The Doll - Bolesaw Prus [383]
‘But the dividends?’ his friend whispered.
The Prince looked at him. ‘What I did was not for dividends, but for this unhappy country,’ he replied. ‘I wanted to inject a little fresh blood into our sphere, and fresher views, but I must admit I lost, and it wasn’t Wokulski’s fault either … This unhappy country!’
The Prince’s departure, though unexpected, created less of a stir: for those present already knew that the company would continue operations. Now one of the lawyers came forward and, in a trembling voice, read a very beautiful speech, which stated that with Wokulski’s resignation, the company had lost not only its leader, but also five-sixths of its capital. ‘It ought therefore to collapse,’ the speaker continued, ‘and to overwhelm the entire country, ruining thousands of workers, hundreds of families …’
Here he paused for effect. But those present behaved indifferently, knowing in advance what was to come.
The lawyer started speaking again, and appealed to those present not to lose heart: ‘For an eminent citizen has been found, a professional man, a friend and partner of Wokulski, who has decided, like Atlas, to support the tottering company. This man, who wishes to wipe away the tears of thousands, to save this country from ruin, to give trade a push in new directions …’
At this point, all those present turned their heads in the direction of the chair on which Szlangbaum was sitting, sweating and blushing.
‘This man,’ the lawyer cried, ‘is Mr …’
‘My son, young Henryk!’ said a voice from a corner.
Because this effect was unexpected, the entire hall shook with laughter. In any case, the committee of the trading company feigned delighted surprise, asked those present whether they wanted to accept Mr Szlangbaum as partner and director, and having obtained unanimous approval, they summoned the new director to the presidential chair. Here some confusion ensued. For Szlangbaum senior took the floor at once, and after uttering several compliments to his son and the committee, tabled a motion that the company would not guarantee its shareholders more than ten per cent dividend per annum. An uproar started, a dozen speakers took the floor at the same time, and after some very animated speeches it was resolved that the company would accept new members proposed by Mr Szlangbaum, and that the management of business was also entrusted to Mr Szlangbaum.
The final episode was a speech by Dr Szuman, who had been invited to become a member of the committee, but since he was refusing this honourable position, he permitted himself in a sarcastic manner to mock a company formed of aristocrats and Jews. ‘It is like an illegitimate union,’ he said, ‘but sometimes geniuses are born from such unions, so let us hope that our company too will produce some unusual fruit.’
The committee was alarmed, a handful of those present took offence; but the majority gave the doctor a rousing cheer.
Wokulski was very accurately informed of the course of the meeting; during the entire week, he was visited and snowed under by letters, signed and anonymous. For himself, he had discovered he was in a new and strange spiritual mood. It seemed to him that all the bonds linking him with other people had burst, that they were now a matter of indifference to him, that he was not concerned with what concerned them. In a word, he was like an actor who, on finishing his role on the stage where he had laughed, been angry, or wept, now takes a seat in the audience to watch his colleagues acting as though they were children at play: ‘Why do they rush about so? How stupid …’ he thought.
It seemed to him that he was looking into the world from a great distance, and could see his own affairs from a new angle, which he had not observed hitherto.
For the first few days, shareholders, workers or clients of the company visited him, dissatisfied with the