The Firm of Girdlestone

"The Firm of Girdlestone" by Arthur Conan Doyle

John Girdlestone owns the firm of Girdlestone. It is a very lucrative business and John Girdlestone and his son Ezra Girdlestone are respected by everyone. Both father and son are cynics and have no other thought but for their business; after giving a donation of £25 for charity, John Girdlestone remarks to himself that it is not a bad «investment», as it will make a favorable impression on the collector, who is a Member of Parliament, whose influence he hopes to use some day. Ezra, his son, is even more of a cynic. However, he manifests a great acumen for business, sometimes even surpassing his father's sharpness in business matters. A series of disastrous speculations by the elder Girdlestone financially ruin the firm.