The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-03-22
4 aDO6TORJFAUyEL.

J q .nc22 DOGTORFAUVEL.
- c7ty .gC2a7EI ciH1Ii
rsan.las%sa 81. "a q Esssg setgrd'y y 4 fem tn
-i.ss ~ ssTs6
----------- .-------
II tsMieheL the cottage1s letYu
"What cottage ?" inquired my hus
band mechanically.
J,e.We rlfad been married olilya few
months, and Tor aastiif, shprtef tim,
we lad lived at Ameryille. Niche
Colonge, my husband, hoped, by tht
I help OF his family connections and
friendships, to establish himself
quickly in good practice; and to thai
iobject he devoted a courage and ac-
tivi:y which never relaxed. For my
lown part had not yet succeeded IN
bearing the discomforts of my new
situation with good humor. The life
of a country doctor appeared to me
scarcely, rendurable.s1t was never
| without a degree of irritation That Il
! saw Michel return so often too much
fatigued to pay the least attention 10
Whist 4 had 60 tell him.. or SO many
times, in consequence of some serious
accident, depart in haste, as sopp. as
dinner was over, to return, very tfre-
ouentIy, only late i'll the evening.
| Noticing that he was even more than
usually abstraeted, replied with a
good deal of impatience.-
"Ihe cottage so slonsp liIl0ccupied; !;
the same that yourself declared, when
we went to see it, too inconvenient TO
he inhabited ,, 49,. sl1s'sl'I,t E9e.s
And who NAV the efilitrepid' tenant
be-" g.
"a doctor. Don't be alarmed" l
added. "From what has been told
me he has already made his fortune,
and it is only by great persuasion that
any one can succeed in getting him
even to consultation. "yi4 -
'Is he married?n
THAT is not known; but it appears
to me hardly likely, and he certainly
has no children. n wife and eiiiid-
rem would be sadly out of plae in
that strange house." r. - J
NV husband was no longer listen
ing 10 me. His fears being quoted as
to the Injury which another doctor
established in. the same village with
himself might do him, he hastened to
read his newspaper before beginning
his afternoon visits.
The little property known as the
chalet de Ia Rochette, was composed
of two fine but exceedingly contract
ed tenements, Joined by a kind of
covered passage which might be closed
at will. Each of these tenementsh had
separate entrance, and might on
occasion be inhabited independently
~ l.,r rh dI nd
into equal parts by a thick hedge,
surrounded this singular ediiice;
which seemed capable of being occu-
pied only by two bachelors having
intimate relations with each other.
The furniture arrived. 1t consisted,
as we very soon knew, ottwo complete
sets. Next, the surprise of the VII
layers reached its height some days
later when adouble supply ofservantS
came to occupy tiies house, OF fAher
the houses, so prepared. l remember
having passed more than one after
noon in watching for the arrival of
cur aiew, neighbors keur house was the
nearest to the Jchalet) lat hstanyper+
severance was rewarded. Attracted
to the window by the noise of post
chaise, / observeia woman reclining
on the back seat, another woman be-
ing on the front seat; the carriage
contained but two persons. iAbout
an hour afterwards, middle aged
man who was unknown to me passed
rapidly on horseback by my windows.
1t was DIR. Fauvel. "rhey have
Gomez said i To Michel as soon as he
returned, land We are still wholly in
the dark"
L ought to say, to excuse myself,
that, being a stranger, / was very
much aione in. that little village, and
that the arrival of woman with
whom, perhaps, might have. agree
able relations, was for me an event
of real Importance.
Sunday came. a seat had been
engaged for the Fauvels. in. the parish
church, and to the great satisfaction
of everybody the doctor entered and
occupied it a few minutes before the
beginning of the service. He was a
man of about forty-iive years, slightly |
pale, tall and thin. He had admir- |
able manners, fine and intellectual
features, with a shade of sadness in |
them. Although he had very beauti- |
ful eyes, his look, impressed with a
vague uneasiness, produced almost |
always singular effect upon those |
who saw it for the first time. He |
seemed very little disturbed at find
ing. himself the object of general and
ill-disguised curiosity, and left church
without taking the least notice ofany |
one. Madame Fauvel did not appear
at church that day.
The week that followed was notable |
for two events: the appearance of a |
copper-colOred door-plate on one of
the doors of the chalet, and the visit |
of tn e doctor to our cure; but the lat |
ter, an austere and silent man, in-
formed no one of the details of the |
interview. On Saturday of the same |
week, Michel having returned home |
early, i tried to persuade him that a
visit TO DR.. Fauvel would be bOtn q |
mark of respect to brother physic- |
ian, and an act of neighbOrly kind
ness. He listened to me with smile,
let me exhaust all my good reasons,
and then, with a mischievous look
peculiarly his own, said: 81 have |
anticipated your desire, my dear Il
have been to Mr.. Fauvel's already"
"Oh Michel! tell me all about 1T.
When did you go? Whom did you
see? The doctor, or his WIFE? Were
they pleasant people? Did you ask
them to call?"
Zone moment, my dear Valentine.
Let US proceed orderly. L met MIR.
Fauvel the other day: we exchanged
a few words, and he begged me to
walk home with him. 1 was in a
hurry and remained but a moment.
That's all 1 have to tell YOU"
"HOw is Madame Fauvel?"
al did not see herr
"Did you like the doctor? is he a
pleasant man? Shall We see hinl
occasionally" -s..lt
A nod or two, an assurance that
DR.. Fauvel was agreeable enough,
and would come very soon to make
us call, were all that L could get out
of my husband that evening.
The next day on my way TO church
[ saw, few steps in front of me, a
woman very simply dressed, who
walked quietly aloag without look
ing about her. She slackened her
pace on drawing near the church,
and i heard her ask the sexton
where was DIR. Fauvel's seat. After
that the only topic of conversation, in
al Amerville was Madame Fauvel.
Those who have lived in the couDtry
any time may easily imagine the sort
of talk more or less. friendly which
followed. Meanwhile 1 went to spend
a few days at my parents; on my he
turn | found the cards of DIR. and