which gave a stamp of infallibility to all his undertakings.

He extended his transactions to all branches of stockbroking, buying or selling according to circumstances. Where he found State securities which no one had hitherto dreamed of buying he bought them, as he knew from experience that he could dispose of them at a profit when once they had passed into his hands. He not only advanced money to States, but induced them to exchange one sort of stock for another, the percentage of which was less burdensome to them. Here again he was the first to frame large plans of reduction.

He did not, of course, succeed equally in all his loans to States; sometimes he sustained losses which would have ruined other banking firms. These unpleasant experiences, however, only made him more prudent, and he often rejected an offer without a word of explanation when he thought it was not sound enough. He refused, for instance, every invitation from Spain or from the American

republics which had formerly been under Spanish rule.

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in his mind was that Gompertz was an excellent mathematician, and he regarded this as a guarantee of the prosperity of the company. He went to work very energetically to realise his plan. He turned to the Government, which was disposed to alter the law relating to limited companies, and a good deal of intrigue took place at the House of Commons, where Lloyd's attempted to oppose Rothschild, but they were defeated by his intimate friend Buxton. Even in the Upper House he found a warm supporter of his plan in Lord Liverpool, the Premier, and in the end he won.

This victory confirmed the belief in his irresistible power in England. In point of fact, his influence was not confined to the European market, but extended to America, where, on one occasion, he saved the Brazilian Empire. It had in 1824 contracted a loan of £3,200,000 sterling with the London firm, Wilson & Co., but the terms were so difficult that the Brazilian plenipotentiaries would not assume responsibility for it. On this account the London house refused to send any more money after the first

million. This put Brazil in a very critical situation. Nathan Rothschild then undertook to pay the remaining £2,200,000, although Brazil was in so insecure a position that it was soon compelled to discontinue the payment of the interest. Nathan Rothschild was, however, not the man to desert one to whom he had lent a saving hand; he wished to protect it from calamities. He therefore, in the year 1829, sent a further £800,000 to Brazil, on condition that the overdue interest was paid. It was not an overwhelming sum, but it sufficed to enable the Brazilians to put their financial affairs in order.

The quality that exhibits a certain greatness in Nathan Rothschild was the unwavering fidelity with which he clung to a system, in spite of changes in the political situation which would have compelled most bankers and financiers to withdraw their capital. The most astounding developments in the politics of Europe never diverted him from his purpose; it almost seemed as if catastrophes were his proper element.

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always awaited him on his return from the Exchange, he could dictate the prices to his secretaries and clerks quite accurately without having taken any note of them.

In describing his character we should notice the confidence with which he handled securities which other bankers had rejected. Many a merchant in such cases was assisted by him, and he never suffered any material loss in this way; which shows at once the justice of his principle and the unwillingness of men to abuse his confidence. He had no intention of giving alms, but knew that money and credit can restore the small trader to his position, and he was pleased to give the opportunity to small traders. There was a strong dose of humanity in his business-ideas.

In October 1816 the Emperor of Austria, at the suggestion of the financial minister at the time, Count Stadion, rewarded the merits of the Rothschild brothers with a diploma of nobility. Curiously enough, Nathan, who had been the soul of the negotiations in regard to the English subsidies, was not included in this 108

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honour, but in 1822 he and the other brothers received the title of baron. He never made public use of this title or wore the decorations which he received from nearly every ruler in Europe. He remained a simple Rothschild; in spite of its modesty, he found the name imposing enough, since it compelled admiration throughout the civilised world. His operations were known to have always the character of immensity, as Carl Gutzkow justly says in a fine paragraph—

"Nathan Rothschild fitly represents the calmness and power of the city of London. He approaches his undertakings with the hand of a giant. Everything in him is gigantic. Not long ago one of my friends said of him: 'When this man goes hunting, the beast must be at least an elephant.'"

The banking-house of Nathan Rothschild had indeed reached a stage of greatness and power that had never been attained by any other business-house on earth. Even his brothers could not compete with him, and the Bank of England often relied on his assistance

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of superstition, as Buxton proceeds to illustrate-

"Another maxim, on which he seemed to place great reliance, was never to have anything to do with an unlucky place or an unlucky man. 'I have seen,' said he, 'many very clever men who had not shoes to their feet. I never act with them. Their advice sounds very well, but fate is against them. They cannot get on themselves; if they cannot do good to themselves, how can they do good to me?"

