THE OLD HOUSE IN FRANKFORT.

THE ROTHSCHILDS:

THE FINANCIAL RULERS OF NATIONS

BY

JOHN REEVES

CHICAGO:

A. C. McCLURG & CO.

1887

All Rights Reserved.

PREFACE.

HOULD the following pages prove fortunate enough to be favourably received by the public, they will owe it entirely to their subject-matter.

To this, and not to vigour of language or lucidity of style, must be attributed whatever interest they may possess. The Author makes no pretensions to the character of a practised writer and feels that the subject is worthy of a more able and experienced hand; he therefore ventures to solicit the indulgence he so sorely needs for his literary shortcomings, of which no one can feel more conscious than himself. On the other hand, he boldly and frankly claims for his work the merit of perfect and impartial truthfulness; and, in the words of Montaigne, he conscientiously asserts, with perhaps justifiable pride: "C'est icy un livre de bonne foy, lecteur."

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Page 1. The value of a name—The phenomenal success of the Rothschilds and their poor beginnings—Their reputation for unstinted benevolence—Persecutions to which the Jews have been subjected—The hatred of them still rampant in some countries—The spirit of intolerance dying out in England—What the world owes the Jews—Universal pre-eminence accorded to the works of their great lawyers and prophets—Spinoza—Large number of Jews distinguished as musicians and composers, and likewise as dramatic and operatic artists—Eminence of the Jews as mathematicians and astronomers—The Jews in commerce and finance—The Jews as lawyers and as politicians—Charges brought against the Jews—Misleading impressions regarding them—Mayer Amschel Rothschild, "the honest Jew"—Unimpeachable lives and characters of the Rothschilds and other prominent Jewish families—The secret of Jewish success—Sir Thomas Gresham—Queen Elizabeth—Jewish pride of race.

CHAPTER II.

Page 21. Mayer Amsehel Rothschild—The city of Frankfort—The Judengasse—Condition of the Jews in Frankfort

CHAPTER II .- continued.

during the early part of the Middle Ages—First massacre of the Jews in 1241—Galling restrictions imposed on them—The Judengasse burnt down in 1711; rebuilt and widened in 1717—The House of the Red Shield—Amschel Moses Bauer—Birth of Mayer Amschel Rothschild in 1743—He is at first intended for a rabbi—Abandons his theological studies and enters the service of a banking firm in Hanover—Returns to Frankfort, where he settles permanently—Marries Gudula Schnappe—Is known as "the honest Jew"—Is appointed Court Banker to the Landgrave of Hesse—The Landgrave's whole fortune entrusted to his keeping—Fanciful stories connected with this circumstance; the true account—Mayer Amschel Rothschild conveys specie to the Duke of Wellington in Spain—His death in 1812—Heine's reminiscence of Gudula Rothschild.

CHAPTER III.

PAGE 56. Respect entertained by the Jews for their parents—Mayer Amschel's five sons—The success achieved by the founder of the firm; to what greatly due—Archives of the Rothschild family a sealed book to the public at large—First period in the history of the firm—Mayer Amschel and the Danish Government—His philanthropy and benevolence—Second period in the history of the firm—Branch firms established—Nathan Mayer acknowledged as the business head of the family—The business in Government Funds—Stock Exchange speculations—Amount of the loans negotiated by the Rothschilds, between 1815 and 1830, for England, Russia, Austria, France, and Prussia—Principal loans issued by the Rothschilds—Honours and decorations showered on the latter—Third period in the history of the firm—A heavy blow dealt to the great banking-houses—

CHAPTER III.—continued.

New path struck out by the Rothschilds—Effect of political events on the fortunes of the Rothschilds—American War of Independence—The first French Revolution—Rise and fall of Napoleon—The French July Revolution—Immense landed estates possessed by the Rothschilds—Sugar manufactories—How the Rothschilds accumulated their wealth—The two causes specified by the Chevalier von Gentz—The "one power in Enrope."

CHAPTER IV.

Page 103. Anselm Mayer von Rothschild—Historical sketch of Frankfort—Character of Anselm Mayer—Account of him by a friend—His humour and shrewdness—Neat compliment paid by him to Thorwaldsen—Anselm Mayer at Ems—His great charity—His love of art and flowers—Immense amount of business transacted by him—Loans undertaken by him—His supremacy on the Frankfort Exchange—His two nephews, Baron William and Baron Carl von Rothschild, succeed him in the management of the Frankfort firm.

CHAPTER V.

Page 133. The London firm established by Nathan Mayer Rothschild—Great Britain at the beginning of the present century—Its political condition—Power of the landed aristocracy—Mr. C. P. Villiers and the Corn Laws—Land held in England on conditions differing from those on which it is held abroad—Evils resulting from the National Debt—Devices employed by the earlier English sovereigns to raise money—Plans adopted for this purpose by Richard I., Henry III., Edward I., Edward III., Henry VIII., Henry VIII., Charles I., Charles II., and James II. respectively—William III. and Louis XIV.—Principal objection to the financial innova-

CHAPTER V .- continued.

CHAPTER V .- continued.

courtesies and amenities of civilized life—Description of him by an anonymous writer—Nathan Mayer and the German Prince—Life of anxiety—His two mysterious visitors and the ledger—Nathan Mayer and Spohr—Nathan Mayer's death at Frankfort—His funeral.

CHAPTER VI.

CHAPTER VII.

PAGE 252. Baron Carl von Rothschild-The Naples firm

CHAPTER VII .- continued.

—Change in the political circumstances of Italy—Social condition of that country—Finances of the Papal States—Indescribable peculation and fraud—French system of taxation introduced—Expenditure of the Duchy of Parma—Expenditure of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Duchy of Lucca—Expenditure of Sardinia—Pecuniary difficulties of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies—A Bankers' Syndicate formed in Paris to oppose the Rothschilds—The result—Death of Baron Carl von Rothschild—He is succeeded by his son, Baron Adolf von Rothschild, who, however, soon retires from the management of the firm.

CHAPTER VIII.

Page 272. Baron Salomon von Rothschild—The Vienna firm—Part played by the Jews in Austria—Their pecuniary assistance eagerly sought—They are subjected to a poll-tax, compelled to wear a distinguishing badge, and obliged to dwell in a particular quarter of the city—Peculations of a certain Hirschel Mayer—Collision between the Jews and the Vienna students—The Jews expelled from the Judenstadt, but ere long permitted to return—The Court-Factor, Samuel Oppenheimer—His house pillaged and his life endangered—Joseph Michael Arnstein, the first Jewish Baron—Austrian Funds at one time an exceedingly favourite investment—Sway exercised by Salomon von Rothschild over the finances of the Austrian empire—Baron Salomon's special stockbroker—An unofficial Stock Exchange—The quicksilver mines at Idria and at Almaden—Baron Salomon elected an Honorary Freeman of Vienna—Baron Salomon and the cabman—Loans issued by the Vienna Firm—Ferdinand, Nathau, and Salomon Albert von Rothschild.

CHAPTER, IX.

CHAPTER IX .- continued.

The Baron and Horace Vernet—Baron James's great beneficence—His motives frequently misrepresented—Ungrateful return for his noble charity in 1847—Absurd calumnies circulated against him in connection therewith—His subscription for the wounded and unemployed workmen in 1848—His conduct towards Caussidière—His reported charity at others' expense—Heine's description of him—His death—Baron Alphonse de Rothschild—His remarkable business abilities—Payment of the French indemnities to Germany entrusted to him—His intense anxiety during the siege of Paris and the existence of the Commune.

CHAPTER X.

Page 360. Rothschildiana. Baron Anselm von Rothschild loses the ring given him by the Emperor of Austria—It is found by a poor girl—How Baron Anselm rewarded her—Anecdote narrated of him by Dr Busch—Eugène Delacroix and Baron James de Rothschild—The latter as an artist's model—A kind action—How requited by Baron James—Baron James and the porcelain service—His decrepit visitor rejuvenescent—The Baron mystified—An excellent comedian—Baron Alphonse and the barometer—A millionaire without a sou—A porter becomes his surety for ten francs—Attempts to ruin the Rothschilds—Mr James H—— and his speculations—Is ultimately ruined—Georges Sand and Baron Rothschild—Georges Sand's autograph—An American in England—He goes to see the mansion then being built by Baron Lionel de Rothschild in Piccadilly—His interview with an old gentleman—How the Rothschilds made two fortunes—His interview with a younger gentleman—Who the old gentleman was, and who was the younger gentleman.

THE ROTHSCHILDS.

THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD.

CHAPTER I.

ABOUT THE JEWS.

HAT'S in a name?" asks Shakespeare
The answer, when the name is such as
Rothschild, is not difficult. There is
a volume of meaning in its mere sound

It is a name which conjures up in the imagination visions of untold wealth and unrivalled power, which appear so startling and amazing as to be more appropriate to romance than real life. It has become a household word synonymous with unbounded riches, and is as familiar to the ears of the struggling artizan as to those of the banker or trader. No name has, indeed, been so prominently

The rise of the Rothschilds is the more remarkable seeing that they belong to an outcast and down-trodden race. No other race has experienced

"You call me misbeliever, cut-throat, dog, And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine."

law would be powerless to control or restrain the excited passions of the multitude.

zation, owe them a debt which we are very prone to forget, for it is certainly to them that we owe the very bases of our faith, and, were it not for the books of Moses, Christianity would lose one of its main supports, and much of its power.

place themselves in the foremost rank. If any further proofs of the great intellectual powers of the Jews are required they will be found in the leaders of the legal profession. Few will be prepared to question the learning and acumen of such eminent lawyers and advocates as Lord Herschell, Sir George Jessel, Mr Benjamin, and Mr Cohen. Among the well-known politicians with a promising career opening out before them we must not overlook such men as Mr Mocatta, Baron de Worms, and others

Of the many charges brought against the Jews, rapacity was by far the most frequent. It was a charge that could be brought forward with very little support, any evidence in refutation of it being sure to find but scant credit in the minds of Christian judges imbued with the strong prejudice everywhere prevalent against the Jews. It was the universal belief that the Jew would always exact his pound of flesh from the poor victim in his clutches. No abatement or reduction was ever to be expected from the relentless, merciless Shylock. Doubtless there was some reason for these accusations, but it will be somewhat of a surprise to our readers to learn that it was

the losers began to doubt and question the morality of their rivals' manœuvres. Those who engage in such contests should count the risks beforehand, and should remember that the laugh is with him that wins.

"A people still, whose common ties are gone, Who, mix'd with every race, are lost in none; A part there are, whom, doubtless, man might trust Worthy as wealthy, pure, religious, just; They who with patience, yet with rapture, look On the strong promise of the Sacred Book."

CHAPTER II. MAYER AMSCHEL ROTHSCHII

THE FRANKFORT FIRM.

T was in the Jewish quarter of Frankfort that the founder of the great financial firm first saw the light. Goethe, who also owned Frankfort as his birthplace.

has left us a graphic description of the imperial city, which he states was composed of "town within town, fortress within fortress." Not the least interesting portion of his description is that of the Jewish quarter, enclosed within the ramparts, but yet shut off from the rest of the city by heavy gates and high walls. It was a quarter frequented by few Christians. The houses, huddled close together, were packed from floor to roof with human beings living in a state of squalor and dirt baffling description, while the air was polluted with smells so vile and strong as to drive back all but those whose olfactory

modify his opinion regarding these descendants of Israel, and he frankly acknowledged that on closer intimacy he found among them many men of quick intelligence and honourable principles, ready at all times to give him a hearty welcome. "Everywhere I went I was well received, pleasantly entertained, and invited to come again." He witnessed many of their ceremonies, visited their schools, and confessed to having been very fond of walking with the dark-eyed, merry-tongued Jewesses to the Fischerfelder on Sundays.

A writer in a recent number of the "Journal des Débats," gave the following interesting particulars respecting the Judengasse and its inmates:—

"No trace," said he, "will shortly be left of the houses in which Börne, the German writer, and Mayer Amschel Rothschild, the founder of his family's fortunes, first saw the light. Since 1872, only a single row of houses has been left, as one side of the street has been pulled down after the fall of two houses, when thirty-one persons were buried in the ruins. Looking at the Judengasse in its present aspect one is struck by the narrowness of the houses. They have three storeys facing the street, and the whole of the façade is studded with

company, consisting of Jews from Poland, where the caftan and the long curls are still worn, as well as from Paris and Berlin, may be seen conversing in low tones, and, upon the evening when the writer paid a visit to the place in the company of a detective, several women were there knitting, one of them being one of the handsomest persons he had ever seen, with magnificent eyes, a white skin, and jet black hair encircled by a kerchief of red

"But, though the Judengasse is not picturesque, its disappearance removes a most interesting historical monument. These decrepit houses revive recollections of another age. The land on which they are built, with the exception of the site owned by the Rothschilds, and on which their house stands, belongs to the town of Frankfort. The Jews confined within their ghetto were not the owners of the soil, being merely tenants at the good will of the Council of the Free City. The Judengasse does not indeed date from earlier than the middle of the fifteenth century, and the walls of the quarter were destroyed by Kleber's army in 1796. During the first part of the Middle Ages the condition of the Jews was comparatively easy. They were the serfs

of the Imperial Chamber, and the Emperor, in return for a fixed tribute, accorded them his protection, and was all the more interested in guarding them from ill-usage as he was anxious to preserve for himself the privilege of taxing them. There is no precise evidence as to when the Israelites came to settle in Frankfort, their presence being officially referred to for the first time in 1240. The first massacre of the Jews took place in 1241, when 180 of them perished. A hundred years of comparative peace ensued, though their relations with the Christians gradually became more strained, their wealth and their mode of life and religion inflaming the superstition, the fanaticism, and the cupidity of the lower orders.

"The worst phase of persecution commenced in 1349, the year of the Black Plague. The country round Frankfort was scoured by bands of Flagellants, who went about declaring that the Jews ought to be put to death for having poisoned the wells. When the inhabitants seemed deaf to their appeals, the Flagellants set several houses on fire, and then spread through the streets exclaiming, 'The Jews are burning your houses!' The stratagem succeeded, and there was a general massacre. In the same

for other citizens on the pavement, and not to touch any of the articles in the market. They were not allowed to buy fish before a certain hour of the day, nor to hire Christians as servants. The Council consented to dispense with their wearing the distinguishing cap on payment of a fine of 250 florins, but they were compelled to have either a black or a grey hat. They were forbidden to lend money to minors or to women, to sell new clothes, or to lend upon clothes which were wet or stained with blood.

