was a Jew, and belonged to a race generally suspected and despised. M. de
Rennepont, a man of great soul, endowed with a good spirit, was not
deceived in his choice. Until he was deprived of his fortune, it
prospered wonderfully in the hands of Isaac Samuel, who, gifted with an
admirable aptitude for business, applied himself exclusively to advance
the interests of his benefactor.

Then came the persecution and ruin of M. de Rennepont, whose property was
confiscated and given up to the reverend fathers of the Company of Jesus
only a few days before his death. Concealed in the retreat he had chosen,
therein to put a violent end to his life, he sent secretly for Isaac
Samuel, and delivered to him fifty thousand crowns in gold, the last
remains of his fortune. This faithful servant was to invest the money to
the best advantage, and, if he should have a son, transmit to him the
same obligation; or, should he have no child, he was to seek out some
relation worthy of continuing this trust, to which would moreover be
annexed a fair reward. It was thus to be transmitted and perpetuated from
relative to relative, until the expiration of a century and a half. M. de
Rennepont also begged Isaac to take charge, during his life, of the house
in the Rue Saint-Francois, where he would be lodged gratis, and to leave
this function likewise to his descendants, if it were possible.

If even Isaac Samuel had not had children, the powerful bond of union
which exists between certain Jewish families, would have rendered
practicable the last will of De Rennepont. The relations of Isaac would
have become partner; in his gratitude to his benefactor, and they, and
their succeeding generations, would have religiously accomplished the
task imposed upon one of their race. But, several years after the death
of De Rennepont, Isaac had a son.