CAPÍTULO 14.

 

            WHEN James Maynard called next morning, Lord Littmass received him with his usual manner, a manner whose predominant quality was of the kind that equally gratifies the subservient, and disgusts the independent of spirit, and goes by the name of affability.’ It was the nearest approach to cordiality which Lord Littmass ever permitted himself to practise in his intercourse with men. His maxim was ever to be proud with men, and humble with women. To the constant observance of this rule he owed much of his success in society. It was not, as might at first sight appear, that he really despised men and honoured women. Rather, in his secret thought, were men beings to be feared, and women beings to be cajoled. His hauteur with men was a screen which he interposed between himself and a too scrutinising analysis. His humility with women, was, if a compliment at all, a compliment to their love of conquest. ‘Infallible as regarding their female sex,’ was the article on them in his creed. ‘You may take,’ he had said, ‘the twelve cleverest men that ever lived, and cast them into one man, and the twelve stupidest women and cast them into one woman, and that woman will take in that man.’ Lord Littmass’s affability, however, was lost upon Maynard, who looked upon it as an unpleasant habit, but one that concerned only the person who used it, and he ignored it accordingly.

 

            After a few expressions of condescending interest in his recent visit to South America, and a few questions about the political and social condition of Brazil, and its eligibility for investments,

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Lord Littmass, who did not fail to observe that James seemed preoccupied and less at his ease than usual, took advantage of mention being made of mines, to ask him if he could easily qualify himself for undertaking a charge in respect of a certain mining company in which he was a proprietor, and if he would like to accept the commission in case it could be obtained for him.

 

            ‘Where is it situated?’ asked Maynard.

 

            ‘In Mexico.’

 

            ‘Would it suffice to replace my fellowship in case – in case circumstances prevent my retaining it?’

 

            ‘In case you wish to marry, for instance?’

 

            ‘In case I wish to be free to remain a layman after its present term has expired, or in any other contingency.’

 

            ‘Situations of trust connected with mines are always well paid,’ replied Lord Littmass. ‘But a Mexican Real is hardly the place to take an English gentlewoman to. Am I taking too great a liberty in asking if you have met any one in the Brazils who has tempted you into rebellion against the restrictions imposed by your fellowship?’

 

            ‘Oh, dear no,’ returned James, forcing a laugh; ‘I at present aim only at being free. Other holders of fellowships marry when they succeed to college-livings. I feel debarred from this resource, and desire to place myself in an equally good position.’

 

            ‘Such cautiousness and precision are quite a new phase in his character,’ thought Lord Littmass. ‘It really looks as if he has a secret from me.’ Then he said, kindly, –

 

            ‘You will allow that I have always been ready to aid you in life, and I am sure that you will not withhold your confidence whenever you think I can serve you: so I will not press you for it now. The matter on which I have to speak to you, is this. I and some others have been forming a provisionary partnership with a view to purchase and work some mines represented as very valuable, and lying at some distance to the north of the city of Mexico.’’

 

            ‘Guanaxuato, probably.’

 

            ‘Yes, do you know the locality?’

 

            ‘Only by description.’

 

            Well, the working of these mines has been for several years in abeyance, owing, among other causes, to disagreements in the family of the proprietors. We propose in the first

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instance to dispatch an intelligent and trustworthy agent to inquire into the past history and present condition of the property, in fact, to ascertain its actual value, together with the prospects and probable cost of re-opening it. The enterprise will require a fair knowledge of Spanish, a familiarity with minerals, especially silver ores, and the modes of extraction, a certain amount of engineering knowledge, and a general aptitude for, and shrewdness in, business matters.’

 

            ‘The task is one that would suit me, and I believe that I should also suit it,’ said James; but so far as I understand at present, the engagement does not necessarily involve continued employment, even should my preliminary investigation prove satisfactory.’

 

            ‘You will understand that I do not desire to force myself upon your confidence,’ returned Lord Littmass: but I must observe that you appear to me to be aiming at being placed in a better position than your compeers, when you seek, at the age of seven or eight-and-twenty, a freedom which they rarely attain until forty or fifty. This is only comprehensible to me on the hypothesis that you have not so completely escaped entanglement as you would have me to suppose.’