"These minute regulations, together with many more of a similar nature, were read out every year in the synagogue. The Jews, in short, must have paid very dearly for the privilege of living in Frankfort; the number of marriages between them was even limited, for there could be only a fixed number of houses, the different couples having to wait their turn. Strange Jews were not allowed in Frankfort, and yet that city must have offered them comparative security, for the Jewish community of Nuremberg sought refuge there in 1498. Protected by their walls, the Jews of Frankfort escaped pillage during the revolt of 1525, but the democratic revolution of 1614 drove them out of the city, and they did not return for two years. When order, however,

versation, Rothschild was invited to relieve himself of his load by placing it on the ass's back: an offer he was glad to accept. On coming to a narrow ravine where the bridge across was formed by a single plank, Rothschild prudently removed his sack from the ass's back to his own shoulders, remarking as he did so:—"Accidents sometimes happen at places like this, and, as this sack contains all my fortune, it is well to be on the safe side." His comrade laughed at his fears, but Rothschild's prudence was fully justified by events, for no sooner had the ass, followed by his master, reached the middle of the bridge than the plank gave way, and both were precipitated down the chasm. Thus by a miracle Rothschild saved both his life and his money.

We have already mentioned that the number of Jews allowed to marry was limited, but Rothschild having gained permission availed himself of his privilege and took unto himself a wife, who, in 1743, gave birth to a son whom they named Mayer Amschel. When the boy grew up and his parents had to decide as to his future in life, they resolved to have him educated with a view to his becoming a rabbi, or teacher in the synagogue. This resolution was not unnatural, seeing that several of the

MAIER AMSCHEL ROTHSCHILD.

This is surprising when we remember that he could not have been much more than twelve years old at the time, but with Jews the talent for business is innate, and their natural shrewdness and skill in making bargains more than compensate them for their youth and inexperience. Notwithstanding the limited resources at his disposal, Mayer Amschel seems to have pursued his youthful speculations with considerable energy and—profit.

At length, rightly judging that he was better fitted for commercial than theological pursuits, he abandoned his studies altogether and returned to the Judengasse, where his abilities and shrewdness soon became known among his co-religionists. His reputation reaching the ears of some of the large firms, several offers of employment were made him, and not being one of "those who are content to spend their lives trotting on a cabbage leaf," as the proverb says, when a wider field of enterprise was thrown open to him, he accepted the offer of a banking firm named Oppenheim in Hanover. In their service he remained several years, gaining and maintaining a high character for steadiness and reliability, while his energy and abilities were recognized by his gradual promotion to the respon-

one of the greatest financial houses in the world. In all his business transactions he displayed remarkable honesty and integrity; so widely did he become known as the "honest Jew" that his reputation spread through the surrounding provinces, and was largely the means of securing him fresh business. A man of his character has never lacked friends, and Mayer Amschel found many persons ready and anxious to recommend him and gain him new clients. Oppenheim, his old employer, was especially zealous in promoting the success of his former employé, and never allowed an opportunity to slip of saying a word in his favour.

During his apprenticeship at Oppenheim's Mayer Amschel had more than once come into contact with Lieutenant-General Baron von Estorff, an intimate friend of William IX., Landgrave of Hesse, and had won his good opinion and esteem. When years later Baron Estorff, who, from his own knowledge and Oppenheim's accounts, was able to form an estimate of Rothschild's worth, had an opportunity of advancing his fortunes, he did not hesitate to recommend him to the Landgrave as a person well qualified to act as his financial agent. Seeing that

the Landgrave had a private fortune of thirty-six million thalers, it was indeed a most lucrative post to obtain. Rothschild received a summons to wait upon the Landgrave. When he was ushered into the room, he discovered his Highness deep in a game of chess with Baron Estorff, who seemed to be getting the best of the struggle. Not caring to disturb the Landgrave's calculations, which absorbed his attention so entirely that he had not noticed his visitor's entrance, Rothschild stood by, a silent spectator of the game. At last the Landgrave, in his perplexity and despair, threw himself back in his chair, and in so doing caught sight of the banker. He at once inquired of his visitor:—

"Do you know anything of chess?"

Rothschild's answer was to point to a particular piece, saying—

"Would your Highness move this piece to that square?"

The move he suggested was adopted, and at once put a different complexion on matters. So far from the game being lost to the Landgrave, it slowly turned in his favour, and was eventually won by him. He then conversed with Rothschild on the subject of the latter's visit. He was so highly

impressed by his visitor's intelligence and address that he told Baron Estorff, after the banker's departure, that he had "certainly recommended him no fool." The result of the interview was that Mayer Amschel Rothschild was appointed Court-Banker to the Landgrave of Hesse.

discretion was the better part of valour. He therefore made hasty preparations for flight. But, although he would by flight secure the safety of his person, he could not render his money safe, for that he was forced to leave behind. Consisting as it did largely of specie, its mere bulk was a hindrance to its removal, and yet to leave it where it was would be but making a present of it to the French. In his dilemma he recollected Rothschild, and, thinking the banker might be able to take charge of his money, he had it packed and sent to Frankfort.

"Mayer," said the Landgrave, "I have already had some experience of your honesty and integrity, and have now to put it to further proof. I wish to deposit with you my whole fortune; to your care I leave it, to be returned to me in more peaceful and happier times."

"Such a signal mark of your confidence and esteem flatters and honours me, your Highness; but do you not forget that the French will be here in a few days?"

"Do you think so?"

"And that in their train there always follows a band of lawless ruffians, who will fall upon us and

plunder us without mercy. It will be a time of unrestrained pillage, as your Highness must know full well."

"Ah, well, Mayer, I leave my fortune to your care, and you will act as you think best. I ask no receipt from you, knowing that in your hands the money will be safe, if you can but keep the French from handling it."

grave's money, which he had artfully concealed in wine casks in his cellars, or had buried in his garden.

"The Prince of Hesse-Cassel gave my father his money; there was no time to lose, so he (my father) sent it me, and I put it to such good use that the Prince made me a present of all his wine and linen."

"Good day, Mayer, good day," said he, extending his hand; "at last we have peace again, though rather dearly bought. You see before you a poor devil of a prince as badly off as Job

"You poor, my lord!"

"Yes, to be sure, since those cursed thieves have run off with my thalers as well as yours. If it is not inconvenient to you, I should be glad to get some small advance from you against the indemnity that is to be made me."

"But your Highness has no need to borrow. The money your Highness entrusted to my keeping is safe and untouched."

"Teufel!" cried the Prince; "why, did not the French plunder your premises?"

"Pardon me, and I will explain. The French stripped me of everything belonging to myself, but I was careful not to irritate them by any violent resistance, else they might have made a more careful search in my cellar, where your money was hidden."

"What! can it be-"

"Yes, my resignation was a ruse; they little dreamt how great a prize they missed."

"Is it possible!" exclaimed the Prince, almost dumb with surprise.

" For the last nine years, your Highness, I have

taken the liberty of making use of your thalers to compensate myself for the loss of mine. All my speculations have been successful, and I can at this moment, without inconvenience, restore the whole sum to you, with interest at five per cent."

The Prince was deeply moved, and with difficulty could express his gratitude and his admiration of Rothschild's noble conduct.

"Friend Mayer," said he, "you are the most honest Jew I know; keep my money, and do what you think fit with it. I want no interest on it for the time it has been in your custody, and for the next twenty years I undertake to leave it with you, and to receive no interest on it above two per cent."

This is the account given by some writers who, dazzled by the immense riches and power of the Rothschilds, were unable to ascribe those riches and that power to ordinary business transactions, and so have gone out out of their way to invent a romance for which they have no better authority than their imaginations. This story is derived from the "Sprüchwörter der Deutschen," and to show how little dependence can be placed upon its truthfulness, we need only mention that it is related

2

about a "Moses" Rothschild of Frankfort, of whom no one has ever heard, as there was no Rothschild of that name living. Further, the Landgrave fled from Cassel at the first approach of the French, and could not have gone to Frankfort, as that city was already in the possession of the enemy. Neither could the money have been buried in the garden, as no gardens existed in the Judengasse, and the Jews were forbidden by law from owning any free-hold property in any other part of the city. The true unvarnished story seems to have been the following:—

Some writers maintain that Rothschild's connection with the Court of Hesse Cassel commenced during the lifetime of the Landgrave Frederick II., who died in 1785, leaving an immense fortune of fifty-six million thalers. This he had acquired by means of his poor subjects, whom, for handsome subsidies, he had placed at the disposal of the English Government. In 1775 he raised a lovy of 12,800 Hessian troops, who were shipped off to quell the rising of the American colonists, and further detachments, amounting to about 4,000 more, were sent at intervals. For the services of these men he received from England twenty-two

million thalers. On his death he was succeeded by his son, William IX., a warlike prince, who had seen some service under Frederick the Great. He followed his father's plan, and increased, by large subsidies from the English Government, the vast fortune left him.

commission gained by the London and Frankfort houses every year for managing the Landgrave's affairs must have been considerable, and would of itself have formed a sufficiently strong base for the many successful speculations which the Rothschilds entered into in the money market. Under these circumstances, they may not have speculated for their own benefit with the Landgrave's money at all, and were therefore able to restore it to its owner whenever he thought fit to claim it back.

During the war in Spain the Duke of Wellington experienced great annoyance and embarrassment from the failure of the specie supplies, and the English Government were unable to assist him in his difficulty, as they could induce no bankers to assume the responsibility of conveying the money to Spain. At this juncture M. A. Rothschild stepped forward and offered to undertake the task for a pretty heavy commission. His offer was accepted, fortune smiled on his enterprise, and the money reached the Duke safely. This was a most profitable piece of business, as Rothschild is said to have cleared annually for eight years a sum of about £150,000. The success of this operation, and the punctuality which distinguished its execution,

induced the Government to entrust the Rothschilds with the payment of the enormous subsidies to the various Continental princes, and this, again, still further increased the growing reputation and influence of the firm.

Thus it was that the Rothschilds made their first millions, and few can say they have gained their fortunes in an equally honourable and praiseworthy manner. When once the first million had been made, it was a comparatively easy task to add others. Water always flows to the sea, or, in other words, money makes money. But streams in their progress to the ocean become discoloured by the muddy waters of affluent streams, and so with the Rothschilds' millions. The first were gained by the fairest of means, but some of those that succeeded were undoubtedly won by recourse to those expedients and artifices, common on the Stock Exchange, which are open to serious moral objections.

Mayer Amschel Rothschild died on the 13th September, 1812, in his sixty-seventh year. Just before his decease he summoned his five sons to his bedside, and with his last breath, after giving them his blessing, enjoined them to remain faithful to the law of Moses, to remain united until the end, and to undertake nothing without having first consulted their mother. "Observe these three points and you will soon be rich among the richest, and the world will belong to you"—a prediction that has been fulfilled to the letter.

He left five sons, Anselm Mayer, Salomon, Nathan, James, and Carl, who soon after his death established a pentarchy, Anselm retaining command of the original house in Frankfort, whilst the others founded new branches in Vienna, London, Paris, and Naples respectively. By so doing they wonderfully increased the reputation and influence of the firm, and gradually gained that control over the different money markets which enabled them to augment their fortunes with such astounding certainty and rapidity.

Although Mayer Rothschild is known to history merely as an eminent financier, money-making did not monopolize his time or thoughts. With all his engagements, he still managed to find leisure and opportunities for administering relief from his well-lined purse to his suffering fellow-mortals, and many tales are told of his benevolence and charity. He would often stop a poor, starving creature in

the street, to place a coin in his hand and hurry away to prevent his face being recognized. He moreover exerted his influence to obtain an extension of the civil and political rights of the Jews, and the abolition of the tyrannical restrictions from which they suffered.

His wife Gudula survived him many years, dying in 1849, at the ripe old age of ninety-six. Notwithstanding its dismal and filthy surroundings, the old house in the Judengasse was her home to the last. No entreaty or attempt at persuasion could induce her to abandon the house so intimately associated with the growth and success of the great firm, whose very name was derived from the sign by which the house had been distinguished from its neighbours. Superstitious scruples and a love of the old place combined to prevent her forsaking it. In her eyes it had some mysterious connection with the prosperity and greatness of the family. Here then she lived on, distinguished by the simplicity of her habits, until the thread of life was snapped and her remains were carried to the grave.

"The mother of the Rothschilds, the Hecuba of the European Cræsus family," wrote an eye-witness during her lifetime, "must be almost a centenarian, but so vigorous and active is she still, that she manages to visit the theatre nearly every night. There she sits in her box, with a fan in her hand to shield her eyes from the dazzle of the lights, with an old Jewish hood, adorned with flowers, upon her head, no hair visible, dressed in coloured silks, with the most costly lace about her neck and breast. Of her sons, Anselm is most like her. She lives in the Judengasse still, in the same house as when she, at that time the wife of a needy shopkeeper, brought her children into the world. This old musty house, in the dampest and most unhealthy street in the city, she has never been willing to abandon."

"Here I have seen," said she, "my sons grow rich and powerful, and, as I have not become conceited in my old age, I will leave them their good fortune, which would certainly forsake them, were I from pride to abandon my humble dwelling." Owing to the narrowness of the street, no vehicle could approach her house, and her son's carriage could come only as far as the entrance of the Gasse when she returned from the theatre, so that she was always carried home from the carriage.

Heine, in his work, "Ueber Börne," gives us a

pleasant description of a walk he took through the Judengasse, together with an interesting reminiscence of the first Rothschild and his wife:—

itself; a benevolent face with a pointed little beard; on his head a three-cornered hat, and his dress quiet and sober, if not poor. Thus would he go about in Frankfort, and frequently surrounded, as if holding a levée, by a crowd of poor people, to whom he would either give alms or address a kind word. If a row of beggars was met in the street, with cheerful and pleased countenances, one might be sure that Rothschild was in the habit of passing down that way."

CHAPTER III.

THE PROGRESS, OF THE FIRM.

HE dying injunctions of Mayer Amschel to his five sons were faithfully observed with the filial obedience so characteristic of the Jews. The Jews,

with all their faults—and Jews are no more fault-\nless than the rest of mankind—still display many
qualities which deserve our praise and admiration.
The importance and value they have always attached
to reverence and respect towards their elders, and\nespecially towards their parents, are too well known
to require demonstration, and certainly few nations\nexcel them in this respect. No doubt the habits
of the Jews encourage the development of such
qualities as filial obedience and reverence of old age.
With their proud reserve, which holds them aloof
from their Christian neighbours, they are necessarily

carried out conjointly by all. The business of the Rothschilds since 1812 has been so immense, and the bonds linking the different members of the family together so interwoven, that to unravel them appears well-nigh hopeless. The best course for us to pursue under these circumstances is to give in the first place a clear and concise account of the family, and then to deal with the career of each individual member. By the adoption of this plan we hope to avoid confusing the reader by frequent reference to other portions of the narrative.

