misheard
the price; and being a novice, I did not realise that I was going to
quote an exceptionally low figure, several hundred francs per carat
below normal. I took the parcel to a certain M. Behrens, to whom my
people had been very kind when he was in Vienna. He was a sort of
family friend, and when he had seen my goods he at once bought them
with great goodwill and paid in cash, asking no questions. Back I went
to hand over the money to my principals, who forcefully pointed out my
mistake. I returned to M. Behrens, whose bonhomie had now
somewhat abated, and who flatly refused to rectify the trouble,
although he knew perfectly well that he was taking advantage of my
inexperience, and that I was losing more than I could hope to make in a
year.
At
this point I thought to appeal to the good offices of the chairman of
the Diamond Club, which is to the trade what the Jockey Club is to
racing. Monsieur Behrens was cited before the committee, and it was
pointed out to him in no equivocal terms that in the ordinary way he
could not have hoped for such a bargain except with stolen goods. He
was unusually tenacious. The opinion of his fellows appeared to leave
him unmoved and he refused to obey the Club's ruling. I only got out of
my stupid mess by consenting to be mulcted of a penalty sum heavy
enough to cripple a beginner.
A
second early adventure is pleasing at this distance of time, because it
displays one of those curiosities of human nature which constantly
astound the most experienced students of that strange phenomenon.
A certain man in Paris was a personage of considerable
