That I might have been above
want--nay, that I am not downright needy, may be true; but when they
speak of a thousand ducats, they speak of affairs too weighty for my
burdened shoulders. Were it your pleasure to purchase an amethyst or a
ruby, gallant Signore, there might possibly be dealings between us?"
"I have need of gold, old man, and can spare thee jewels myself at need.
My wants are urgent at this moment, and I have little time to lose in
words--name thy conditions."
"One should have good securities, Signore, to be so peremptory in a
matter of money."
"Thou hast heard that the laws of Venice are not more certain. A
thousand sequins, and that quickly. Thou shalt settle the usury with
thine own conscience."
Hosea thought that this was giving ample room to the treaty, and he
began to listen more seriously.
"Signore," he said, "a thousand ducats are not picked up at pleasure
from the pavement of the great square. He who would lend them must first
earn them with long and patient toil; and he who would borrow----"
"Waits at thy elbow."
"Should have a name and countenance well known on the Rialto."
"Thou lendest on sufficient pledges to masks, careful Hosea, or fame
belies thy generosity."
"A sufficient pledge gives me power to see the way clearly, though the
borrower should be as much hidden as those up above. But here is none
forthcoming. Come to me to-morrow, masked or not, as may suit your own
pleasure, for I have no impertinent desire to pry into any man's secrets
beyond what a regard to my own interests requires, and I will look into
my coffers; though those of no heir-apparent in Venice can be emptier.
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