The success achieved by the founder of the firm was no doubt greatly due to the disturbed state of the financial and political world. Had he fallen on more peaceful times, it may well be questioned whether he would have met with the success he did. In more senses than one we may regard Mayer Amschel as a child of fortune equally with his illustrious contemporary Napoleon. The period from his starting in business to his death in 1812 was a period rife with wars and rumours of war—a period eminently favourable to such a shrewd and daring speculator as he was. It is in such disturbed times, when the prices fluctuate greatly, yielding to the influence of any and every rumour,

In the previous pages we have narrated how Mayer Amschel started in business as a dealer in coins and bullion, and how, as his reputation for honesty became known, he was able to extend his

The second period in the firm's history dates from 1812 to 1826. On the death of their father, four sons out of the five started each a business of his own, in Paris, Vienna, Naples, and London respectively. The branch in London had, however, existed some time previously, having been founded by Nathan Mayer Rothschild, who saw that Frank-

that they could effectually withhold or procure the requisite funds.

The greater part of the Government loans which press so heavily upon the leading European States have been issued through the agency of the great financial and banking houses, at whose head stands the family of Rothschild. Being to a certain extent the originators of this description of business, and possessing such influence on the different

One of the earliest loans contracted for by the Rothschilds was that issued in 1818 for the benefit of the Prussian Government. This loan, better known as the English loan, was for £5,000,000 sterling. The terms on which it was issued were far from favourable to the Government, and gave a good idea of the low state of credit prevailing at

Austria found herself compelled, like Prussia, to issue several loans, partly through the agency of the Rothschilds, and partly through them and other banking firms. The first loan was the lottery loan of 1820 for 20,800,000 guldens, contracted for by S. M. von Rothschild, in conjunction with David

Parisch. The second followed in 1821, and was for $37\frac{1}{2}$ million guldens, in shares of 250 guldens, bearing 5 per cent. interest. In 1834 Austria negotiated a third loan for 25 million guldens at 4 per cent., in shares of 500 guldens, with the firms of Rothschild, Arnstein, Eskeles, Sina, and Geymüller and Co. The same firms issued a fourth loan in 1839, amounting to 30 million guldens, in bonds of 250 guldens each.

Russia in 1822 raised a loan of $3\frac{1}{2}$ millions sterling through the Rothschilds, and in 1847 France followed suit with a loan of 250 million francs, issued at 75. In 1834 a Greek loan of 66 million francs was issued at 94 per cent., whilst in 1831 Belgium floated one for 50 million francs. The operations of the firm were not confined to Europe, as on several occasions the Empire of Brazil sought its assistance—to the extent of £3,200,000 in 1824, and £800,000 in 1829.

In addition to these Government loans, others were issued in large numbers on behalf of the different German principalities. It was thus the Grand Duchy of Hesse obtained in 1825 6½ million guldens, and 2,375,000 guldens in 1834. The Duchy of Nassau in 1837 placed a loan of 2,600,000 guldens.

Besides these the following loans were issued at different periods. In 1821, for the kingdom of Naples, 16 million ducats, 20 millions in 1822, and £2,500,000 sterling in 1824. The Papal States, 16 million francs in 1831, followed by 2,160,000 francs in 1845. Hesse-Homburg, 1\frac{3}{4} million guldens, 1829; Hohenzollern-Hechingen, 260,000 guldens in 1829; Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, 3\frac{1}{2} million guldens; the Duchy of Lucca, 1,050,000 guldens in 1840, and 1,120,000 in 1843. Baden, in 1840, 1845, 1848, 1849, and 1850, issued loans for 5, 14, 2\frac{1}{2}, 1\frac{1}{2}, and 1\frac{1}{2} million guldens respectively. Hanover in 1847 had a loan of 3,600,000 thalers; Bavaria, in 1848, 22 million guldens; Hesse, four loans from 1848 to 1851, amounting to 6\frac{1}{2} million guldens; and Nassau, 1,200,000 guldens in 1849.

The above list is far from complete, but it will suffice, we think, to convey some impression of the vast proportions and unlimited extent of the business transacted by the Rothschilds since the commencement of their remarkable career. During this second period the reputation and influence of the firm may be said to have reached its zenith. Honours and decorations were showered by grateful Governments upon their benefactors, who were

The third period of the firm's history dates from 1830 to the present time. During the latter part of the second period there occurred in the financial and commercial world that memorable crisis, even now recollected by many as if it were but of yesterday, so terrible was the panic it created. Owing to the abundance of money in the years immediately

But at the expiration of that time events occurred with equal suddenness, and as little anticipated as those of 1830, which have had a prejudicial effect on the business of the great financial firm. During the period of undisturbed tranquillity through which France passed after the Restoration, time was found

takings engaging the attention of the leading capitalists and bankers.

five brothers. In addition to these great establishments managed by members of the family, there are, in every great capital, agents and representatives who watch vigilantly over its interests, and execute the orders given them.

manded respect and attention. Nothing demonstrated so clearly the immense power exercised by the firm as the guarantee given by Baron Lionel at the conclusion of the Franco-German War to the German Government to maintain the stability of the foreign exchanges—a guarantee which greatly facilitated the payment of the indemnity.

"How has the house of Rothschild amassed such untold wealth?" is a question one is continually striving to answer, but to answer it fully and com-

into requisition; every sort of rumour and false news promulgated; and money in large and small sums sacrificed to secure the success of their schemes. This, then, was how the earlier Rothschilds amassed their millions, which the present representatives strive to keep and augment steadily and cautiously, without grasping at the handsome, old-fashioned profits of by-gone days.

The success of the Rothschild family is ascribed by the Chevalier von Gentz, an intimate personal friend of Baron Salomon von Rothschild, of Vienna,

"The first of these principles was that which led the five brothers to conduct all their businesses in a long and unbroken unanimity of aims and interests. This was the injunction left them by their father on his death-bed, and, if a lucky star has stood over them, they have ever remained firm in

being a separate dynasty, should have its own little jealousies. There could be no more solid monument to their shrewdness and sagacity than that they should not suffer these jealousies to hold them apart at critical moments when union is strength. Nor do they choose their friends and agents outside themselves with less discrimination, or treat them with less of wise generosity and forbearance. They know exactly whom to select for their purposes, and, once having made their choice, they are loyal to it. Many men are indebted to the Rothschilds for their fortune. No one who has once placed his trust in them, and whom they have found it worth their while to trust, can reproach them with having deserted him."

"The other principle," continues Von Gentz, "which demands notice, is that which guided them never to strive after extravagant profits in any of their undertakings, but to set limits to their operations, and to render themselves independent, as far as human foresight and wisdom could do so, of the freaks of chance. In the maxim Servare modum, finemque tenere, lies one of the great secrets of their strength. There can be no doubt that with the means at their command they could, in this or

"The personal and moral characters of the five brothers have contributed in no small measure to the success of their enterprises. If he is powerful enough it is not difficult for a man to secure a

"There is but one power in Europe," said the

French writer Weill, "and that is Rothschild. His satellites are a dozen other banking firms; his soldiers, his squires, all respectable men of business and merchants; and his sword is speculation. Rothschild is a consequence that was bound to appear; and, if it had not been a Rothschild, it would have been someone else. He is, however, by no means an accidental consequence, but a primary consequence, called into existence by the principles which have guided the European States since 1813. Rothschild had need of the States to become a Rothschild, while the States on their side required Rothschild. Now, however, he no longer needs the State, but the State still has want of him."

CHAPTER IV.

ANSELM MAYER VON ROTHSCHILD.

THE FRANKFORT FIRM (continued).

HAT the considerations were which guided Mayer Amschel Rothschild when he turned his back upon Hanover to select Frankfort as the place for start-

ing in business on his own account, and for laying the foundations of a fortune which was to eventually attain such colossal proportions, are of course unknown to us, but we may reasonably suppose that his choice was influenced by early associations. Frankfort was his birthplace, and it may be to this circumstance that it is indebted for the immense benefits it derived from the subsequent career of the great family within its walls. There can be no doubt that to the Rothschilds the city of Frankfort owes not only its present importance, but much of

The house of Rothschild when at the summit of its might was the ruling power in Europe, for all the political powers were willing to acknowledge the sway of the great financial despot, and, like obedient vassals, to pay their tribute without a murmur.

Frankfort, the birthplace of this great firm, derives

have been small when it took precedence of stately Nuremberg at the coronation of Maximilian I. The Golden Bulls of the Pope declared that the Roman elections should always be held in Frankfort, and this cannot have failed to favour the fortunes of the city, necessitating as it did splendid pageants and sumptuous banquets which made money flow freely into the pockets of the worthy citizens. In the course of time patents and privileges of all kinds tending to foster and encourage trade were conferred upon the city, and in 1510 the right of coining money was conceded to it by the emperor.

The powerful Hanseatic League had broken down, and the fetters which it had kept on commercial activity in Germany were removed. Frankfort was immediately sensible of the beneficial effects of the change, as Nuremberg began to send thither part of its manufactures, Augsburg its cloth and silk goods, and Ulm its linen and cotton goods. Even Aix-la-Chapelle and Dortmund entered into business relations with their young rival, who soon outstripped them in the race for first place, and continued to grow in consideration and wealth. The discovery of America was turned to profitable account, as the merchants and traders of Frankfort

ANSELM MAIER VON ROTHSCHILD.

therefore, to find that the wheel of fortune, when the family bring their collective wealth and influence to bear in this fashion upon it, should yield to their persuasive efforts and take the direction they desire.

We cannot pretend at this distance of time to be capable of giving a faithful and lifelike description of Anselm Mayer von Rothschild, the head of the Frankfort firm. We prefer, therefore, to reproduce the words of a writer who was for many years on the most intimate terms with him, and whose account may consequently be regarded as privileged and deserving credit:—

All writers agree in describing Anselm Mayer as a man of great shrewdness of judgment, with a thorough knowledge of mankind. By a sort of intuition he was able to form a pretty correct opinion of the character and motives of the men with whom he came in contact. No matter what cloak they might use to conceal their real object, he saw through their hypocrisy almost before they had said

one of these gatherings Rothschild was introduced to the sculptor, and made the neat remark: "You look so handsome, Chevalier, that one is forced to believe you created yourself." Thorwaldsen afterwards acknowledged that he had never been paid a more novel or more flattering compliment.

Fond of wit and humour as he was, Anselm Mayer could recognize and reward wit in others, even if the sally was directed against himself. On one occasion a man wrote to him, simply saying, "Herr Baron, send me a thousand guldens—and forget me." The brevity and essentially witty character of the demand at once struck Anselm Mayer, who, in forwarding the sum demanded, replied: "I send you one thousand guldens—and have forgotten you."

When Baron Anselm Mayer went in 1832 to spend a few months of the summer at Ems, he took up his quarters in a private house on the Römerberg. At the same house there was also staying Baron von E——, a dashing Prussian Uhlan officer, with whom Baron Anselm soon became exceedingly friendly. One evening they went for a stroll in the direction of the Four Towers, and in the midst of a spirited conversation Rothschild came to a sudden

Baron Anselm Mayer was proud and aristocratic in his manners only to the extent that the con-

nually submitted to his consideration. When he died the poor lost one of their most liberal, and at the same time most unostentatious benefactors.

his beautiful flowers, of which he never grew weary.

ANSELM MAYER VON ROTHSCHILD. 127

This list is far from complete; still, even as it is, it gives some idea of the large business done by the firm with its private clients.

In conclusion, we may say a few words respecting the sovereignty of Baron Anselm Mayer over the

"In this way," wrote a German journalist of Baron Anselm Mayer, "he has made himself king of finance, and his kingdom is no poetical creation but a reality. His vassals are the other banking firms and financial institutions, whom he can destroy, if he so pleases, when he no longer needs them, or support and strengthen as long as they are useful and necessary for his purposes." Since the death of Anselm Mayer, the business of the Frankfort firm has been managed by his nephews, Baron William and Baron C. von Rothschild, who have faithfully observed the traditional policy of the family in all their financial operations. The wealth of the two brothers continues steadily to augment, thanks to the prudence and caution which mark all their undertakings. Baron Carl is a great patron of the arts, and has a collection of pictures and sculptures such as is possessed by only very few. Baron William is a most strict Jew, and rigidly observes the fasts and feasts of the Jewish calendar.

¹ The death of Baron Carl, which took place quite recently, leaves his brother the sole head of the Frankfort house. Baron Carl's magnificent collection of art treasures will become the property of Lord Rothschild.

CHAPTER V.

NATHAN MAYER ROTHSCHILD.

THE LONDON FIRM.

HE first step towards extending the business of the original house in Frankfort was taken in 1798 by Nathan Mayer, the third and most remarkable

of all Mayer Amschel's sons, who in that year started for England with the object of creating a business of his own. To Nathan Mayer may be ascribed much of the subsequent prosperity of the family, as, by his splendid financial abilities and untiring energy, he contributed far more than any of his brothers towards raising the firm to the brilliant position it has held for the last fifty years. He it was who, by his vast schemes and far-reaching speculations, gave the firm its cosmopolitan character, whilst the great services which he, in com-

and gained the monopoly and control of all important financial enterprises.

now to share their power with their rivals, the landed capitalists. The repeal of the Corn Laws was, as D'Israeli truly said, the abolition of the landed aristocracy by the moneyed aristocracy, of the nobility by the bourgeoisie, of pedigree by money.

that the land should thus be concentrated in the hands of a limited few, is a question which has agitated the minds of many, and which we, for our part, do not feel called upon to decide. There can, however, be no doubt that, since it has been generally acknowledged that the prosperity and greatness of the country are dependent upon a flourishing foreign trade, the tendency has been to abandon agriculture for manufacturing pursuits, and to leave the cultivation of the soil to those whose wealth renders them independent of the profits or losses attending their labours.

Injurious as were the effects produced by this mistaken policy of fostering the home trade and neglecting the foreign, there can be no question that the country has also suffered severely from the evils resulting from the creation of the National Debt. To the increased taxation and the widespread corruption it engendered, may be ascribed much of the want and privation the poorer classes of the community have had to encounter. However much we may deplore the existence of the National Debt—or national nuisance, as some would call it—we must confess that William III. had no other plan left by which he could procure the money he re-

NATHAN MAYER ROTHSCHILD.

The creation of the National Debt has been severely criticized and disapproved by later generations, wiser in their time than their ancestors,

In spite of the great difficulties he experienced in obtaining supplies, William would never abandon

The principal objection to William's financial innovation was, as we have already observed, that he borrowed on irredeemable annuities. Had he borrowed on annuities terminable at a certain date.

In 1696, while the gold was being recoined, exchequer bills in amounts of £5 and £10 were introduced. These were found of great convenience in business, for, being issued on the credit of the Government, they were regarded as equal to gold, and passed freely from hand to hand under the con-

fident knowledge that they would be paid off at par. The Treasury was authorized to contract with capitalists for the supply of cash, and, although these bills were for a short time at a discount, they soon stood at a premium. At first they bore no interest, but, when they were re-issued, interest was paid on them. They have always continued to be a favourite source of supply with succeeding ministries, and when it is found inconvenient to pay them off they are liquidated, with the consent of Parliament, by being added to the fixed debt of the country.

