Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1869-02-05

CdIc rush elOI Ine, ana ne JOO~Weut,
not merely from his uncle'ss house, bat
floin Verrferes, which he leftfor Paris and
entered large commercial house
Nothing came of Monsieur Morels
search for some cne.-else.-4ssHe lived in
hope, and left his daughter safe behind
: convent walls till she was twenty one, when
grim Death settled bis perplexity by calling
him very suddenly away one summer
morning.
4 Verrieres-Was much startled by the
news, and Verrieres' first thought onethe
subject wasa pithy homily on the vanity
of human sorrow.s Verrieres grieved very
little for the dead man, but wondered
very much who was going to step into his
shoes.
] Several individuals for whose business
talents Monsieur Morel had entertained a
z strong contempt had visions of purchas-
ing the business, and lording it in the great
old house; they sounded Lenoir, the old
clerk, and as he heard them out and re-
turned diplomatic replies, they one and all
felt pretty sure of success. Monsieur
Lenoir was very much 'perp1exed.s He
consulted with Mademoiselle Moreps
nearest relatives, and they all came to the
Il conclusion that Monsieur Roussel, her
y uncle's brother, ought to be the successful
applicant; he was not, indeed, the success
sor such q man as Monsieur Morel should
ElhaVe had, but he was the least objectiona-
i bic of all the claimants for the dead mans
honors. Monsieur Morel had been dead
a fortnight when Lenoiretho ght he could
broach the subject to- his late masters
daughter. She had come back for the
funeral, and, being of age, had no thought
/ OF returning to the convent. Her grief
was such as good-hearted girl must feel
for the death of a parent of whom she.
knows little; sincere, but by no means
! violent. Mademoiselle Charlotte Morel
was, in short, in that subdued but even
frame of mind which is perfectly equal to,
hthe transactionof business. Lenoirfound'
her in one of the upper rooms, engaged
with one of the maid servants, in unrolling
some cloth. She did not hear him coming
in, and he could not help shaking his head
as he saw her a plump, rosy, good
humored girl of twenty one, with glossy
black hair, and lively black eyes, and a
/ pretty, round, good-tempered face. Oh!
if she had but been a boy, he thought,
with deep sigh. Charlotte heard the
sigh, and, looking up, saw the old man
standing in the doorway, with his pen be
hind his ear, and a woebegone meaning
. Ou LIS WTlukleu lace.
Monsieur Lenoir" she said, knitting
her smooth brow into frown, "do you
know that this cloth is moth-eaten ~ = -
Monsieur Lcnoir was very sorry to hear
| it, but begged for five minutes private
conversation with Mademoiselle
"To be sure," airily replied Charlotte.
"Marie, you will fold up that calico,
please. shall be down directly"
Monsieur Lenoir sighed again. His er
rand was a sad one, but it must be spoken.
To his amazement, Charlotte interrupted
him at once
Thank you," she said, "but please tell
that Monsieur Roussel that I shall carry
| on the business myself"
If the pen had not been very firm be-
hind Monsieur Lenoir's ear, it must have
dropped st so astounding an announce
ment. Without seeming to perceive his
amazement, as expressed in staring eyes
and open mouth, Mademoiselle Morel con-
tinued "Whenever my poor father came
to see me, he lamented that was girl;
SO, not knowing what was to happen,
did my best to qualify myself for business.
| learned bookkeeping.
"But, Mademoiselle," interrupted Le-
noir, "book- keeping is nothing-nothing 4
FVYou do not know the intricacies of busi
ness" E'tT Sl3sf3
Y In her turn, Mademoiselle Morel inter-
rupted the clerk. She laid her hand upon
hisarm, and, looking in his face, she said,
good humoredly, but very firmly
| | know good butter, and good flour,
and good cloth, and good wares, Monsieur
Lenoir, and none but good wares will 1
keep My father neither took nor gave
credit, | believe. His word also was his
hn11 1,<~v, IL L <l-o1 1.,.n-a
and prudent in his ventures. What he did,
I shall do; and, Monsieur Lenoir,n she
added, feelingly," mo cloth of this texture
and this price shall get moth-eaten under
my rule. Why" she added, raising her
eyebrows, pursing her lips, and shaking
her. young head z here are several
hundred francs lost at the very least" -
Monsieur Lenoir stared and was dumb
h aRemonstrance was useless and he knew it.
OF course this poor deluded young thing
4 would never get on-never, not even with
his assistance-but she had will Of her
own, sheSwas OF age too, and twas plain
\. that she emerged from her convent with
\ the determination of having her own way
! henceforward. --------
Monsieur Lenoir was simply and sadly
sceptical but Verrieres was bitterly irofI-
r ical. 1t foretold Mademoiselle Morel's
downfall, and watched her, going down.
The process was not q rapid lone. Char
lotte got on very well. Monsieur Lenoir
j -did the travelling and the goingabout, and
she stayed home and minded the business
1t was hard for one.so young to lead this
dull, confined life, and so Charlotte soon
L found; but pleasure is unknown in Yer
rieres, and she had no choice. Sometimes
she wondered il she should 60 on so till
old age, buying and selling, and making
money but she was so far true daughter
of Verrieres, that she never thought of ex-
changing the dullness of her native place
for the gayeties of large city. Now and
then she longed for the country, and gar
dens, and green fields but she could not
have. these, and attend to business, so she
tried to be content with her shop, and her
store-rooms, and the yard, and the creep!
ers, and to find music in that. chink of
money which had so long charmed her
fathers ears In the meanwhile, Verrieres
went on wondering how long she would
last. At first, Mademoiselle Morel knew
nothing of the commotion her unexpected
resolve had excited. But by and by good
natured people, who felt bound to tell her,
/ let her into the secret. She thus learned
that her downfall, slow, but sure, was pre-
dlcted, and that not even in her own
family was voice raised to prophssy her
success. Louise Roussel, little chatterer
of some seven years old, whom Charlotte
twas very fond of, gave her more informa-