When the agent was gone, Hans Shund rushed about the room as if out of his mind.
“Don’t tell me that miracles no longer occur!” cried he. “I, the discharged treasurer—I, the thief, usurer, and profligate, at the mere sight of whom every young miss and respectable lady turn up their noses a thousand paces off—I am chosen to be mayor and assemblyman! How has this come to pass? Where lie the secret springs of this astonishing event?” And he laid his finger against his nose in a brown study. “Here it is—yes, here! The thinkers of progress have at length discovered that a man who from small beginnings has risen to an independent fortune, whose shrewdness and energy have amassed enormous sums, ought to be placed at the head of the city administration in order to convert the tide of public debt into a tide of prosperity. Yes, herein lies the secret. Nor are the gentlemen entirely mistaken. There are ways and means of making plus out of minus, of converting stones into money. But the gentlemen have taken the liberty of disposing of me without my previous knowledge and consent. I have not even been asked. Quite natural, of course. Who asks a dog for permission to stroke him? This is, I own, an unpleasant aftertaste. Hem, suppose I were too proud to accept, suppose I wanted to bestow my abilities and energies on my own personal interests. Come, now, old Hans, don’t be sensitive! Pride, self-respect, character, sense of honor, and such things are valuable only when they bring emolument. Now, the mayor of a great city has it in his power to direct many a measure eminently to his own interest.”
Another knock was heard at the door, and the usurer, taken by surprise, saw before him the leader Erdblatt.
“Have you been informed of a fact that is very flattering to you?” began the tobacco manufacturer.
“Not the slightest intimation of a fact of that nature has reached me,” answered Shund with reserve.
“Then I am very happy to be the first to give you the news,” assured Erdblatt. “It has been decided to promote you at the next election to the office of mayor and of delegate to the legislative assembly.”
A malignant smile flitted athwart Shund’s face. He shook his sandy head in feigned astonishment, and fixed upon the other a look that was the next thing to a sneer.
“There are almost as many marvels in your announcement as words. You speak of a decision and of a fact which, however, without my humble co-operation, are hardly practicable. I thought all along that the disposition of my person belonged to myself. How could anything be resolved upon or become a fact in which I myself happen to have the casting vote?”
“Your cordial correspondence with the flattering intention of your fellow-citizens was presumed upon; moreover, you were to be agreeably surprised,” explained the progressionist leader.
“That, sir, was a very violent presumption! I am a free citizen, and am at liberty to dispose of my time and faculties as I please. In the capacity of mayor, I should find myself trammelled and no longer independent on account of the office. Moreover, a weighty responsibility would then rest upon my shoulders, especially in the present deplorable circumstances of the administration. Could I prevail on myself to accept the proffered situation, it would become my duty to attempt a thorough reform in the thoughtless and extravagant management of city affairs. You certainly cannot fail to perceive that a reformer in this department would be the aim of dangerous machinations. And lastly, sir, why is it that I individually have been selected for appointments which are universally regarded as honorable distinctions in public life? I repeat, why are they to be conferred upon me in particular who cannot flatter myself with enjoying very high favor among the people of this city?” And there glistened something like revengeful triumph in Shund’s feline eyes. “When you will have given a satisfactory solution to these reflections and questions, it may become possible for me to think of assenting to your proposal.”