It is amusing and instructive to note the variety of expedients William was compelled to employ to obtain his supplies. At one time it was a mild remonstrance, at another a haughty menace, and often a reproach that he had risked his life for an ungrateful country. Heavy as was the cost of maintaining the war with France, the money spent with that object was as nothing compared with the enormous sums expended in buying members of the Lower House. Corruption was rampant throughout society; every man of influence had his price. Some were bribed with contracts, some with portions of loans, while others received titles, commis-

not better off. Colonel Hastings—afterwards cashiered for the offence—obliged them to buy their raiment of him. If they hesitated he threatened; if they refused he confined them. In 1693, an inquiry was ordered into the application of the secret service money, when severe and deserved animadversion was passed upon those through whom it circulated. The power possessed by Government under such abuses may be imagined. They were sure of the votes of those who had places and pensions, and they were sure also of the votes of that large class of expectants which always haunts a profuse ministry; and thus "the courtiers," as the ministerial party was long designated, could baffle any bills, laugh at all grievances, stifle any accounts, and raise any amount of money.

Under Queen Anne intrigue and corruption still permeated the political world. Money had learnt its innate power, and day by day its influence upon the politics of the nation grew more marked and unmistakable. Through the interest and pressure of the State creditors, the moneyed classes, a law was passed enacting that for the future no one should be eligible to represent a borough in Parliament unless he had an income of £300 a year,

or £600 a year in the case of a county member. The power exercised by money waxed every day more prejudicial to the true interests of the country, and the greater that power grew the more baneful became its effects upon the morals of the nation. Bribery was universal. An eager scrambling after wealth disgraced the whole of society, and noble names of all ranks and parties were tarnished by an utter disregard for the laws of common honesty. Everywhere the cry resounded:—

"Get money, money still,"
And then let virtue follow if she will."

Marlborough, it is well known, did not scruple to satisfy the cravings of his avarice at the expense of the soldiers to whom his successes were due. His victories were but a source of gain to him; the blood of his gallant veterans, a trifle unworthy of consideration if it interfered with his plans. Somerset, Newcastle, and other ministers lent the State money on terms settled by themselves.

The Funds were diverted from their legitimate purposes and employed in buying the votes of the Lower House. When the Tories came into office no less than 30 millions sterling were found to be

the Funds slackened, other sources of speculation were discovered: bargains in annuities, lottery tickets, tontines, exchequer bills were made briskly, and bubble companies were promoted with almost the same facilities as in the nineteenth century. "The poor English nation," said one writer, "run a madding after new inventions, whims, and projects, and this unhappy ingredient my countrymen have in their temper; they are violent and prosecute their projects eagerly."

William III. created the National Debt, but the foundation stone was indirectly laid by Charles II. when, in 1672, he appropriated to his own use half a million of money deposited by merchants and goldsmiths in the exchequer. Charles, however, repudiated all claims made upon him for the restoration of the money thus taken, and to William belongs the merit of having first acknowledged the indebtedness of the State to its creditors. Not only did he own his liability for sums he himself borrowed, but he added to them the amount misappropriated by his predecessor. The condition on which he negotiated his first loan was that those who advanced him money should receive stock representing double the value of their contributions.

his successor died. The increase is partly accounted for by the cost of Marlborough's war, but by far the greater portion was due to the prevailing bribery and corruption.

the National Debt. The result of the various steps taken by him was so favourable that Consols, which in 1784 stood at 54, already reached 76 in 1786, and by 1792 had risen to 96, or a rise of 42 per cent. in eight years.

of the country up to the beginning of this century, we will proceed to narrate the career of Nathan Mayer Rothschild, the founder of the firm in London

We cannot do better than repeat his own version, as published in Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton's Biography, of his first experiences and successes in England. In one of his letters Sir Thomas says:—

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 so I am a match for the man with the patterns and for all the rest of them.'"

Nothing could demonstrate more clearly Nathan Rothschild's profound confidence in his own powers, and his resolute character, than this simple narrative. So rapid was his success in Manchester, that before many years had passed he found even that was too limited a sphere for the mind which could grapple with three profits. He accordingly at the beginning of this century established himself in London, where he was afterwards destined to make such a name. Previous to his arrival in London, the business of the parent house in Frankfort had passed through the hands of the banking firm of Van Notten, but Nathan Mayer at once assumed the control and management of the firm's interests in England. In the concluding portion of his letter, Sir T. F. Buxton writes:—

"I forgot to say that soon after Rothschild came to England Buonaparte invaded Germany. 'The Prince of Hesse Cassel,' said Rothschild, 'gave my father his money; there was no time to be lost: he sent it to me. I had £600,000 arrive unexpectedly by post; and I put it to such good use that the Prince made me a present of all his wine and linen."

"When I settled in London, the East India Company had £800,000 worth in 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 they must have it. When they had got it, they did not know how to get it to Portugal. I undertook all that, and I sent it through France, and that was the best business I ever did."

possessing great strength and swiftness. The superiority of his intelligence over that of the Government was proved on several occasions. He was the first to inform Lord Aberdeen of the Paris July revolution, as he had been to announce the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. In connection with Waterloo an interesting little romance has been written upon the immense sum Nathan Mayer gained by his early knowledge of the victory of the Allies, which his financial strategy enabled him to use to the fullest advantage on the Stock Exchange.

Many of his large speculations had been based on the presumed success of the English arms, and he was perhaps congratulating himself on his shrewd foresight and the soundness of his calculations when the sudden and treacherous return of Napoleon from Elba shattered at once his golden dreams and renewed all his previous anxiety and fears. No man, indeed, had greater cause to tremble at the reappearance of the mighty despot than had Nathan Mayer; when the fruits of his victory seemed almost within his grasp, they were at a blow removed, and he was left surrounded with doubts and contingencies. In the midst of its rejoicings the whole of Europe was startled with alarm and dis-

he wished to make his way across the Channel, but even the fishermen shrank from the attempt. In vain he offered bribes of five hundred, six hundred, eight hundred francs to the poor fellows; they would not venture. It was not until the offer reached two thousand francs that one of them consented to brave the tempest, and endeavour to take Nathan Mayer across to England, on condition that the money was paid to his wife before starting.

They set sail, and before they had gone far the threatening weather changed for the better, whilst a favourable breeze sprang up and considerably accelerated their passage. In the evening they sighted Dover and shortly after Nathan Mayer dragged his weary limbs ashore. Even here he would not rest, but, after procuring the swiftest post-horses to be had, resumed his journey to London. The next day he was to be seen leaning against his well-known pillar on the Stock Exchange, apparently broken in health and spirits, and looking as if he had been overwhelmed and crushed by some direful calamity. The greatest gloom and despondency had for days prevailed in the City, and as men looked at Rothschild, and then significantly at each other, they seemed to come

In 1806 Nathan Mayer Rothschild married a daughter of Levi Barnet Cohen, one of the wealthiest Jews at that time living in London. After accepting Rothschild as his daughter's suitor, Cohen had some doubts as to the extent of his future son-in-law's riches. A man who speculated so boldly

and so largely was not unlikely to be speculating with other persons' money, so Cohen prudently asked for some proof of his reputed wealth. This Rothschild declined to give, saying that as far as wealth and good character went, Mr Cohen could not do better than give him all his daughters in marriage.

of business. On one single loan he made a profit of £150,000, with which he purchased the well-known Gunnersbury House and grounds. This historical mansion was formerly the residence of Princess Amelia, the aunt of George III., and on her death the house and grounds passed into the hands of a Mr Copland and ultimately became, as we have said, the property of Nathan Mayer Rothschild.

The principal loans issued by Nathan Mayer were the following:—

The majority of these loans were remarkably successful; but at times the sunshine was broken. On more than one occasion Nathan Mayer sustained such heavy losses that the stability of any other firm but his would have been endangered. He is estimated to have lost not less than half a million by Lord Bexley's scheme for funding Exchequer bills in a Three and a half per cent. stock. In 1823, at the time of the French invasion of Spain, he was threatened with severe losses through the French loan, but fortunately for him he saw his danger in time, and managed to distribute the loss among others less alert.

He would often decline proposals for loans without troubling himself about the terms, if the country soliciting his assistance was under the least suspicion, or subject to internal disorganization. With Spain, or the South American states which had formerly acknowledged the Spanish flag, he would never have anything to do. He always cautiously steered clear of every doubtful or unsafe business. During the great speculation fever of 1824 and 1825 he kept studiously aloof, and warned others to follow his example. It is true that, during this time, he established the Alliance Marine Insurance Company, but the history of the causes which led to its formation would seem to show that its establishment had no connection with the speculation then prevailing. When the numerous bubble

companies which had been floated burst in rapid succession, and the inevitable panic occurred, Rothschild greatly relieved the market by his readiness to purchase at a fair price any amount of stock that might be tendered him. Brokers in many instances preferred accepting his offers to realizing their stock on the market. Nothing demonstrated more clearly the power and stability of the firm during this trying period, when the Bank of England had nearly to close its doors, than the unstinted and fearless manner in which it advanced funds to the Bank to enable the latter to meet its calls.

In 1831 Nathan Mayer did what he regarded as a very clever stroke of business. Mercury, as is well known, is a valuable article, indispensable in many trades, as well as in the dispensing-room. It is a powerful medicine, and is also largely used to separate gold and silver from the earthy impurities with which they combine. Most of the quicksilver found in Europe was derived either from the mines at Idria, in Austria, or from those at Almaden, in Spain. The latter mines had at the time of which we are writing been allowed to fall into disuse, but their richness was well known, even the Greeks and Romans having realized immense profits from the

On another occasion he forced even that venerable institution, the Bank of England, in spite of

This story is so characteristic of the man, that its authenticity seems undeniable, but the same cannot be said of the following anecdote, which is evidently due to the fertile brain of some imaginative writer. The very minuteness of detail and the dramatic completeness of the narrative are enough to make one suspicious of its genuineness.

months! eleven millions of gold drawn from the Bank! The Bank grew alarmed; something had to be done. The next morning a notice appeared that in future Rothschild's bills would be taken as readily as their own.

Ľ

occurring to help the depression, the fatal price of 74 was at length reached. The Christian had outmatched the Jew.

In addition to his loan business and speculations, Rothschild embarked in many commercial enterprises, for he was ready to support any undertaking which appeared to him at once sound and

from which we are glad to say the present heads of the firm are free, for their liberality is too well known to require our confirmation.

his tools to serve his purposes. He was informed one day that a broker had been openly abusing him on the Stock Exchange, and boasting "how thoroughly he detested Rothschild and the whole Jewish race." Nathan listened quietly and unmovedly to the statement, merely remarking—

"Thank you; I am much obliged. That man will be useful."

came filled with an uncomfortable atmosphere of suspicion and incredulity, which kept the members ever in a fever of apprehension and doubt.

It may not be out of place to mention that Nathan Mayer attributed much of his success to the observance of two maxims: "Another advantage I had. I was an off-hand man; I made a bargain at once." The second maxim shows that he had a grain of superstition in his composition, for he would never, as he said, have anything to do with an unlucky man or an unlucky place. "I have seen many clever men, 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, and, if they cannot do good to themselves, how can they do good to me?"

His methods of business and his conduct procured him many enemies. The satirists were ever ridiculing his portly figure and slovenly appearance, caricaturing his Jewish accent and his uncouth manners. He was indeed a subject created for caricature, but he was at the same time utterly insensible to the jeers and laughter he occasioned. He pursued his path without paying the least regard to anything that might be done to give him offence. Undoubtedly he was responsible for much of this satire and ridicule. In his manners and address he seemed to delight in displaying his thorough disregard of all the courtesies and amenities of civilized life. They were to him superfluities and shams. He appeared to pride himself on his blunt and outspoken style of speech, which he mistook for frankness, but which was usually so violent and uncouth that in any other than a millionaire it would not have been tolerated. He was, like most of his family, a man of unbridled temper, which led him into excesses of passion and language quite unworthy of his position in society. A clever anonymous writer thus describes him as he was seen on "'Change":—

"There is a rigidity and a tension in his features too that would make you fancy, if you did not see that it was not so, that someone 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 scintillation of that which comes from without reflected in any direction. The whole puts you in

ROTHSCHILD ON EXCHANGE.

This reminds one forcibly of another anecdote.

A German Prince, bearing letters of introduction

Wealth, whatever luxuries it might command, was unable to secure its possessor happiness or tranquillity of mind. Rothschild was a prey to empty fears, and the care and anxiety inseparable from the control and safe-keeping of his millions effectually prevented him from ever enjoying any

Two tall, dark men, with heavy moustaches and penetrating eyes were once ushered into his room.

What little pleasure and happiness Nathan Mayer did enjoy was derived not so much from the possession of unbounded wealth, as from the excitement and intriguing attending the making of it. He revelled in the plotting and tricking, the manipulations and stratagems which his gigantic speculations necessitated and created. "This is the key,"

Much speculation and curiosity was manifested by the public after Nathan Mayer's death as to the amount of the fortune he had left his children, but this was not made known in the will, and has consequently always remained a secret. The directions to his executors were clear and simple. Those gentlemen were expressly bidden to confine themselves to their administrative duties, and not seek to pry into matters which were outside their functions. No statement of the amount of his property, or of the securities in which it was invested, was given in the will, and the main points touched upon were the conduct of the business and the marriage of his daughters. The business was to be conducted by the four sons in co-operation with their uncles abroad. To each of his daughters he left £100,000, which was to be forfeited if they ever married without the consent of their mother and their brothers. Legacies to his employés and dependents, as well as charitable bequests, were conspicuous by their absence—there were none.

CHAPTER VI.

BARON LIONEL DE ROTHSCHILD.

THE LONDON FIRM (continued).

ATHAN MAYER ROTHSCHILD left four sons and three daughters to participate in the immense fortune he had won. Of these four sons, one, Natha-

niel, chose France as his home, whilst the other three, Lionel Nathan, Mayer, and Anthony, succeeded to the management of the fine business bequeathed them by their father. The control and management were really confided exclusively to Baron Lionel, for his abilities and skill justly entitled him to that proud position, whilst his brothers, having no great inclination for financial matters, were content to concentrate their attention and energies on more congenial pursuits—the encouragement of art and sport in all their forms.

Baron Lionel was only twenty-eight when his father died—an early age at which to be called upon to direct and conduct a business so complicated and so vast as that which he had inherited.

thoroughly sound training he had received, and to the great financial talents he had inherited from his father, soon showed that the fame and reputation of his firm would not diminish whilst the management remained in his hands.

the stock market Baron Lionel did not aspire to retain in its entirety, as that would have necessitated the employment of those underhand manipulations and expedients which were in his eyes anything but admirable, even if generally adopted by the members of the Stock Exchange. Naturally his influence on the stock market was great, still it was far below that which his father had enjoyed; but what the firm lost in influence they more than gained in the respect and favour of the public.