The same authority tells us another trait of Rothschild's character in these words—

"One of his guests once said to Rothschild: 'I hope your children are not too fond of money and business, to the exclusion of more important things. I am sure you would not wish that.' Rothschild answered: 'I am sure I should wish that. I wish them to give mind, and soul, and heart, and body, and everything to business; that is the way to be happy. It requires a great deal of boldness, and a great deal of caution, to make a great fortune; and, when you have got it, it requires ten times as

much wit to keep it. If I were to listen to all the projects proposed to me, I should ruin myself very soon. Stick to one business, young man,' said he to Edward; 'stick to your brewery, and you may be the great brewer of London. Be a brewer, and a banker, and a merchant, and a manufacturer, and you will soon be in the Gazette.'"

This conversation shows the cast of mind of Nathan Rothschild, of which a contemporary says—

"Here is the key to the character of Nathan Rothschild. His ambition was directed to the carrying out of well-conceived financial operations, to money-making, if you want to express it in those terms; but the emphasis must be on the word 'making.' Money and the things that money buys had little value in themselves for him. He had little feeling for what every Englishman looks forward to securing when he has money enough—for 'comfort,' in the widest sense of the word. His ambition was to attain his object in business more speedily and effectively than others, to strive for it with

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all his might. When he had attained his object, the thing lost its attractions for him, and his restless mind turned to others."

As a matter of fact, the pursuit of any aim, whether it be in art, politics, or business, demands above all things a concentration of one's forces on a single point; concentration is the characteristic of genius. The Rothschilds concentrated all their powers on money-making, and this was always the mainspring of action in the whole dynasty. Bismarck, who knew the character of the Rothschilds, noticed this, and said in 1879—

"I have known a good many members of this house. What strikes one in all of them is the hunt for money. That, however, is due to the fact that each of them is always anxious to leave to each of his children as much as he himself inherited, and that is nonsense."

The unceasing struggle for money left Nathan Rothschild no time to live his own life. His time, thoughts, and feelings were devoted exclusively to his profession. To a friend who asked him in joke how much time

he had for music, he replied, jingling the money in his pocket: "That is the musical instrument on which I play best." His motto was, "Business." He took the greatest precautions to guard the secrecy with which he surrounded his operations. He went to work with such stealthiness that his sales and purchases were often misunderstood by his colleagues, and this sometimes exposed them to no inconsiderable risk. To attempt to follow his example was very bold, as his transactions were carried out with so much ability and craft that no one attempted a second time to imitate him.

At that time he lived some distance from the city, at Stamford Hill, where he had his offices. One day, late in the evening, a wealthy and well-known stockbroker named Lucas noticed that his carriage was waiting for him in front of the house. Lucas, who would very much like to find out Rothschild's plans, suspected something; he said to himself that there must be some serious reason for driving out at that late hour. He ordered his own carriage at 114

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once, and

In ten minutes the elderly Jew was again in Rothschild's room.

"You said," Rothschild exclaimed to him, "that I should die within three days. Why did you say that? I did not send you away emptyhanded."

"No," answered the aged Jew quietly; "you gave me half-a-crown."

"Well?"

"But you did not recognise me, and so I cannot talk to you. Yet we were once on a footing of equality. I was a friend of yours at Manchester. You went to London; I went to ruin; and you do not know me, now that I am a poor man. You have forgotten the poor man who was once your friend. . . ."

"And was it simply for that you said I should die within three days?"

"Yes and no. When I was reduced to beggary, I went to America. There I became a muleteer, domestic servant, labourer, and at one time nurse in a hospital."

"Well?" Rothschild interrupted impatiently

"And in that hospital I noticed something.

The English Rothschilds

When a patient failed to recognise his friends and relatives, the doctor used to say: 'That man will be dead within three days.' Well, you did not recognise me, your old friend, and so I repeated those words. I did not mean them for a curse."

Nathan Rothschild laughed when he heard the explanation. He again became the friend of Mayer Jeremias; he placed him in his office, and Jeremias became one of his best agents.

In the course of business Nathan had, as a rule, a wonderful control of his nerves; in fact, he was complete master of his organism, though his nerves were profoundly affected by the enormous amount of work he imposed on them. Once, when he was ill in bed, and an operation had to be performed by the famous surgeon Liston, he bore it without a murmur. After the operation Rothschild said to Liston—

"Now, I suppose, you expect me to pay you for the pain you have given me? There you are mistaken. I will pay you nothing—but ask you to accept this little memento."

