Egerton Castle

“ During the Summer of the year 1789—at a time when all who had eyes to see the swiftly approaching upheaval in France gave anxious thought to the future—a number of gentlemen, most of them French, but with them some of other nationalities—one of these being Sir Jasper Ferrars—organized among themselves—there were, to be precise, thirteen of them—a tontine of unusual character, regulated with meticulous care and with the stringent insistence upon the letter as well as the spirit of the agreement. ”

“ Ferrars sat at a bare table and, leaning his head on his hands, lost himself in brooding cogitation.
Mr. Wapshot, however, in the midst of his professional reticence, showed distinct signs of nervousness; pacing the room; consulting his watch at ever shorter intervals; peering with unmistakable anxiety into the broad coldness of Bedford Row, whenever wheels or footsteps were heard approaching the front door. A great clock outside in the passage struck the half-hour; then the three-quarters. Within the room the silence between the two men remained unbroken. ”

“ The essence of the scheme was that a sum of one million French livres, or in sterling money forty thousand pounds, subscribed by the thirteen original members, was to be deposited outside Revolutionary France—in fact, with an English bank of repute. It was to be left at compound interest for the space of twenty-eight years—after which the accumulated capital would be distributed, each in the proportion of his original subscription, among the survivors, or, in default of any of them, their surviving eldest sons. ”