In the negotiation of foreign loans Baron Lionel was particularly active, as this business, at once lucrative and comparatively free from risk, was one which he preferred before all others. During his lifetime his firm was interested in the issue of no less than eighteen Government loans, amounting in the aggregate to one hundred and sixty millions sterling. To enter into the details of these transactions would be to give the financial history of Europe for the last fifty years, and after all no advantage would be gained by our doing so, as the immediate cause of the whole of them was the same—the pressing necessities of the borrowing States. The only difference was the circumstances and conditions under which each loan was

L'ARON LIONEL DE ROTHSCHILD.

foreign exchanges, and so facilitated the payment of the French indemnity. The fact of this delicate and important business being confided to his management was a remarkable and flattering tribute paid to his great financial ability and unerring judgment.

Baron Lionel was in a dilemma. If he negotiated the loan, he would be publicly accused of having proved false to his spoken opinions, of having cast aside all his regard for the liberty of the subject as soon as his pocket was affected. In place of the public support and favour, he would at once bring down upon himself a shower of sneers and satire.

ment with the representatives of the Russian Government. This was a lesson the Baron never forgot.

scientiously repeat. Owing to the powerful majority of the Tory party in both the Lords and the Commons, no move was made to procure the abolition of the Jewish disabilities for some years, as any agitation for that purpose would have been vain, owing to the great repugnance which the Tories displayed to all measures of reform. To have introduced a measure at that juncture would have been to court defeat, seeing that it was certain to be violently opposed and rejected.

When, however, Baron Lionel was elected in 1847 a member for the City of London, with Lord John Russell as his colleague, appearances seemed more favourable to the attempt. Accordingly his Lordship, who was then Premier, took an early opportunity of moving a resolution: "That the House do resolve itself into a committee to consider the propriety of the removal of the civil and political disabilities now affecting Her Majesty's Jowish subjects." In his speech supporting this resolution, the noble lord stated that the question concerned the rights, political and religious, of a community numbering more than forty thousand souls, distinguished by their love of order and their industry, who were neither inclined nor able to instigate a

sition to abandon a struggle at the first reverse, when he felt that justice was on his side.

licence duties, such as were paid by commercial men in Austria. This self-denying ordinance was not, however, approved by the City.

Bound to his seat as he was by physical suffering

In 1857 society was set agog by the marriage of Baron Lionel's eldest daughter, Leonora, with her

Evelina, was married to Baron Ferdinand, the eldest son of Baron Salomon, of Vienna. Unhappily, these joyful festivities were followed by a mournful conclusion, as the bride, who had been at all times so charming for her sweetness of disposition and gracious manners, died the next year in giving birth to her first child. The shock was a severe one to both Baron Lionel and his amiable wife, for both had been fondly and tenderly attached to their daughter. They neither of them ever recovered from the blow, rendered all the more painful by the death of the child, which did not survive its mother. The Evelina Hospital in Southwark was built by Baron Ferdinand in memory of the wife he so fendly loved, and so early lost.

The town residence of Baron Lionel was the well-known mansion adjoining Apsley House, a magnificent building some six storeys high, fitted up with every modern luxury and improvement. It is said that when Baron Lionel determined on building this palatial mansion he was anxious to secure the next house, belonging to Sir Edmund Antrobus, and throw it into his own, but his brother banker, although asked to state his own terms, would not, like Esau, sell his birthright, and declined all over-

tures. He was indeed so fired with rivalry, that he even had an additional storey built to his own house to make it overtop that of Baron Lionel—a peculiarity that may be at once noticed. Here it was that Baron Lionel was wont to give his sumptuous dinners—the wonder and the talk of society.

The following graphic description of one of these dinners will convey to the reader a very good idea of the luxury and comfort by which Baron Lionel was surrounded:—

"My daughter and myself left Paris and reached our hotel in time to fulfil an engagement to dine with the Baroness Lionel de Rothschild, to meet Lord and Lady Lyndhurst, for whom the dinner was given. Nothing could exceed the splendour of the banquet. Silver and gold plate shone on the table and buffets; exquisite flowers delighted the eye; while the retinue of servants in full dress, so well trained that not a footfall told of their presence, and the ease and repose that prevailed, the result of perfect training, were forgotten in the distinction of the company. Another still more splendid and prolonged fête in Lord Lyndhurst's honour, to which we were also bidden, was given by the Baroness Mayer Rothschild at her Venetian villa

at Mentmore—rather palace than villa, however. The Baroness had sent early in the week to have the house and grounds put in perfect order. Such pictures, such furniture, such park scenery, race-horses and hounds! Such a breakfast and lunch al fresco, afterwards a dinner at Baron Anthony's, as words cannot describe."

of judgment which he displayed in all practical concerns of life guided him no less safely in matters of taste; and the pictures he had acquired comprised examples of the finest works from the brushes of the principal masters. These treasures were not his pride but his joy; they proved to him an unfailing source of regeneration. In such genial surroundings the mind spontaneously opened itself to a simple and healthy cheerfulness, which now took pleasure in the sallies of wit, and now followed with interest some of the graver questions of the present or the past."

That there was a vein of humour running in Baron Lionel's disposition the following anecdote will show. He was dining at a friend's house and chanced to sit next to a lady who had an only son whom she was anxious to bring up in business rather than in a profession. Like most fond mothers she was extremely anxious to do the best for the youth in whom all her hopes were centred. She determined to utilize to the utmost the favourable opportunity she had of consulting a man so well qualified by his vast mercantile experience and sound judgment to advise her on so important a question. Accordingly she plied the Baron with

questions, and extracted all the information she could, but, when the vital question was asked: "What he would consider the best business for her son to adopt," she found her neighbour become suddenly reserved and uncommunicative. The truth was the Baron strongly objected to giving advice, to which a certain responsibility was always attached. Again and again the lady returned to the attack, but the Baron was always on the alert, and turned the conversation adroitly to other subjects. At length, finding that she would not be denied, he replied, "Well, madam, in my opinion, selling matches is a very good business, if there is enough of it." A trite and pithy remark, displaying much common sense and wisdom.

Baron Lionel continued to manage and superintend the affairs of his firm up to the very eve of his death, which happened with painful suddenness on the 3rd June, 1879. He had for twenty years been a sufferer from rheumatic gout, but this did not prevent his attending at his office up to the very last. His death occurred quite unexpectedly—without the slightest warning. On Friday the 30th May, 1879, he held his usual business levée at New Court, and those, who from time to time

expenditure of vast wealth there was felt to be nothing inappropriate or out of place, because the sense of waste could never be felt. Great resources had been bestowed to produce a great result, and the result was something which had an æsthetic value of its own.

evidence thus shown that the Turf was capable of reinvigoration. We cannot afford in these respects to forget his example. This is an age of great fortunes and, though few can be compared with those of a Rothschild, there are many who have similar opportunities, and it cannot be said that these are at present turned to the best account. . . . Baron Rothschild pursued a career that will always have attractions for men of wealth, but he pursued it in a manner which enabled him to render real services to the community. His friends will always bear in mind his kindness and generosity, and he will be personally regretted among a large circle. But the public will also feel that they have lost a man who had a rare capacity for making a really magnificent use of great wealth."

The destinies of the firm, since the death of Baron Lionel, have rested in the hands of his three sons, Sir Nathaniel (Lord Rothschild), Leopold, and Alfred de Rothschild. Sir Nathaniel, who came into the baronetcy on the death of his uncle, Sir Anthony, is in reality the ruler of the fortunes of the London firm. He is heart and soul a man of business. All his thoughts are centred upon the welfare and prosperity of the firm; he allows

LORD ROTHSCHILD.

(From a Photograph by Messrs. Russell & Sons.)

"It is, so far as the Rothschilds themselves are concerned, a species of trinity, the first person of which is Sir Nathaniel (now Lord Rothschild), the second Mr Alfred, and the third Mr Leopold de Rothschild. The baronet is the supreme head

mistake. He is not any one of these things. He is, on the contrary, when his interest or regard is enlisted, a generous and loyal friend.

their disposal a little army of brokers and touts in the City, a choice detachment of politicians and financiers, whether they do or do not belong to the public service, at the West End; bear in mind, too, that they receive early information from their kinsmen and correspondents in every part of the earth of what is happening or is likely to happen, and you will not be surprised to know that New Court is the abode of power."

Last year the Queen was pleased to raise Sir Nathaniel to the peerage under the title of Lord Rothschild. None will dare assert that the honour was unmerited. Few who have gained this coveted distinction can show a better claim than that which Lord Rothschild possesses in the record of the services rendered by his family to the English Government during the last fifty years and more. During that period the nation has on more than one occasion benefited by the counsel and aid tendered by the great financial firm. Lord Rothschild may well be proud of his title which, though tardily conferred, has been won by merit alone, and is no sign of royal favouritism. The honour is the greater as Lord Rothschild is the first avowed Jew who has entered the House of Lords. Samson Gidcon

founded the family of Eardley, but he, during his lifetime, abandoned the Jewish Creed. In thus raising Lord Rothschild to the peerage, the Queen has done honour to the whole Jewish race, and taken a step which cannot fail to remove the great barrier of distrust and prejudice which has so long separated Jews from Christians.

an hour or two before the appointed time, a proceeding which gave rise to loud expressions of disapproval and disappointment among the many persons who were thereby prevented from obtaining any portion of the loan.

undertakings are submitted daily to them, and constantly declined, as they very properly refuse to entertain, or embark in any enterprises which do not come within the well-defined and strictly recognized sphere of their business. Many houses would greedily snap at the proposals the Rothschilds unhesitatingly decline. The great requisites in the heads of the firm at the present time are caution and prudence—qualities which they seem determined to foster. If these are diligently cultivated, the firm must eventually become a dynasty, whose widespread power and all puissant influence—though recognized by no constitution—will far exceed those of any ruling family in Europe.

CHAPTER VII.

BARON CARL VON ROTHSCHILD.

THE NAPLES FIRM.

CALY once consisted, like Germany, of a number of separately governed States, which, however, were not as in Germany associated in a general "Bund"

or confederation for the protection and support of their common interests. The language was the only link that joined the various Italian States together. In all else they were separated by long-standing hatreds and jealousies, which were the greatest obstacles to the progress and prosperity of the nation. It was these continued feuds and the enmity of Austria that so long barred the way to the formation or development of a united Italy worthy to take a leading part in the affairs of Europe. To establish a branch of their business in the leading State of

through the extensive bill business they created, proved no unimportant source of profit to the banker, and over this business Rothschild by virtue of his peculiar relations with the Bourse and the State, held undisputed sway.

sensibly yielded to the more elevating inspiration that one invisible bond of union linked them all together. At length an ardent longing to see the nation rise from its ashes, and like a giant refreshed open out for itself a new path of honour and fame, took possession of many energetic minds, who strove, and ultimately with success, to create a "United Italy." The story of Mazzini and Garibaldi, and of the association of "Young Italy," hardly belongs to these pages, and is, after all, too well known to require repetition.

The social conditions ruling in Italy offer the student many an agreeable picture, which he in vain seeks elsewhere. The line which marks the distinction between the nobility and the less favoured orders is not so sharply drawn as in other countries. This is indeed clearly shown by the history of many of the noble Italian houses who rose to their rank from having won wealth and fame as energetic and enterprising merchants; and it is undeniable that the commoners were always highly esteemed, and enjoyed an aristocratic importance which no doubt fostered the opinion, so prevalent in Italy, that it was no disgrace, but rather an honour, for a noble to increase his own wealth and the prosperity of

his dependents by commercial enterprises. The nobles and the commoners in Italy were not separated from each other by the haughty pride and the overbearing manners which have in other lands kept the two orders so far apart. This, perhaps, is the reason why the nobility of Italy have furnished so many talented writers and poets, for they were not kept by false pride from the pursuit of knowledge, but displayed a praiseworthy zeal to place themselves on a level with their rivals, of whatever rank, in science or art.

The finances of the Papal State form one of the darkest and most unattractive pages in the history of the country. We shall not carry our review further back than to the period of the first French Revolution. In the year 1790 a small detachment of French troops marched against Rome. Willing or unwilling, the Romans were forced to accept the revolution; the Republic was proclaimed in the Forum, and the French constitution introduced. To the French commander-in-chief at that time the power of a dictator was given. Bills for large amounts were issued upon the richest of the Romans, on whose behalf the French general was kind enough to accept them, and afterwards to

KARL VON ROTHSCHILD.

THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD.

drawn up, nor were the accounts examined; no one concerned himself with the financial balancesheet.

was imposed, as was one on all loanable capital: foreigners and travellers were also affected by the new regulations, and a succession duty was made law. In addition there were salt and malt-taxes, whilst the same law decreed the reduction of the interest on all the loans to three per cent., and the realization of all common lands.

After the abolition of the Roman States in 1809, the French system of taxation was introduced, with some necessary modifications, on this side of the Apennines, the Italian system remaining in force in the provinces on the further side; for instance, the meal-tax was retained in place of the droits réunis, the land-tax was augmented, and registration adopted. When the Papal Government regained possession of their land in 1814, the earlier system of taxation was restored. The motu proprio of the 6th July, 1816, lowered the land-tax about 400,000 scudi, and, after various gradual modifications, the old system was practically restored. The gross receipts were estimated at nine million scudi, though in all probability they did not exceed seven millions.

Previous to the first French Revolution, almost two and a half million Roman floring in Church-

The expenditure of the Duchy of Parma was estimated, in the year 1854, at two and a half million lire, and its debt at fourteen millions. The latter had been increased in 1827 by a new loan of twelve million lire, which the Duchess arranged through the mediation of the Rothschilds and the firm of Mirabaud and Co., in Milan. In addition to the compulsory loan, issued in 1849, of 2,700,000

lire, Parma was saddled in 1854 with another five per cent. loan, voluntary in this case, of 2,470,000 lire, in obligations of 500 and 1,000 lire each. This last loan was secured upon the State property and the private possessions of the ruling family.

Rothschild taken part in its issue, as they did in both the loans for the Duchy of Lucca in 1836 and 1843, which, after the union of that Duchy to Tuscany, were added to the public debt of the latter State.

scribed in a very short time by the native bankers and capitalists alone. Of the many loans brought out by the Rothschild house, only that for eighty millions in 1850, and a second for rather more than sixty-seven millions in 1853, were for the kingdom of Sardinia, whose usual agents for this sort of business were the firms of Barbaroux and Tron, Migone in Turin, C. J. Hambro and Sons in London, and the Gebrüder Bethmann in Frankfort.

The kingdom of Naples, or the Two Sicilies, suffered for a number of years from the evil influence of a bad financial system, combined with the calamities and trials through which it passed. Measures of every sort—from the introduction of new taxes to the sale of the State domains, from the raising of the taxes to compulsory loans—were all tried to effect some alleviation of the State's difficulties after Joachim Murat was deposed and Ferdinand I. ascended the throne. In order to pay the interest on the State debt, loans were repeatedly found necessary. In January, 1821, the yearly rente payable on the debt amounted to three millions eight hundred and eighty-two thousand Neapolitan ducats. In 1822 the Government contracted a loan of sixteen million ducats with the

By a decree of the 26th May, 1821, the King separated the finances of Sicily from those of the kingdom of Naples, and concluded a loan for the benefit of the former for 1,500,000 ounces (4,500,000 ducats), in bonds of 400 ounces to bearer. The interest on this loan was paid through the Rothschilds in Paris.

accordingly combined to form a syndicate to challenge the Rothschilds, enter into spirited competition with them, and if possible shatter the fetters by which the financial world in Paris was bound.

