"He lost four ships off the coast of Numéneur in an extraordinary whirlpool, and his pipe-weed and mushroom crops were ruined by a blight that, not surprisingly, spared the property of Sacqueville-Danglars. Of course, his creditors make no allowance for his misfortunes, nor does pity stay their hand. Unless the Pharazon succeed where his other ships have failed, M. Morrie, his wife Paraphernalie, and his children Meurtrier and Bilbette are without any doubt lost."
"Horrors!" exclaimed the abbé.
"Your Reverence sees, then, how Érou rewards virtue and punishes sin: the good Morrie is on the verge of destitution, while the criminals Pippand and Sacqueville-Danglars wallow in gold, like Scrouge Macducque in the play by Elrond."
"And how is that?"
"Sacqueville-Danglars had some ideas rather bizarres," replied Buttrebeurrousse. "He wished to own everything, and use his wealth to command others. He already possessed more than was his due, and he was always buying more pipe-weed and mushroom concessions, mills, factories, and what have you, though how he obtained the money wasn't always evident. Since then, he's played the stock market, and his worth has tripled. He married Mme. de Braceguirdelle, widow of the chamberlain of the current king, and, having become a millionaire, was naturally made a baron."
