There is nothing sure and certain in business
except investments in land. I am awaiting the accounts of my agents
with very great impatience. The sale of my merchandise and my ship,
and the settlement of my affairs in China, are not yet concluded; and
I cannot know the full amount of my fortune for at least six months. I
did, however, say to Monsieur de La Briere in Paris that I would
guarantee a 'dot' of two hundred thousand francs in ready money. I
wish to entail my estates, and enable my grandchildren to inherit my
arms and title."
Canalis did not listen to this statement after the opening sentence.
The four riders, having now reached a wider road, went abreast and
soon reached a stretch of table-land, from which the eye took in on
one side the rich valley of the Seine toward Rouen, and on the other
an horizon bounded only by the sea.
"Butscha was right, God is the greatest of all landscape painters,"
said Canalis, contemplating the view, which is unique among the many
fine scenes that have made the shores of the Seine so justly
celebrated.
"Above all do we feel that, my dear baron," said the duke, "on
hunting-days, when nature has a voice, and a lively tumult breaks the
silence; at such times the landscape, changing rapidly as we ride
through it, seems really sublime.
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