attributed Penelon's embarrassment to the elegance of his attire;
it was evident the good fellow had not gone to such an expense on
his own account; he was, no doubt, engaged on board some other
vessel, and thus his bashfulness arose from the fact of his not
having, if we may so express ourselves, worn mourning for the
Pharaon longer. Perhaps he had come to tell Captain Gaumard of his
good luck, and to offer him employment from his new master. "Worthy
fellows!" said Morrel, as he went away, "may your new master love
you as I loved you, and be more fortunate than I have been!"
August rolled by in unceasing efforts on the part of Morrel to
renew his credit or revive the old. On the 20th of August it was
known at Marseilles that he had left town in the mailcoach, and
then it was said that the bills would go to protest at the end of
the month, and that Morrel had gone away and left his chief clerk
Emmanuel, and his cashier Cocles, to meet the creditors. But,
contrary to all expectation, when the 31st of August came, the
house opened as usual, and Cocles appeared behind the grating of
the counter, examined all bills presented with the usual scrutiny,
and, from first to last, paid all with the usual precision. There
came in, moreover, two drafts which M. Morrel had fully
anticipated, and which Cocles paid as punctually as the bills which
the shipowner had accepted. All this was incomprehensible, and
then, with the tenacity peculiar to prophets of bad news, the
failure was put off until the end of September. On the 1st, Morrel
returned; he was awaited by his family with extreme anxiety, for
from this journey to Paris they hoped great things. Morrel had
thought of Danglars, who was now immensely rich, and had lain under
great obligations to Morrel in former days, since to him it was
owing that Danglars entered the service of the Spanish banker, with
whom he had laid the foundations of his vast wealth. It was said at
this moment that Danglars was worth from six to eight millions ofthis moment that Danglars was worth from six to eight millions of
francs, and had unlimited credit. Danglars, then, without taking a
crown from his pocket, could save Morrel; he had but to pass his
word for a loan, and Morrel was saved. Morrel had long thought of
Danglars, but had kept away from some instinctive motive, and had
delayed as long as possible availing himself of this last resource.
And Morrel was right, for he returned home crushed by the
humiliation of a refusal. Yet, on his arrival, Morrel did not utter
a complaint, or say one harsh word. He embraced his weeping wife
and daughter, pressed Emmanuel's hand with friendly warmth, and
then going to his private room on the second floor had sent for
Cocles. "Then," said the two women to Emmanuel, "we are indeed
ruined."
It was agreed in a brief council held among them, that Julie
should write to her brother, who was in garrison at Nimes, to come
to them as speedily as possible. The poor women felt instinctively
that they required all their strength to support the blow that
impended. Besides, Maximilian Morrel, though hardly two and twenty,
had great influence over his father. He was a strong-minded,
upright young man. At the time when he decided on his profession
his father had no desire to choose for him, but had consulted young
Maximilian's taste. He had at once declared for a military life,
and had in consequence studied hard, passed brilliantly through the
Polytechnic School, and left it as sub-lieutenant of the 53d of the
line. For a year he had held this rank, and expected promotion on
the first vacancy. In his regiment Maximilian Morrel was noted for
his rigid observance, not only of the obligations imposed on a
soldier, but also of the duties of a man; and he thus gained the
name of "the stoic." We need hardly say that many of those who gave
him this epithet repeated it because they had heard it, and did not
even know what it meant. This was the young man whom his mother and
sister called to their aid to sustain them under the serious trialsister called to their aid to sustain them under the serious trial
which they felt they would soon have to endure. They had not
mistaken the gravity of this event, for the moment after Morrel had
entered his private office with Cocles, Julie saw the latter leave
it pale, trembling, and his features betraying the utmost
consternation. She would have questioned him as he passed by her,
but the worthy creature hastened down the staircase with unusual
precipitation, and only raised his hands to heaven and exclaimed,
"Oh, mademoiselle, mademoiselle, what a dreadful misfortune! Who
could ever have believed it!" A moment afterwards Julie saw him go
up-stairs carrying two or three heavy ledgers, a portfolio, and a
bag of money.
Morrel examined the ledgers, opened the portfolio, and counted
the money. All his funds amounted to 6,000, or 8,000 francs, his
bills receivable up to the 5th to 4,000 or 5,000, which, making the
best of everything, gave him 14,000 francs to meet debts amounting
to 287,500 francs. He had not even the means for making a possible
settlement on account. However, when Morrel went down to his
dinner, he appeared very calm. This calmness was more alarming to
the two women than the deepest dejection would have been. After
dinner Morrel usually went out and used to take his coffee at the
Phocaean club, and read the Semaphore; this day he did not leave
the house, but returned to his office.
As to Cocles, he seemed completely bewildered. For part of the
day he went into the court-yard, seated himself on a stone with his
head bare and exposed to the blazing sun. Emmanuel tried to comfort
the women, but his eloquence faltered. The young man was too well
acquainted with the business of the house, not to feel that a great
catastrophe hung over the Morrel family. Night came, the two women
had watched, hoping that when he left his room Morrel would come to
them, but they heard him pass before their door, and trying to
conceal the noise of his footsteps. They listened; he went into his