'
Vandeloup walked out, and Polglaze looked after him with a puzzled
look, then summed up his opinion in one word, sharp, incisive, and
to the point--
'Clever!' said Polglaze, and put the cheque in his safe.
Vandeloup strolled along the street thinking.
'Bebe is out of my way,' he thought, with a smile; 'I have a small
fortune in my pocket, and,' he continued, thoughtfully, 'Madame
Midas is in Melbourne. I think now,' said M. Vandeloup, with another
smile, 'that I have conquered the blind goddess.'
CHAPTER VII
THE OPULENCE OF MADAME MIDAS
A wealthy man does not know the meaning of the word friendship. He
is not competent to judge, for his wealth precludes him giving a
proper opinion. Smug-faced philanthropists can preach comfortable
doctrines in pleasant rooms with well-spread tables and good
clothing; they can talk about human nature being unjustly accused,
and of the kindly impulses and good thoughts in everyone's breasts.
Pshaw! anyone can preach thus from an altitude of a few thousands a
year, but let these same self-complacent kind-hearted gentlemen
descend in the social scale--let them look twice at a penny before
spending it--let them face persistent landladies, exorbitant
landlords, or the bitter poverty of the streets, and they will not
talk so glibly of human nature and its inherent kindness. No; human
nature is a sort of fetish which is credited with a great many
amiable qualities it never possesses, and though there are
exceptions to the general rule, Balzac's aphorism on mankind that
'Nature works by self-interest,' still holds good today.
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