With these words he handed the surgeon a

night-cap. Liston knew the peculiarities of his patient, quietly accepted the cap, and put it in his pocket. As he was engaged the whole day going from one patient to another, he forgot the singular gift of the Crossus of London. It was not until he returned home in the evening that he remembered it, and he then took out the cap in order to put it on his desk as a reminder of the eccentric millionaire. As he handled it, however, he heard a rustling sound, and, when he examined it, he found in it a bank-note for £1000. Rothschild used to love jokes of this kind, which turned to the profit of his victim.

He rarely made witty remarks. His humour was rather of a sarcastic or ironical nature, and was only vented, as a rule, when his self-esteem was hurt. He never used the title of baron, which he had received from the Austrian Emperor, because he considered the name Rothschild superior to all distinctions. But when others boasted of their rank or spoke of their ancient lineage, his pride stirred and he shot his barbs pitilessly at his opponent. The Duke of Montmorency, who descended from 124

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a very ancient stock of nobles, once said to him that his family had borne the title of "first baron of France" since the fourteenth century, and were therefore the first Christian barons. Rothschild's eye kindled, and he replied—

"We are quits then. You are the first Christian baron in France, and I am the first Jewish baron in England."

His pride in his success was sometimes expressed in a way that was painful to others. The Bank of England, which he had saved from bankruptcy in the financial crisis of 1825, once hurt his feelings very severely. He is said to have sent to it for payment a bill for a large amount which he had received from his brother Anselm. But the Bank of England refused to pay on the ground that it only cashed its own notes, not those of private individuals.

"So—private individuals!" exclaimed Rothschild angrily. "I will let them see what kind of private individuals the Rothschilds are."

He took a heavy revenge, if we may believe a story which has been frequently told. The best weapon in the hand of a Rothschild is

Everybody now understood the manœuvre, and laughed at the original means that Roths-126

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child had adopted to punish the Bank; they saw that he was in a position to restrict the circulation of gold, and the great institution was quite powerless to resist him. The whole city—except the directors of the Bank—was amused. If the directors were at first disposed to laugh, they soon changed their mind, for Nathan Rothschild was at his post again the next morning, with his band of clerks, ready to continue changing notes. The manager hurriedly went to him and asked why he was annoying the Bank in this way. He smiled grimly, and said—

"You said that you were not prepared to change my bills. It seems that you have no confidence in them. Well, if you entertain a doubt about me, I am free to entertain one about you. I am determined to demand gold for every one of your notes. I began yesterday, and I give you notice that I shall keep your cashier busy changing notes for at least two months."

Two months! If Rothschild persisted in his work for that length of time, he would take

at least eleven million pounds out of the Bank's gold-reserve. That would not do at all. A meeting of the directors was called at once, and it was decided to send an apology to Nathan Rothschild, together with an assurance that the Bank of England would always be pleased to cash his bills, whatever kind they were.

These petty, but not insignificant, episodes show us the character of the London financier. He was often misjudged by his contemporaries, as we see in the following candid description, which shows the impression that he gave on the Exchange.

"There is a rigidity and tension in his features that would make you fancy, if you did not see that it was not so, that some one was pinching him behind, and that he was either afraid or ashamed to say so. Eyes are usually denominated the windows of the soul; but here you would conclude that the windows are false ones, or that there was no soul to look out of them. There comes not one pencil of light from the interior, neither is there one scintilla-

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And one day the mysterious figure dis-

appeared for ever from the Exchange. Nathan died in his fifty-ninth year, leaving behind four sons and three daughters.

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July 28, at Frankfort, the first really great Crossus of modern times. His pigeon-post took the news of his death to England in the words: "Il est mort."

He was buried at London, in accordance with his last instructions. His funeral was attended by the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, many of the English nobility, and the Russian, Prussian, Austrian, Portuguese and Neapolitan ambassadors. He was laid to rest in the cemetery at Duke's Place, belonging to the German synagogue.

Thus the London house of the Rothschilds lost its founder, but the mighty organism could not interrupt the course of its life; it needed only a new controller. Nathan left four sons. The youngest, Maier, was only eighteen years old; the third, Nathaniel, had already attained his majority; Antony was twenty-six, and the eldest, Lionel, in his twenty-eighth year. As the latter had considerable business ability, and had taken part in the management of the firm during the lifetime of his father, and was acquainted with the whole network of their

connections, he took over the reins. Being a man of large views, he initiated very extensive operations, and introduced new ideas into the politics of business. As he had a great talent for organisation and an immense faculty for work, he never needed the assistance of his brothers. He worked and struggled to get further millions, while his brothers could peacefully follow their inclinations and distractions.

Antony and Maier were fond of sport. They were both members of the London Jockey Club and were much esteemed in that circle. The Rothschild colours won many a victory on the turf through their efforts; once they won two prizes in one race. As far as the business was concerned, they remained in the background, as the energetic Lionel could not endure a companion in his labours. He lived beyond the biblical span of life, and, even after the death of his brothers, continued to work with uninterrupted vigour.

The third-youngest brother, Nathaniel, had certain physical defects which prevented him 132

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from taking any part in the business. He was paralytic, and lost his sight in his later years. He migrated to Paris, where, in spite of his malady, he followed the course of events with the keenest interest. Ill and unfortunate as he was, condemned for life to a chair, he paid the closest attention, not only to political events, but to science, art, and the social life of Paris. He was a collector of pictures; his blindness prevented him from appreciating them, but he bought them in order to give support to the artists and stimulate them to fresh efforts. He had the subject, the design, and the colouring of each picture explained to him, and when any one expressed his surprise that he was interested in things which he could not see, he answered in his gentle way—

"Oh, eyes are not at all so necessary for seeing. Words can paint just as well as the brush, and a man often sees better with the eye of the spirit than with the bodily eye."

In spite of his misfortunes and his incurable illness—a French poet once described him as "Job on a money-bag"—he led a very peaceful

life, and was never heard to make a complaint. He bore his hard fate quietly, and found some alleviation of his sufferings in helping others.

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family occupied an important position in the social life of London and was on very good terms with the English nobility. The Prince of Wales, afterwards Edward VII, was on very friendly terms with the grandson of the candidate for the rabbinate at Frankfort.

Baron Lionel had five children—two daughters and three sons. The daughters, Leonora and Eveline, married members of their own family; the first became the wife of Alphonse Maier, of Paris, and the second of Ferdinand Rothschild, of Vienna. His son Nathan was married to Emma, daughter of Baron Charles de Rothschild of Frankfort, and Leopold took to wife the daughter of the banker Perugia, of Trieste. Alfred remained a bachelor.

Baron Lionel had a much better balanced nature than that of his father. He had not merely some sense of humour, but was himself a witty and brilliant man, though his sayings were usually connected with business life. He remained at the head of the London house for 136

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nearly half-a-century, and died on June 5, 1879, in his seventy-first year, leaving the throne of the financial dynasty in England to his eldest son Nathan. At that time the fortune of the London Rothschilds is said to have amounted to more than a hundred million sterling.

Nathan, the second of that name, was even more fortunate than his father in regard to titles; he is an hereditary baronet and a peer since 1885. Just as his father, Lionel, was the first Jewish member of the British Parliament, Nathan was the first Jew to enter the House of Lords, and he has much the same character for business as his grandfather. He gives the closest attention to it; the whole City looks to him for hints, and he manages his agents with the same ability as his great predecessor who laid the foundation of the house. A number of agents come to his desk early in the morning to receive his instructions, and it is said that no one goes near him of whom he has not asked a question or to whom he has not some instruction to give. However im-

Here, in Swithin's Lane, is still the cradle of State-loans. The financial position of many a State still depends on the London house of the Rothschilds. Here the great campaigns are worked out, and from this lofty chamber 138

LORD ROTHSCHILD.

From a Photo by Elliott & Fry.

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are directed operations which are felt all over the globe.

On the wall of the modest gabled house in a narrow street, which represents the residence of the Rothschilds, one may still see the old sign of the firm, which the founder of the London branch had nailed there—

"N. M. ROTHSCHILD & SONS."

It is as if the Frankfort ancestor still kept watch, to see that his three descendants at the three desks in the lofty room did their duty in turn.

IV

BARON JAMES ROTHSCHILD

Baron James Rothschild

Street, had divided Europe amongst his sons, and the sons went forth to occupy their thrones and consolidate their power. The eldest, Nathan, won success and fame at London, where he augmented the fortune of the Rothschilds day by day. The third son, Karl Rothschild, had the great task of regulating the finances of the Pope in distant Italy. Solomon, the second son, pitched his tent at Vienna, and became the master of the Exchange in that imperial city. The eldest son, Anselm, received his father's heritage, the control of the parent-house at Frankfort; and the subjugation of Paris was entrusted to the youngest of the Rothschilds, James.