 

            James was struck by the whimsical turn the interview, of which he expected so much, had taken. He had come fully intending to speak openly to Lord Littmass. And now in proportion as Lord Littmass sought to force his confidence, the more firmly resolved he became to withhold it. So in answer to the last appeal he said, –

 

            ‘My lord, I grant and am grateful for all the kindness I have received from you. You are too conversant with human nature not to be aware that a man’s character or constitution may in its growth pass through various changes, and prompt him to aspire to various ambitions or careers, for which, while detecting the aspiration, he is yet unable to assign the motive. Believe that I am passing through such a process, and humour the impulse if you will; and be assured, that whenever the time comes for me to own such a confidence, I shall deem it at once a duty and a privilege to lay it before you.’

 

            The seriousness and dignity with which he spoke convinced Lord Littmass both that it would be of no use to endeavour by direct questioning to sound him further, and also that his own surmises were founded in fact; for if it were with a stranger that

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James was contemplating marriage there would be no reason for concealment from him.

 

            The conversation was here interrupted by Lord Littmass being called to see a visitor in another room, and James employed the interval of his absence in reviewing his position. He had already resolved to wait until assured that Margaret reciprocated his attachment before giving his confidence to her guardian. But now it occurred to him that he might be acting wrongly in secretly endeavouring to win her affections without affording Lord Littmass an opportunity of declaring himself for or against his proposals. At one moment it seemed to be a duty to give him fair notice, and if Lord Littmass’s objection was founded on no sound reason, he would try and win her in spite of him. And at another moment he thought that as Lord Littmass possessed no real parental authority over either of them, they had a right to arrange their own future for themselves.

 

            It was under this final phase of his reflections that Maynard resolved to seek Margaret and learn his fate from her without taking her guardian into his confidence at all. Whatever might be her decision, the engagement in Mexico, a new element in the complication, would suit either emergency. If favourable, it might enable him to give up his fellowship and marry her. If unfavourable, it might save him from going mad by giving him active occupation at a distance from her. This last resolution was fixed by the reflection that, after all, the engagement might prove but a temporary one, as it would depend very much upon the report he would have to make respecting the property.

 

            He had thus completed to his satisfaction the round of the reflections which crowded upon him, when a message was brought requesting his presence in Lord Littmass’s study. Arrived there he was introduced to the chairman of the embryo company, of which Lord Littmass had spoken.

 

            In addition to being uncle to Edmund Noel, Mr. Tresham was a name and a power in the City. His whole style and deportment indicated his consciousness of this fact. He was a fine man, of considerable and solid dimensions, and far advanced in the interval between middle and old age. His quick restless eye bespoke him a speculator by constitution, but the head that rose above it was of such conformation as to indicate the

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possession of sound and steady judgment. The kindly expression of his face and voice did not prompt the idea that he could on proper occasion exhibit such firmness and decision as really belonged to him. Estimating him at a glance, Maynard was somewhat surprised to find that an ally of Lord Littmass’s could make so favourable an impression upon him.

 

            Mr. Tresham was principally famous for the multitude of shares he held in various adventures in all parts of the world, and his reputation for sagacity and good fortune made him an authority in all speculative enterprises. He was the originator of the present scheme for re-opening the Real de Dolores, a once famous silver mine in the rich mineral district of Guanaxuato; and he had his own reasons for putting what might be a good thing in Lord Littmass’s way. For the same reasons he was disposed to favour the appointment of Lord Littmass’s protégé.

 

            The table was covered with maps of Mexico, and plans of the property, and a variety of documents all in Spanish, which were duly pointed out to Maynard with a view to enabling him to understand exactly what was required of him.

 

            ‘But a practical knowledge of ores and machinery is not what we require in the agent who undertakes this part of the commission,’ observed Mr. Tresham, in answer to some remarks of James’s by which he showed that he was familiar with such matters. We want in the first place rather a diplomat, and a man of legal acumen, to investigate on the spot the accuracy of the statements contained in these documents. The system of falsifying Government returns and forging Government land warrants, has long prevailed, and to such an extent, that the very mine and tract of country represented here may easily have no existence whatever; and, if it exist, there may be no sound title with it. Again, the mine may have been closed on other accounts, than those adduced. Such, again, has been the unsettled state of Mexico for many years, that many a mine has been stopped to escape the forced contributions made by the Government of the day. These exactions however, we are assured, have been almost exclusively confined to native proprietors. The prospect of such ruinous interference being extended to foreign owners will be one subject for investigation. But the main points to be ascertained are the value of the property and the validity of the title. All else, though highly important, is merely collateral. Your labours, if you take the engagement, will commence in the capital, where you will examine the family

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archives in what respects the mine, and the official government returns of which these purport to be an exact copy. The former are accessible on payment of a fee to the family lawyer who holds them in trust, and the latter of course are public property. This part of the mission, as you no doubt perceive, is one requiring some delicacy and tact, as well as an intimate acquaintance with the language. It will afterwards be your duty to proceed to the spot, and by aid of a competent staff to make the requisite examination.’

‘Tell me,’ said Maynard, who had kept his eye on the map a while listening to this speech, ‘have you got the plans of the adjoining estates, especially of those which lie on each side in the direction taken by the vein?’

 

            ‘No; why?’

 

            ‘Because these diagrams do not indicate how near to either limit of the property the lode lies or has been worked; so that we are in the dark as to how far it can be followed without trespassing. For another reason, too, it is necessary to know all about the adjoining lands. This mine having been closed for several years, its neighbours may have sunk down upon a continuation of the vein, and worked it beyond their own boundaries, far into this very property, completely exhausting it.’

 

            Mr. Tresham nodded his satisfaction to Lord Littmass, and said he was delighted to find how well acquainted with the bearings of the case Mr. Maynard was, and that he did not doubt that his introduction to the Board would result in their gladly employing his services. The conversation then turned to the details of the enterprise, the time it would occupy, its cost, and its remuneration.

 

            A suggestion from Lord Littmass that the latter might be safely left to the liberality of the directors, who would decide according to their estimate of the service rendered, was somewhat abruptly negatived by James, who declared that the ‘no cure, no pay’ principle was altogether vicious, and one to which he could by no means assent. Whether he succeeded or not in securing for the Company a valuable property at a cheap rate, his time and brains would equally be expended in their service; and it would be making him a partner in the speculation to allow his remuneration to be dependent upon results. The amount, therefore, should be determined beforehand; with the prospect, possibly, of a bonus in the event of unanticipated difficulty or success.

 

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            ‘Certainly, certainly,’ said Mr. Tresham, you are quite correct in your view, and I augur, from the clear perception which you have of your own position, that you will be abundantly perspicacious where our interests are concerned. We learn in the City, my lord, to distrust talents which fail to benefit their owner. When do you think, sir, that you will be able to start? The season of the year is, I understand, of little consequence on the elevated plateaux of Mexico.’

 

            ‘I do not care for climate,’ said Maynard, ‘and have no personal preparations to delay me.’ And here he paused, for he thought of Margaret, and of the possibility of her going with him; a thought at which his heart beat high. But he at once saw its impossibility, and he felt that he should be only too glad to take her promise with him, and return to claim her in a few months, during which he would confirm her affection and interest by his letters to her. ‘It will not take long,’ he thought, ‘to obtain this, if I am to obtain it at all. And if not, the sooner I am dead, or in Mexico, the better.’

 

            ‘I only want time,’ he resumed, ‘to collect the necessary implements and books for a thorough investigation. For though I am pretty well up in minerals and their treatment, I learnt what I know in South America; and there are always sundry latest improvements and discoveries to be hunted up, which may save expense in assaying or working. Two or three weeks ought to be sufficient for this, and will give me time, too, to work up some of my South American notes while still fresh in my memory. When does the next steamer go?’

 

            ‘One month from the day before yesterday. We shall be quite content if you can start then,’ said Mr. Tresham. ‘It is unnecessary to present you to the whole board of directors. His lordship and I form a sufficient quorum.’

 

            After Maynard had taken his leave Mr. Tresham said to Lord Litmass, –

 

            ‘He seems to be the very man for us; clear, cool, and sharp. Has your lordship known him long?’

 

            ‘From childhood,’ said Lord Littmass, drily; ‘he is straightforward honesty itself, and penetrating as a Spanish Inquisitor where he is interested. The fortunes of a Company could not be in better hands where a bonâ fide business is concerned.’

 

            ‘And the best of it is,’ returned Mr Tresham, ‘that he has not the interest that a professional miner would have to make

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out a good case; for he has no expectation of getting an engagement to work it himself, provided he reports well of it. Ah, my dear lord, I trust you may never know as much of the doings of mining gentry as I do. Their sole object is to have money pass through their hands; and in proportion to the amount spent are their gains. It is nothing to them whence it comes, whether out of the mine, or the proprietor’s pocket. A tunnel here, a shaft there, a drift somewhere else, on the chance of intercepting a vein that may, or may not, be in the neighbourhood. And, would you believe it, we are safer in undertaking a mining enterprise abroad than we should be at home. I had a narrow escape early in my speculating days. I was nearly induced by a clever Welsh lawyer to purchase a coal mine. The prospects were made out to be splendid; a noble vein, and easily worked; a capital plant of machinery on the spot; tramways down to the neighbouring port; a low rent, and moderate royalties and every chance of the proprietor being returned to represent the county in Parliament. The plan was that I should purchase the works by paying a certain sum down, form a company to repurchase of me and pay the rest, I taking a large number of shares in proof of my confidence in the undertaking, and the vendor retaining a number in proof of his. The previous owner, I was assured, had failed to make a large fortune out of it solely through his bad and wasteful management. I investigated the place, as I believed, thoroughly; and was even taken to see the mine which lies on the same coal-bed a short distance off, and which I knew to be paying well. It is true that I was cautioned by the engineer who accompanied me, against mentioning my intended purchase to any one there. If known to be in the market, I was told, the price would soon rise, and I should have to submit to competition. I little thought that my precaution of taking my own man with me would be neutralised by his being in the pay of the lawyer. Well, all seemed so satisfactory that I was on the eve of parting with my thousands, when I chanced to overhear a conversation while dining in an eating-house at Bristol, which convinced me that the lawyer was a scoundrel and the property worthless. Once put on the right track, I had no difficulty in verifying my suspicion. I at once backed out of my agreement. The lawyer was furious, and threatened to compel me at least to pay a large sum in compensation. I dared him to do so, telling him that the only thing for which he had a right to claim payment

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was for the lesson he had given me in swindling. Of course he was afraid of going into court and letting all the world know what I had learnt, and the matter was dropped. Some time afterwards I came across a poor fellow who had been less fortunate; and had actually bought that same property of that same lawyer. The completion of the transfer operated like magic to turn his coal into ashes. And this is how it happened. You must know that there exists in mining parlance a term to express what scientific men call a “solution of continuity.” That is the word “Fault,” used technically by miners to express any change in a geological stratum by which a vein is broken, or displaced, or altered in quality or direction. Now it happens that across the whole country to which I am referring, there runs one of these faults; and that the veins lying on one side of it are very valuable, while their continuations on the other side are utterly worthless. This fault ran exactly between the mine I have spoken of, and the neighbouring works which I had taken the useless precaution of inspecting, and the mine to be sold was on the wrong side of it. Instead of lying nearly flat, and being easily accessible, the vein dipped so vertically as to be most costly to work; and instead of yielding an excellent and saleable its produce was of so small a character as to be useless until reduced to coke. The result was, that the purchaser found himself saddled with a property not merely worthless, but ruinous even to possess; for there was a dead rent of five hundred a-year to be paid, whether anything was got out or not, and some fifty pounds a-month in wages, to keep the mine open and free from water, and no release to be obtained unless by swindling others as he had been swindled himself; for of course the landlord would not give up his claim. The threat to expose the seller unless he took it back was only laughed at, for lie knew that it was impossible to prove the worthlessness of a mine to a jury, when plenty of mining engineers could be found who would swear anything they were paid to swear. My friend declined to try and pass his bad bargain off upon some one else; and so be resolved to appeal to the landlord to revoke his lease. This was refused, and it was only when he threatened to declare himself bankrupt, and actually took steps which showed that he was in earnest, that be obtained a compromise, and got quit of his fatal bargain. Such is the hazard of mining in England. The danger in Mexico is not to be compared

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to it. There, at least, we can obtain a fee simple, and abandon our property if it fails to pay the working.’

 

 

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