In the first loan, a Sardinian one, arranged on the plan of the Paris State lottery, the syndicate obtained some success, as they managed to wrest this business out of the hands of the Rothschilds. J. Hagermann personally contributed greatly to the success achieved, as, having formerly been established in Genoa, where his firm was acknowledged to be the first and largest, he was on terms of intimacy with the Sardinian minister Caccia, and through him with the firm of Caccia in Paris. The latter, having neither means nor influence enough to carry out the business entrusted to him by his brother, placed it in Hagermann's hands.

The Rothschilds, who were never so forgiving as to allow a rival quietly to outbid them, felt, as might be expected, annoyed and vexed by this unexpected blow, and were not long before they let the weight of their wrath fall upon the presumptuous confederates by ruining what might under other circumstances have been a profitable transaction, and rendering it a costly and expensive one. The second time the syndicate tried to compete with the despots of the money market, they found that they had challenged a rival whose forces were so immeasurably superior that victory a second time was out of the question.

give their names, but that the secret would be divulged after the conclusion of the contract, and in the event of the names not being satisfactory that the contract could be considered null and void.

and also to accord them the preference when their terms were not higher than those offered by other firms.

and a common understanding arranged between all parties with reference to the matter in dispute. Rothschild certainly did not lose by his forbearance, whilst the rivals learnt that their strength was still far too weak to damage the sway of the millionaire financier.

It is unnecessary almost to add that Baron Carl von Rothschild, for the many valuable services rendered to the Italian States and Princes, both by loans or by advances of money, was honoured with titles and orders of every description. He died on the 11th March, 1855. The business was for some years continued by his son, Baron Adolphe de Rothschild, who, however, soon tired of the anxiety and responsibility attaching to the management of so large a concern. Being of a nervous disposition, he could not hear without fear and alarm the rumours of the internal troubles which threatened Italy, and like a wise man, blessed with a handsome fortune, he retired from public affairs to enjoy the comforts and repose of private life.

CHAPTER VIII.

BARON SALOMON VON ROTHSCHILD.

THE VIENNA FIRM.

HE importance Vienna enjoyed from its being the capital of the Empire and the residence of the Emperor and his Court, as well as from the large com-

merce carried on there, was no doubt the reason which led to the establishment of a separate house of the Rothschilds in the Austrian dominions.

The Jews for centuries played a very distinguished part in the affairs of Austria, and in Vienna especially were to be found in the highest circles of society, possessing not only large influence, but holding also prominent positions among the leading public men. The great consideration and authority they commanded were due simply to their money, for the finances of the country and the Court had

his affairs were again reviving, as he had secured the contract for supplying the army in Italy during the war of the Spanish succession.

Joseph II., in 1783, astonished, if he did not scandalize, the Christian world, by creating the first Jewish Baron in the person of the banker Joseph Michael Arnstein, whose wife, Fanny Itzig, of Berlin, was a special favourite of the Emperor. During the Congress of Vienna the families of the sovereigns of the money market, Arnstein and Eskeles, were conspicuous above all in the festivals and carnivals which then took place. The wives of both these financiers were natives of Berlin, being daughters of the rich Jewish banker Itzig, a well-known personage during the reign of Frederick the Great. The Austrian Government, not only before, but after the Congress, arranged many important financial operations with these two firms, as well as with several others.

The house of Rothschild, however, after establishing a house of business in Vienna to co-operate with those already existing in Frankfort and London, soon eclipsed all competitors by their enormous wealth and magnificent receptions. With the formation of this new establishment a fresh page opens in

the history of the finances and money market of the Austrian empire, owing to the influence and sway exercised by Baron Salomon von Rothschild.

The place formerly occupied in the syndicate by Steiner and Co. was now filled by the firm of Rothschild, who brought with them new schemes on which to conduct the Government loans. The scheme adopted was the lottery plan, which at once became popular with the public. The amount produced by the loans was soon exhausted, owing to the yearly drawings which formed the leading feature of the

Rothschilds alone met the shock unmoved, deriving additional power and strength from the trials they had so successfully encountered.

Besides this Government business, the Vienna house of the Rothschilds, at the head of which was Baron Salomon von Rothschild, the second son of old Mayer Amschel, was ever ready to embark in enterprise of any sort which promised to prove lucrative. For Prince Esterhazy and many other members of the high Austrian nobility he issued in conjunction with the house in Frankfort many loans, of which we gave particulars in a previous page. He also established a Fire Insurance Company, the shares of which he was able to sell at a handsome premium. In addition to all these enterprises he had his immense bill business, which brought him in a regular and unfailing profit.

In 1836 the firm took over from the Austrian Government the contract for the construction of the railway from Vienna to Bochnia, and before even a sod had been turned or a shovel used the whole of the twelve million shares were sold at a premium of fifteen per cent. The shares in 1841 had already fallen from 115 to 62, and the Government were compelled to assist the undertaking by an advance

SALUMON VON ROTHSCHILD.

281

of five millions, but before the end of the year they took into their own hands the completion of the line.

control of affairs and the procuration signature whenever Baron Salomon left Vienna on business or pleasure.

vent any injurious competition between the Spanish and the Austrian mines, an understanding was effected through the all-powerful influence of the Rothschilds. By this understanding the price of both quicksilver and cinnabar was kept up at a certain figure, which was not to be altered unless both parties consented to the change. The agreement, however, has for some years past been null and ineffective, owing to the discovery of immense quicksilver deposits in America—a discovery which has put an end to a uniform price being maintained for any length of time in Europe.

The city of Vienna derived many direct and indirect benefits from the presence of Baron Salomon, as, independently of his noble beneficence and liberality, its general prosperity must have been increased by the immense business introduced by his firm. A very pleasing recognition of his great services was made him in 1843, when the Mayor of Vienna, accompanied by the Austrian ministers von Kolowrat and Hardegg, handed him as a New Year's gift the diploma or deed stating that he had been elected an honorary freeman of the city, as he was prevented by his nationality and religious persuasion from ever becoming a free

citizen. This document stated that he had been elected an honorary freeman not only "on account of his services to the monarchy in general, but more especially in recognition of his great and praiseworthy exertions on behalf of the welfare of the city, by means of his quiet and unobtrusive charity, which had won him universal respect and esteem"

An amusing tale is related of Baron Salomon with reference to a certain Cabby, who it is to be presumed was generally employed by his son,—a great patronizer of cabs, and a very liberal man with his money. It was nothing unusual for him to give the drivers four or five times the amount of their legal fare. On one occasion Baron Salomon after alighting paid the man the legal fare, not a penny more nor less. The Jehu regarded the coin in his open palm with a significant glance, which caused the Baron to inquire whether it was not correct. "Quite correct, and I am much obliged; but your son would have given me three, four, or six times as much." "Indeed, would ho? Well, he has a rich father. I have not."

As we have already mentioned, the Vienna house issued, now alone, now in conjunction with other firms, several loans on behalf of the Austrian Government. The first of these loans was that of 1820 for twenty million eight hundred thousand guldens, undertaken by the Rothschilds and David Parisch in Vienna. This was issued in tickets of one hundred guldens each, bearing premiums, and was paid off in the regular course of time by the end of 1840, by means of yearly drawings. The success of this loan was due mainly to the great inducement held out to the public in the shape of the large prizes to be won.

The same two firms contracted for the second loan of 1821, amounting to thirty-seven and a half millions, in bonds of 250 guldens, and redeemed by means of fourteen drawings by the end of 1841.

At the close of 1823, Austria opened a loan of twenty-five million guldens with Rothschild, Baring Brothers and Irving and Co., in London. This loan was required to provide the payment of the subsidies of two and a half millions sterling due to England for her defence of Belgium.

Again, on the 1st December, 1829, a loan of twenty-five millions, required to pay off treasury bills, was concluded with Rothschild, Geymüller and Co., Arnstein and Eskeles, and Sina. In 1834 a further loan of twenty-five millions was issued by these four allied firms, and was followed in 1839 by one of thirty millions. Both these loans were issued on far more favourable terms to the Government than had been the case on previous occasions, the interest payable on the first being five, and on the second four per cent.

In 1842 Austria was again forced to seek the assistance of Rothschild and his colleagues, the result being a loan of forty million guldens, on which the contracting bankers are estimated to have made four millions clear profit.

After the death of Baron Salomon, the business passed into the hands of his son Baron Anselm von Rothschild, who retained the direction until his death in 1879, when his three sons Ferdinand, Nathan, and Salomon Albert, succeeded him. The two first-named have never taken any active share in its control, preferring to leave the helm wholly and solely in the hands of their youngest brother, Salomon Albert. They were not anxious to face the worry and responsibility attaching to the management of the firm. Quito satisfied with the possession of a handsome fortune, they, like wise men, determined to rest content with what they

CHAPTER IX.

BARON JAMES DE ROTHSCHILD.

THE PARIS FIRM.

RANCE for nearly seventy years possessed no permanent form of government; each successive government was of a temporary and provisional charac-

ter. After the fall of the monarchy attempts of various kinds were made in the way of forming a representative government, and following one upon the other in rapid succession came the Legislative Assembly with an interim government, the Convention with the Reign of Terror, the Directory, the 18th Brumaire with the Three Consuls, Buonaparte and his Consulate, Napoleon I. and the Empire, the first restoration of the Bourbons under Louis XVIII., Napoleon's one hundred days, the second restoration under Charles X., the July

dynasty of the Orleans with its immutable ideas, its fall through the revolution of February, the Republic, the Presidency of Louis Napoleon, Napoleon III., Emperor. Such is the list of the many forms of government to which France has been subjected, varying from the most unbridled despotism to the most extreme licentiousness.

vassals and allies who trembled beneath his sway. In Sweden the succession to the throne had been conferred on a French marshal; Prussia was exhausted; Austria appeared fettered by family ties; only two European Powers withstood and defied the power of France—Russia and England.

Emperor's household, so that to the 621 millions we have really to add another 23 millions, to which we must still add the expenses of the Departments, 79 millions; the cost of maintaining the roads, 15; the expense of collecting, 80; the secret police, 5; so that the total expenditure for a peace year may be put down at 823 million francs, or about 376 millions more than under the monarchy. Year by year the budget grew, being estimated in 1809 and 1810 at 740 millions, whilst in the following year it was reckoned at 954 millions. The preparations for the campaign against Russia—the most gigantic military expedition of modern times—swallowed up million after million.

"Napoleon had collected the most powerful army the world ever saw; from all parts of the Continent had he summoned his forces for the struggle; every variety of blood, of complexion, of language, of dress and arms, were to be found in its ranks. The auxiliaries from whole provinces were led through kingdoms that respected his arms; the artillery of entire fortresses ploughed across the fields; cattle from a thousand hills were collected for the support of myriads who spread themselves like a plague across the plains of castern Europe, where blood

time longer in his hand; his army was scattered to the winds; his opponents no longer bowed beneath his superior nature, for they discovered that he, like themselves, could be conquered, and they in their turn became bold. Such was the great captain, and such the destiny into which he plunged.

"A mighty genius of the first rank; one of the greatest masters in the art of war, he occupies a place among the generals of the highest class. His genius, however, was not confined to war. In the circumstances of government he showed himself equally sharp—as quick in deciding his procedure in politics as in the field. But with all these qualities he was a conqueror, he was a tyrant.

"In order to appease his thirst for power, in order to satisfy his ambition for empire—an ambition no conquest could still—he trod freedom beneath his feet. He enveloped the world in flames, which the blood of millions was unable to extinguish. Honesty, truth, pity, and sense of duty were cast aside by him, who pursued a single and selfish policy. Enghien's death, Wright's horrible sufferings, Pichegru's mysterious death, Palm's punishment, Toussaint's martyrdom, are all blots on his fame."

Equally characteristic is the opinion of Lord Brougham concerning him:—"He sacrificed to his ambition three milliards in money as the acknowledged cost of the wars of 1802-1814 to France alone, and five-sixths of three million men, who were called out for active service."

Following upon his memorable campaign against Russia and his disastrous retreat came his dethronement and banishment to Elba, whence he issued to try his fortune once more against the whole of Europe. The sequel to this attempt is too well known to need repetition, leading as it did to his final overthrow, and to the restoration of Bourbon rule in France, with a constitutional government, under Louis XVIII.

When the Chambers met for the first time after the restoration, Montesquieu laid before them a report of the condition of the country, describing in very striking language the evils arising from the imperial form of government. Still more gloomy was the picture painted by the Minister of Finance of the State's finances and requirements. The arrears amounted to more than 1,308 millions, which, however, were afterwards reduced to 759. The funded debt amounted to only 93 millions. To

provide means to discharge these liabilities, it was decided to sell the domain forests and common lands. The abnormal and provisional budget of 1814, and the normal budget of 1815, estimating the receipts at 618 million francs, and the expenditure at 547 millions, were passed on the 23rd September, 1814; the civil list of 33 millions, and an additional vote of 30 millions for the debts incurred by the Bourbons abroad since their expulsion, were likewise voted

Then came Napoleon's sensational return, with his brief enjoyment of power, cut short by the efforts of the allied forces. Nearly a million foreign troops entered the French territory, and demanded an indemnity of 100 million francs at the expiration of the one hundred days. The budget for 1816 estimated the ordinary expenditure at 548 millions, and the extraordinary expenditure at 290 millions, in addition to that for the Consolidated Fund of 125,500,000 francs. Taken all in all, the expenditure amounted to 1,069,261,826 francs as given in the law of the 25th March, 1817. The indemnity of a milliard francs claimed by the emigrants, and the war indemnity of 700 millions claimed by the Allied Powers, were enormous items

in the State accounts, in addition to the cost of maintaining the foreign army of occupation for five years.

ceeded Goudchaux as Finance Minister. One of his first proceedings, after his accession to office, was to sell the forests belonging to the old civil list. He decreed a voluntary loan, but, as the coffers remained empty, he had recourse to the most pitiable of all financial measures: he laid an additional 45 centimes on the four instalments of the direct taxes, a measure which severely hit the already heavily-burdened peasants and the small landowners. The expenditure amounted to 1,700 million francs, and the State debts, which had increased by nearly a million in seven years, to 5 milliards 170 millions. The additional tax brought in 150 millions, whilst the Bank advanced 230 millions upon the State forests. By these means the State was saved from bankruptcy.

