The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 235: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

208 REYNOLDS’ WORKS the concern. Splendid offices, capital two hundred thousand pounds! ”’ “The deuce!’ ejaculated Ben Limber, with a start of astonishment. ‘‘ Where did you find your capitalists? ”’ ‘‘In imagination,” answered Mr. Bealby, with a knowing look. ‘‘ We issued the shares; it was not at all difficult, nothing to do but to have so many slips of paper neatly printed. We gave two or three hundred apiece to ourselves, and five hundred to Lord Brummagem, who on that condi- tion became the chairman of the board of directors. I can assure you the whole affair was most splendidly managed, and for twelve months it went on swimmingly.”’ “You don’t mean to say that you really issued any polli- cies? ’”’ observed Mr. Limber. ‘“T mean to say,’ replied Bealby, ‘‘ that we issued four or five hundred policies during those twelve months. The grand secret was that our medical examiner took every life that offered itself, no matter whether the applicant might be in the last stage of consumption.” ‘‘ But when any one died? ”’ said Mr. Limber, inquiringly. ‘“‘ Fraud, my dear fellow, fraud! ’’ responded Mr. Bealby, “ that was our invariable answer. The company had been im- posed upon, the insurer had kept back certain facts; he had admitted that he spat blood and had a continuous hacking cough, but he had withheld the important fact that he ex- perienced an incessant pain in his great toe. Bless you, deaths came tumbling in at a frightful rate, because we in- sured everybody, and we gave a percentage to our agents on every policy they brought in, so that they were interested in getting as many as possible, without the slightest reference to the value of the lives. The game would have lasted well enough had it not been that a cursed weekly newspaper began to attack us; the bombardment was continuous and irresistible, so we fell to pieces. There was an end of the Universal Assurance Company for all Christendom.” “And what did you do next? ” inquired Mr. Limber. ‘“‘ I advertised an income of four pounds a week for every body who would send me five shillings’ worth of postage- stamps. That was my next dodge,’ added Mr. Bealby, as he complacently whiffed his cigar. “T don’t quite understand it,’”’ observed his friend, du- biously. | CORNICLIOOKS (E(0) m