“So for days the procession continued, each man coming singly and watching whether he were observed. Half the council had sites for little or nothing, and the other half had sites at rates really very reasonable.
“And all the while, to the mass of buyers who importuned me and clamoured about me, I said that only very limited sales could be made, and those of leases only, and even so not till a later date.
“Meanwhile the whole town council was converted. The councillors had quite lost their old aversion to the scheme. They earmarked enthusiastically and by a unanimous vote a special tax for the laying out of the new quarter, its planting with trees, the bringing of conduits to it so that fountains of sweet water might appear in private houses and in public places, and, though the levy was no light one, it was paid cheerfully enough by all the councillors, who were now curiously proud of their town’s aggrandizement; even among the mass of poor ratepayers there were no executions, but only one mild case of torture, and perhaps a dozen bastinadoes.
“The public money so spent was very well worth while. The improvement in my property was immense; and when a fine road, bordered with trees, was laid down all along the embankment I obtained very heavy compensation from the city for the use of the ground and the cutting off of my approaches to the river.
“I, on my side, was not niggardly. I promised 100 gold pieces to the building of a new mosque in the centre of the place, on condition that ninety-nine others should do the same, and I started a hall of public recreation, the price of admission to which barely repaid the expenses of upkeep and cleaning, taxes, heat and light, interest on debentures (which I had myself very handsomely subscribed), service, literature, and secretarial expenses, decoration, approaches, annual depreciation, and at the most a profit of six to eight per cent. I also provided kitchens where the poorer citizens could purchase food at very little more than its value. These were of great service to the police, who had here a central place whence the movements of my less fortunate neighbours could be traced. I presented also public fountains with solid pewter mugs, attached to the stonework by strong chains lest they should be stolen, and I even went so far as to provide, free of all cost, public plans of the new quarter showing where unleased sites still remained and the terms on which they might be acquired.