Under the Presidency of the Republic, which ere long was converted into the Empire, the indebtedness of the State continued to increase steadily. The war with Russia required one sacrifice after the other. In April, 1856, the State expenditure, the revenues and the State debts were estimated by the Minister of Finance to be as follows:—

"The regular expenditure amounts to 1,598 million francs. The first portion of this consists of

The fortunes amassed by individuals—bankers and financiers, more particularly—resident in France, or rather in Paris, cannot be described nor estimated. In June, 1848, when the proposed decree for the conversion of the floating debt into a consolidated debt was brought before the National Assembly, a Paris paper, published under the title of "The Organization of Labour," gave the follow-

"Involuntarily," wrote the "Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung," "one is forced to ask the question how it was that the house of Rothschild managed to maintain its distinguished position undisturbed throughout the manifold changes of government in France? The explanation is easy," continued the writer: "the house belonged to no political party; the Rothschilds are the friends of the kingdom, of law and of peace, and as such could maintain their preponderating influence equally as well under the heterogeneous ministries of a Decazes, Villèle, Martignac, or Polignac, as under the government of Louis Philippe."

fluence enjoyed by the firm, by stating that the immediate effect on the French Rentes was that they rose to 90 frs. 25 cent.

conditions to be made with the Minister, on which they would provide the cash required for the redemption of the old Five per Cent. bonds. Their plan was to sell the new Three per Cent. stock, as soon as created, at the price of eighty. At this price purchasers would receive 3½ per cent. interest on their money, and if the paid off debt could only be replaced by bonds of the Three per Cent. stock purchased at 80, it necessarily followed that the Five per Cent. stock, before the proposed conversion, would be relatively worth 106.66, in order to yield a corresponding rate of interest.

Operations based on this calculation were accordingly made on the three markets. The capital required in Paris for the conversion was estimated at 1,000 millions. The speculators, thinking that the contractors would not put the new Three per Cent. stock into circulation under 80, bought in Amsterdam and Frankfort at 81—83\frac{1}{3}, whilst at the same time immense sales of the French Five per Cent. debt at the relative price of 106.67 to 110 were effected. Higher prices than these could not be obtained.

Villèle's project in order to become law required the sanction of the two Chambers. After a very stormy debate, it passed the Chamber of Deputies by a Ministerial majority of 68. In the Chamber of Peers it encountered a vigorous opposition, secretly promoted by the Viscount de Chateaubriand, who harboured a private grudge against Villèle. By a majority of 12 votes the proposal was rejected. The Five per Cents., which the day before were quoted at 106, fell at once to 98, and an extraordinary excitement ruled on the stock markets. Chateaubriand resigned, and the day following at the opening of the market the Five per Cent. Rentes were dealt in at 104; then they receded again to 98, and remained for some time stationary.

The rejection of the Finance Minister's scheme was a severe blow to speculators, who had operated freely in the anticipation of the conversion being accepted. Those who had bought largely for the settlement were compelled to sell out again at a loss. Baring and Laffitto were severely hit; the Rothschilds, however, emerged from the fray uninjured, owing to their having confined their operations to selling simultaneously large amounts of the new Three per Cents. and of the old Five per Cents. As the Three per Cent. debt was not to be created, none of this stock could be delivered, whilst

the Five per Cent. stock, which they had sold at 104 or more, could be bought in again at 98.

him as to the real state of affairs. The possibility of the Ministerial decrees being issued had already become a subject of discussion on the Stock Exchange, but no one could speak with any certainty on the matter. When the Baron returned from his interview with the Prime Minister, he made no secret of the fact that the latter had given him his word of honour that the decrees were nothing but an empty scheme which had never been seriously considered, and which would now remain a dream. The next day it became known that they had been signed by Charles X. after mass, and the following day they appeared in print in the columns of the "Moniteur."

The immediate effect of their publication was that the house of Rothschild and its partners in the transactions found themselves saddled with the whole loan of 78,373,750 francs, which fell to a discount of 20 or 30 per cent. For a long time afterwards this stock remained in such bad odour that buyers were difficult to find. The business, however, was far more prejudicial to Rothschild's partners than to Baron James himself, as the bulk of the stock had already been taken off his hands. He was severely reproached at the time for the part he had borne in

the business, as it was generally held that he had abandoned his friends and left them helpless; still it must not be forgotten that till the time of the July revolution he had always shared his enormous gains with his partners. That event came quite unawares upon them, and at once changed what had promised to be a most profitable undertaking into a most costly and ruinous one.

Ouvrard had at a stroke won an immense sum, which his broker Amet set down at 2 million francs. As soon as he had carried out his successful combination, he returned from London to Paris and commenced operations. They were all calculated for the fall. As the Rente, even after Casimir Périer joined the Ministry, fell to 52, and in February, 1831, to 48, some slight estimate may be formed of the extraordinary profits Ouvrard must have realized.

It was mainly by the influence of the house of Rothschild that the fall of M. Thiers in 1840 was brought about. Whether right or wrong, Thiers thought he was acting as beseemed a Frenchman, whose only object was to uphold the honour of his country. This consideration, however, never troubled the Rothschilds; for they supported no

wonder of Europe. Seeing the facility with which at a stroke fortunes may be won on the Stock Exchange, it is not surprising that speculation should have a strange fascination over the public, nor that the Stock Exchange should become a training school for the development of every kind of trickery and deceit, the centre of genuine business, and of endless swindling.

and in the power of the divining rod. The infatuated and ignorant belief that many had in the boasted powers of the alchymists and astrologers was owing to the latter taking advantage of the cupidity of their dupes, who, in the anticipation of becoming suddenly rich, were ready and willing to place implicit reliance in their mysterious advisers. But the philosopher's stone and all such trash are now discarded, and instead of it we have speculation, stock-jobbing, gambling and swindling; all being different modes of attaining the same object,—the acquisition of wealth with the least possible trouble or exertion.

Real gain is that which arises from industry backed up by capital and credit, the latter of which is proportionate to the industry and capital combined. In many countries credit is the basis of all business, which is facilitated and developed by its means. According to the estimate entertained of the credit and character of the individual, the credit of a State is formed; this in earlier times was so slight that oppressive measures had to be resorted to in urgent cases to procure the necessary funds to meet the State's requirements. For the same purpose recourse was often had to the reduction of the interest

The usual mode of conducting speculation on the Stock Exchange is by means of "time-bargains," i.e., bargains which are not settled before a certain

The want of principle and the readiness of speculators to attain their ends at all hazards, is shown by the many artifices they employ to effect a reaction on the market. It often happens that the market, contrary to their sanguine expectations, makes a movement which if maintained is sure to

BARON JAMES VON ROTHSCHILD.

The year 1847 was a most evil year both for

During the following months the prices of the Government stocks rose in a strange fashion, despite the well-known scarcity of money prevailing at the time. Chance and an unlooked-for succession of various causes, rather than the powerful manipulation of the Rothschilds, brought about this unusual phenomenon. Extensive dealings had taken place in the Three per Cent. Rentes, and it

in the new loan first took place at 76 francs 50, then the price sank I franc, or 75 cents., about the price at which Baron James contracted for the loan in November, 1847, namely, 75 francs. Baron James had scored another victory over the whole financial world in Paris. Directly he undertook the loan he issued a circular calling upon all subscribers to pay an immediate instalment of 5 francs upon every 100 allotted to them, failing which their applications would be disregarded. Speculation had been so rife that Baron James may have decided upon this measure from mistrust of the subscribers' ability to fulfil their obligations; or his object may have been to increase the firmness of the new loan on the market.

While Louis Philippe occupied the throne, money was supreme; riches alone ruled in the land which was credited with possessing—thanks to the system of so-called popular representation bestowed upon it—all the blessings and advantages supposed to attend a constitutional monarchy. In the Chamber of Peers the interests and aims of every class had representatives, the second Chamber, elected under a high census, being the reflection of the rich bourgeoisie. Such an Assembly of representatives was,

that took place. So far had many persons gone that the Government were forced to disown them and their practices. Like shipwrecked mariners, the Government consulted their own safety by sacrificing their weaker comrades, and prosecuted numbers who had high rank, and were at the same time friends or relations of the King; such persons, for instance, were Teste, formerly in the Ministry, and Cubières, an old Court favourite, both of whom had either made away with the State moneys or had allowed themselves to be bribed; lastly came Praslin, an old friend of the King.

The monopoly of the State loans which the house of Rothschild had in the course of time secured to itself, and which afforded strong evidence of the immense financial power at its command, has, in consequence of the new principles of finance by which the Government has been guided since 1848, come to an end. At one time it would have been thought a piece of madness to oppose or compete with the Rothschilds in their operations, but now, owing to the powerful and active coalitions formed among many of the leading banking and financial houses, the power and influence of the Rothschilds have received a severe check. They are no longer

In addition to the Government business, as we may call it, Baron James engaged in many com-

mercial and industrial undertakings. To him France is in a great measure indebted for the construction of most of her principal railroads. He may indeed be called the "Railway King" of France, as Hudson was the "Railway King" of England. To quote the "Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung" once more:

"When during the last few years the speculative mania turned towards industrial enterprises, and railways became a necessity on the Continent, the Rothschilds took the initiative and placed 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 impulse to enterprise of this description by building the magnificent Northern Railway."

The greatest of Baron James's railway undertakings was perhaps the construction of the Northern Railway of France, which was attended by so many scandals and productive of such widespread speculation that some description of it may not be out of place. In order to secure the country all the benefits supposed to result from unlimited competition, a law had been passed by which it was decreed that the construction of railways in France was not to be effected by granting concessions to particular per-

Stieglitz in St Petersburg, succeeded, in spite of all the frantic efforts and the immense and varied influence brought into play by Baron James, in gaining a concession for the construction, during a period of eighty-five years, of a network of railways throughout the Russian empire. This enterprise is certainly one of the greatest and most lucrative of the present century.

That Baron James was not successful, in spite of his most careful calculations and circumspection, in all his enterprises, the reader knows. Unforeseen circumstances will crop up at times to mar the best-laid plans, and the Baron, like others, was not exempt from Fortune's freaks. Great as his winnings were, his losses were on a correspondingly large scale whenever his usual luck deserted him; the amounts he lost at a single stroke were indeed so enormous that they can scarcely be credited. One of his heaviest losses was undoubtedly that caused by the frauds of Carpentier, the accountant or cashier of the North of France Railway. The particulars of this gigantic robbery, without a parallel in the history of crime, were published in one of the papers, and were as follows:—

"The mystery surrounding the theft from the Northern Railway is by degrees being cleared up. The directors try to furnish as few details as possible regarding this event, which does poor credit to their prudence and watchfulness. They at first desired to give no publicity at all to it; the Paris press had been won over, but, as the foreign journals would not allow the occurrence to be buried in silence, the Northern Railway was forced to step forward with its explanation, in which the losses were set down at six million francs. This

The immense services rendered by Baron James de Rothschild to the State were recognized and rewarded by the Government, who showered upon him titles and decorations of every description. During the reign of Louis XVIII., when the proud aristocracy had its own way in everything, the

on one occasion was Prince Paul of Würtemberg, who had honoured him by accepting an invitation for dinner, during which Baron James persisted in disregarding all etiquette and in addressing the Prince in a most annoyingly familiar tone. At first the Prince treated his host's conduct with contemptuous silence, but, as that proved insufficient, he at last rose from the table and left.

A Conservative deputy met Baron James at the Opera, and inquired how he was. "Not so bad." "And the Baroness?" "What concern is that of yours?" replied the Baron, turning his back roughly on the speaker.

Those who suffered most from this objectionable practice of Baron James were artists, journalists, and others, who, being indebted to him for his patronage, hardly felt bold enough to rebuke his unmannerly behaviour. Jadin was painting some frescoes in the dining-room belonging to Baron Salomon de Rothschild, when Baron James entered and caught him accompanying himself in his work by singing and whistling different airs.

"Holloa! you workman with the decoration, come down a bit; I want to speak to you."

Jadin gave no reply, shrugged his shoulders to show his indifference, and continued his singing.

By a process little known at that time, but common enough now, Paquet succeeded in obtaining three magnificent peaches in the month of January. All interested in horticulture hastened to inspect such a marvellous proof of his skill, and among the visitors was Baron James. The following conver-

sation then took place between the great gardener and the great millionaire. The story reads so much better in French, that we may be excused for printing it in that language:—

• "Fraiment, Monsieur le chartinier," dit-il, "vos bêches sont atmiraples. Gombien en voulez-vous?"
  • "Quinze cents francs, Monsieur le Baron."
  • "Bar exemble!"
• "C'est tout au juste," dit Paquet. "Je ne voudrais pas vous surfaire."
• "Drois bêches, quinze cents vrancs, Mein Gott! Et drois bêches qui beut-être ne falent rien."
• "Oh! pour cela, je vous arrête," dit l'horticulteur piqué. "Vous allez avoir immédiatement la preuve du contraire."

He at once plucked one of the peaches, cut it in two, and offered one half to the Baron, whilst he ate the other himself.

• "Qu'en dites-vous, Monsieur le Baron? Vous êtes connaisseur; je m'en rapporte à la finesse de votre palais."
• "Drès-ponne! Télicieuse!" dit Rothschild croquant la pêche.
• "Oui, c'est de la meilleure espèce. Chair ferme, saveur exquise. En plein air, cette espèce-là ne mûrit qu'au commencement de Septembre."

"Foyons, Monsieur le chartinier, ce n'est bas fotre ternier brix?"

"Pardonnez-moi. Quinze cents francs, comme i'ai eu l'honneur de vous le dire."

"Eh," s'écria le juif, "blaisantez-vous? Il y a une bêche te moins!"

"N'importe, c'est toujours quinze cents francs pour vous, Monsieur le Baron. Ce sont là des fruits de millionaire; je n'en rabattrai pas un centime."

Rothschild finally bought the peaches, when the meaning of the gardener's conduct became clear to him.

The well-known anecdote of Vernet the painter did not end so pleasantly for the Baron. When he called and inquired how much the painter would charge to execute his portrait, he was told—

"For you, Monsieur le Baron, it will be four thousand francs."

"The devil! It will cost you only two or three hasty strokes from your brush. Come, now, that strikes me as being rather dear."

"Ah, you deal in the arts, do you?" exclaimed the artist, with a shrug of his shoulders. "Ah, well, it will be four thousand francs, not a centime less." And, when Rothschild manifested his surprise, the painter continued: "If you add another word it will be three times the sum. Am I to paint it or not?"

Baron James hastened to quit the studio, apparently alarmed at being in company with one who was, he believed, perfectly mad.

"Wait a moment!" cried the artist after him, "I will do your portrait for nothing."

And he kept his word. In his picture called "La Smala" can be seen a hideous-looking Jew, running away with a casket of jewels and money, his face expressive of the most sordid avarice and ill-concealed fright. That portrait is a gross caricature of Baron James de Rothschild.

However illiberal he was in matters of business, Baron James could display bounteous liberality on occasions when his business instincts were not touched. But even his immense and well-known beneficence was misconstrued and attributed to interested motives, owing to the belief that a man could not be so lavish in his gifts who was known to be so close in his every-day conduct. For many years the greatest suspicion and disbelief of the purely disinterested nature of the Baron's charity prevailed among the public, and this opinion was fostered and encouraged by the vile calumnies

"SIR

"Allow me to place at your disposal the sum of thirty thousand francs. This little capital will enable you to start some business in the hard land of exile. You may return it to me in ten, twenty, or any number of years you please. It is a feeble testimony of my gratitude for the great services you have rendered the country.

