§6
I shall end this subject by relating how my father lost nearly a thousand acres of valuable timber on one of the estates which had come to him from his brother, the Senator.
In the forties Count Orlóv, wishing to buy land for his sons, offered a price for this estate, which was in the Government of Tver. The parties came to terms, and it seemed that the transaction was complete. But when the Count went to examine his purchase, he wrote to my father that a forest marked upon the plan of the estate had simply disappeared.
“There!” said my father, “Orlóv is a clever man of course; he was involved in the conspiracy too.[[39]] He has written a book on finance; but when it comes to business, he is clearly no good. Necker[[40]] over again! I shall send a friend of my own to look at the place, not a conspirator but an honest man who understands business.”
[40]. Jacques Necker (1732-1804), Minister of Finance under Louis XVI; the husband of Gibbon’s first love, and the father of Mme. de Staël.
But alas! the honest man came back and reported that the forest had disappeared; all that remained was a fringe of trees, which made it impossible to detect the truth from the high road or from the manor-house. After the division between the brothers, my uncle had paid five visits to the place, but had seen nothing!