Transcriber's notes:
1. Page scan source:
http://www.archive.org/details/progressionists00bolagoog
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by
THE CATHOLIC PUBLICATION SOCIETY,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.
The balcony of the palais Greifmann contains threepersons whotogether represent four million florins. It is not often that one seesa group of this kind. The youthful landholder, Seraphin Gerlach, ispossessor of two millions. His is a quiet disposition; very calm, andhabitually thoughtful; innocence looks from his clear eye upon theworld; physically, he is a man of twenty-three; morally, he is a childin purity; a profusion of rich brown hair clusters about his head; hischeeks are ruddy, and an attractive sweetness plays round his mouth.
The third million belongs to Carl Greifmann, the oldest memberof thegroup, head pro tem. of the banking-house of the same name. Thisgentlemen is tall, slender, animated; his cheeks wear no bloom; theyare pale. His carriage is easy and smooth. Some levity is visible inhis features, which are delicate, but his keen, glancing eye isdisagreeable beside Seraphin's pure soul-mirror. Greifmann's sisterLouise, not an ordinary beauty, owns the fourth million. She is seatedbetween the young gentlemen; the folds of her costly dress lie heapedaround her; her hands are engaged with a fan, and her eyes are sendingelectric glances into Gerlach's quick depths. But these flashing beamsfail to kindle; they expire before they penetrate far into thosedepths. His eyes are bright, but they refuse to gleam with intenserfire. Strange, too, for a twofold reason; first, because glances fromthe eyes of beautiful women seldom suffer young men to remain cool;secondly, because a paternal scheme designs that Louise shall beengaged and married to the fire-proof hero.
Millions of money are rare; and should millions strive to formanalliance, it is in conformity with the genius of every solid bankingestablishment to view this as quite a natural tendency.
For eight days Mr. Seraphin has been on a visit at thepalaisGreifmann, but as yet he has yielded no positive evidence of intendingto join his own couple of millions with the million of Miss Louise.
Whilst Seraphin converses with the beautiful young lady, CarlGreifmanncursorily examines a newspaper which a servant has just brought him ona silver salver.
"Every age has its folly," suddenly exclaims the banker. "Intheseventeenth century people were busy during thirty years cutting oneanother's throats for religion's sake--or rather, in deference to thepious hero of the faith from Sweden and his fugleman Oxenstiern. In theeighteenth century, they decorated their heads with periwigs andpigtails, making it a matter of conjecture whether both ladies andgentlemen were not in the act of developing themselves