"I am, &c. &c.,
"Rothschup."

Even this display of gratitude was reported to be owing to prudential and selfish motives, for it is asserted the Baron said: "The devil is never conquered; who knows but that he may return?" It is, however, satisfactory to learn that these thirty thousand francs paved the way to Caussidière's fortune, as he started a wine and brandy business, which eventually proved very lucrative.

If all the stories related of him be true, Baron James displayed remarkable skill in being charitable at the expense of others. He was frequently reproached with his disregard of, and want of sympathy with, his co-religionists in misfortune, and it was suggested to him that he might at least give them the benefit of some Stock Exchange operation. The hint was taken: a

manœuvre was carried out one fine morning to effect a rise in the market and was followed almost immediately by a fall which enabled the Baron to make a profit of 850,000 francs, which sum he devoted to the construction of the Jewish Home in the Rue Picpus.

Heine, in referring to his friend and patron, thus

recognized the political abilities of Louis Philippe, and was always on confidential terms with that great master of the arts of diplomacy."

Baron James de Rothschild died on the 15th November, 1868.

contributed to the re-establishment of her fallen fortunes. How long this will continue we cannot say, as she seems ordained to suffer from internal troubles at certain intervals.

CHAPTER X.

ROTHSCHILDIANA.

N the foregoing pages we have endeavoured to present the reader with a clear insight into the characters of the heads of the different firms by means

of a number of anecdotes which are both more effective and more entertaining than mere description. The anecdotes already given we have good reason to consider authentic, but there are many others which are undoubtedly the creation of lively imaginations, and have little foundation in fact. The Rothschilds have so long held a prominent place in public affairs, their sayings and doings have been so closely watched and reported, that it is not surprising to find that innumerable tales have been published about them. A large number of the anecdotes are, as we have stated, quite unreliable,

still there are some so highly characteristic, that it is difficult to believe them entirely devoid of truth. This state of things was somewhat embarrassing. We were at first inclined to omit all anecdotes about the authenticity of which we did not feel confident, but, as their perusal is pretty sure to afford some amusement, we have, on second thoughts, deemed it our duty to bring them together in a separate chapter, without pledging ourselves in any way for their truthfulness. With this reservation we submit the following stories to our readers, who can decide whether we were justified or not in our course of procedure.

Baron Anselm von Rothschild on one occasion lost a ring which he prized very highly, not on account of its intrinsic value, but because it had been given him by the Emperor of Austria in recognition of the valuable services rendered by the family to the imperial monarchy. The Baron offered a reward of three hundred and fifty florins a year to the person who should restore the cherished ring. The daughter of a humble publican proved to be the lucky individual. She presented herself with great humility at the residence of the wealthy financier, who recognized the article

Dr Busch, the biographer of Prince Bismarck, records, in his well-known work "Our Chancellor," an amusing anecdote of Baron Anselm, which deserves reproduction in these pages. He says:—
"At dinner, at which were Marshal of the House-

his dinner, doubtless, was better than mine.—Old Metternich, who, by the way, was very kind to me, told me that once when he had been visiting Rothschild, the Baron gave him some luncheon to eat on the way back to Johannisberg. With the luncheon were packed six bottles of Johannisberg wine. When Johannisberg (Metternich's estate) was reached, these bottles were taken out unopened. The Prince then sent for his wine steward and inquired how much that wine cost him a bottle. 'Twelve guldens,' was the answer. 'Well, take these bottles, and the next order you get from Baron Rothschild, send them back to him, but charge him fifteen guldens, for they will then be older.'"

Dining on one occasion with Baron James de Rothschild of Paris, Eugène Delacroix kept his eyes turned upon his host in so marked a manner that when the company rose to leave the diningroom Baron James could not help asking his guest what it was that so attracted his attention. The painter confessed that for some time past he had vainly sought a head to serve as a model for that of a beggar he intended to hold a prominent position in a painting on which he was then engaged, and that, as he gazed at his host's features, the idea

In answer to inquiries made, Delacroix stated that the young man possessed great talent but no means; that he had, in fact, to earn his livelihood by giving lessons in painting and drawing. Shortly afterwards the young fellow received a letter stating that charity bears interest, and that the accumulated interest on the amount he had so generously given to one whom he supposed to be a beggar was represented by the sum of 10,000 francs, which were lying at his disposal at the office in the Rue Laffitte.

Amongst the endless number of rich and handsome articles Baron James had diligently collected, his guests seldom failed to be struck with admiration by a magnificent porcelain service, of singular beauty and design, and remarkable for the superb paintings which adorned its exterior. The history attached to the acquisition of this service is as singular as its beauty. One day an old man, feeble, decrepit, and to all appearance on the verge of the grave, solicited an interview with the Baron. At the very outset the old man's careworn looks and destitute condition awoke the latter's lively sympathy, and this sympathy was strengthened on learning that his visitor was a co-religionist. The old man produced from a bag a plate of such exqui-

site design and finish, that Baron James, with the instinctive envy of a virtuoso, felt he must at any cost become the owner of such an artistic treasure. After stating he was in a most destitute condition, the visitor proceeded to say that want had compelled him to part with many articles which he had regarded as heirlooms. The plate, he declared, belonged to a service which he had reserved to the last, hoping against hope that necessity would never compel him to part with it, but alas! the time had come when the claims of his starving family could be stopped only by relinquishing possession of this, the last resource against famine.

"I come to offer this service to you, M. le Baron, thinking that so beautiful a work of art can find a fitting resting-place only in the midst of your well-known collection. Will you buy it?"

"It is indeed beautiful; what do you ask for it?"

"Look you, sir," said his visitor, "I am now an old man, bowed down with years, and have not long to live. I am poor, but I wish if possible to end the few remaining years of my life as comfortably as I can. Will you, in exchange for this valuable porcelain service, give me an allowance for life of one hundred francs a month? It is a trifle to you, and I am so old!"

The Baron reflected a moment, examined the plate afresh, and at length answered: "Well, be it so; here is the first payment; send me the service, and leave me your name and address, that the money may be sent to you regularly."

The porcelain service was duly delivered. A month later, as the Baron was sitting in his office, a man entered, and claimed payment of the allowance then due. The new-comer was young, stoutly made, of a vigorous constitution, and likely to live for another fifty years.

• "But you are not the man to whom I promised the allowance!" said the Baron.
  • "Excuse me, I am indeed the man."
  • "But he was at least eighty years of age."
  • "You are mistaken, I am but thirty."
• "But your aged appearance and careworn looks were certainly unmistakable."
• "Thanks to your great generosity, my recovery has been rapid and surprising."

The Baron smiled at the remark, and gave orders for the payment of the money, exclaiming as he did so:—

"Ah! you are an excellent comedian, and have taken me in completely."

"You flatter me; I am probably the first who has done so," answered the Jew, politely bowing to the millionaire.

Strange as were the circumstances and terms on which the service was bought, Baron James had little reason to repent of his bargain.

caught sight among the rubbish of an article which struck him as worth inspection. It proved to be an antique barometer of the time of Louis XVI. It bore no trace of its original gilding, although the carving was still in a perfect state of preservation. Being a good judge of such things, and an ardent collector, the Baron determined to buy it. The price asked was ten francs, and the Baron congratulated himself on having secured so great a bargain. On putting his hand into his pocket, he discovered that in his hurry he had forgotten to bring his purse with him. It was a day of accidents.

"Well, it does not matter; I will take the barometer at all events," he said to the shopkeeper. "Send it up to my hôtel; I am Baron Rothschild; you will receive the money when you deliver the barometer."

"I do not know either your name or address, sir, nor do I ever send things out that are not previously paid for."

This was a startling rebuff for Baron Rothschild. It was a perfectly novel experience to meet with anyone ignorant of his great name. Being, however, in a good humour and regarding it as part of the day's adventure, he was only the more amused.

He was about to explain who and what he was, when he happened to notice a porter passing on the opposite side of the road. Beckoning to the man, he asked him: "Have you ever heard of Baron Rothschild?"

"Well, that is a queer question! Heard of Baron Rothschild? Of course I have; but why do you inquire?" said the man, somewhat crossly, as if he suspected his interlocutor was jesting.

"Because madame here has just refused to trust him for ten francs," was the reply.

"Is that really true, Madame Duclos?" said the porter, in great astonishment.

"Yes, to be sure, Monsieur Pierre; one cannot know everybody," answered the shopwoman with a shrug, "but I know you, and if you will become guarantee ———"

At these words the Baron interrupted the woman with such a hearty burst of laughter that it was some minutes before he could recover himself.

"Well, Monsieur Pierro," he said, still laughing, if you will kindly become surety for me, will you go and call a cab, and then we can take the barometer home."

The porter required no second bidding; he

hastened off and soon returned with the cab. They then drove to the Baron's house, where the porter received a handsome reward for his exertions.

Consols, at the time of which we are writing, were quoted at about 96. A few months later symptoms of a panic set in, and the unfavourable

of his first effort, he tried to repeat his attack two years later, and even on a larger scale. Rothschild, however, had his eyes about him, and, divining his rival's plans, laid a trap into which that rival fell. The result was that Mr H—— was utterly ruined. He was declared a defaulter and his name stuck up on the black board of the Stock Exchange. Then, and not till then, was it discovered that the £50,000 stock was not his own, as had been supposed, but his father's

At a charitable sale, held in 1858, at the Hôtel Lambert in Paris, by the Princess Czartariska, in favour of the distressed Poles, an incident took place between Georges Sand and Baron Rothschild. Madame Dudevant (Georges Sand) had a stall on the occasion, and displayed a number of fancy articles for sale. Baron Rothschild happened to pass, and the fair saleswoman addressed him with the usual request to buy something. "What am I to buy?" said the Baron; "you have nothing at all suitable for me. But stay—an idea strikes me. Give me your autograph. Sell me that." Madame Dudevant took a sheet of paper and wrote upon it as follows:—"Received from Baron Roth-

schild the sum of one thousand francs, for the benefit of the distressed Poles.—Georges Sand." Baron Rothschild read it, thanked her, and, handing her a note for the amount named, went away highly gratified.

It is well known that the life-long ambition of all true Americans is to do Europe before they die, and none can vie with them in the thoroughness with which they do do the sights and places of interest they may happen to visit. Their curiosity is insatiable, and is only equalled by their irresistible determination to satisfy it at all costs. No false modesty deters them from questioning strangers. They will accost the first man they meet, if they think he can remove their doubts or add to their knowledge. The following account, written by an American, confirms our statement, and explains itself:—

"When I arrived in England I set myself to work to accomplish the object of my journey—to see all that I could; and in doing so I attracted much attention. I made many acquaintances, and was told by them that I was the best representative of my nation they had ever seen. In curiosity, and a determination to gratify that feeling I think

"'Good morning, sir,' I said, approaching him. He bowed politely, but without speaking.

"'I am a stranger here,' I went on; 'I have been looking over this building, and I would like to ask you for some information concerning it.'

"'I shall be happy to oblige you,' said he,

politely. He was very kind in telling me much that was of interest. At last I said, abruptly,

• "'I suppose you have seen Rothschild, sir?'
• "' Which one?' he asked.
• "' The old cock,' I replied.
• "'I see the old cock every day,' he answered, giving me a strange glance.
• "'By George,' I went on, 'I should like to have a look at him! People say he is a gay old chap, and lives high. I wish I had him in my power—
  I'd not let him get away until he had shelled out a pile of his money.'
  • "The old gentleman burst out into a laugh.
• "' Baron Rothschild had to work for his money, and deserves to enjoy it,' he said, at length, when he had got over his merriment.
• "'May be so,' I remarked; 'but I reckon he did a heap of squeezing to get it.'
  • "The old man's face flushed.
• "'I never heard the honesty of the house called in question,' he said, stiffly.
• "'Didn't you? Well, to tell you the truth, neither have I. But I wouldn't be surprised if I'm right, after all.' The old man's face grew as black as a thunder-cloud, and he bit his lip without speaking.

"'People tell me,' I continued, not heeding this, for I thought it natural that the old fellow should be annoyed at anything said against his employers, 'people tell me the Rothschilds have made two fortunes. Now, as most people can make only one, I feel somewhat interested to learn the manner in which this was done. Can you tell me, sir?'

"The old man's face brightened instantly, and he replied, smilingly, with more politeness than he had as yet manifested:—

"'Certainly, sir. People do say the house of Rothschilds made one fortune by being careful to mind their own business, and the other by letting that of others alone. Good morning, sir.'

"With an elegant bow he turned and left most aring at him in blank amazement. I began to smell a rat, and I looked for someone of whom to ask the old gentleman's name. He had stopped at the upper end of the building, and was giving some directions to a workman. I saw a handsome man of about thirty standing a short distance off. He, too, was looking at the building. I liked his face and went up to him.

"'Excuse me for troubling you, sir,' I said, 'but I am a stranger in this country, and would like to ask you a question.'

• "'I shall be happy to give you any information in my power,' he said, politely.
• "'Then can you tell me the name of that old gentleman,' I asked, pointing to my sarcastic acquaintance.
• "'Certainly,' he replied. 'That is Baron Rothschild, the head of the house of that name.'
• "'Whew!' I exclaimed in astonishment, 'I've got myself into a scrape then.'
• "'What is the matter?' asked my friend, curiously.
• "I told him what had occurred between the Baron and myself. He laughed heartily, and remarked pleasantly when I had concluded:
  • "That was awkward."
• "'He's a crusty old chap,' I said, considerably vexed; 'he's as cross as a bear.'

• "'Oh, that's only his way,' replied my companion.

  'He is a good, kind-hearted man, but is rather eccentric.'

  • "'I should say so,' I replied.
• "The gentleman asked me a great many questions concerning America, and seemed interested and amused by my answers.
• "'Do you know Baron Rothschild?' I inquired, at length.

"'I have met him several times,' was the reply, and I have an appointment to wait upon him to-day.'

"'Then I wish you'd say to him,' I went on, 'that I did not know to whom I was talking this morning, or I would not have said so much; and that he need not have been so huffish about it.'

"I will do so,' said my acquaintance, laughing.
You must not mind him. He was a little nettled at it, but will be the first to laugh at the adventure when he recovers his good humour. Good morning.'

"With a bow and a pleasant smile he left me. Just then a workman passed by. I stopped him and asked if he could tell me the name of the gentleman who had just left me.

"'That was one of the younger Rothschilds,' ho said, 'and---'

"I waited to hear no more, but, pulling my hat down over my eyes, set off at once for my lodgings. I was absolutely afraid to speak to a stranger for a week, for fear he might be a Rothschild."

CHISWICK PRESS: —C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO. TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE.