The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1885-06-17
FLEURETTE.
CHATTER ].

{ SLtUEo anu lGEE-dAiu-SdSf lie
/ had at last worn of, and | found myself
/ signing for the Tespectabllity of broad
J cloth and settled position in my pro-
/ fession. Aided somewhat by thrift, and
more by fortunate land speculation, /
/ had made money enough 10 supply INV
/ wants for a few years TO come: so / re-
4 turned to England, resolved to beat out
/ a practice somewhere.
/ OF course. the first person / went to
see was John. He was my brother-my
/ only brOther-indeed, the one tie / had
/ to England. We were couple of or
/ phans. but pretty sturdy ones withal.
and well able to wrestle with the world.
/ Fortunately, our father lived until his
/ eldest son was of an age to carry on his
/ snug country practice: so John still Oc-
/ cupied the old red-brick house in the
main street of the little town of Dale
/ bury, the same brass plate on the door
/ doing duty for him as for his father be-
I fore him.
l found old John-so his closest
/ friends ever called him-little changed:
/ rather graver in mien, perhaps, but with
/ the same honest eyes and kindly smile,
/ winning at once the confidence, and
/ soon the love of men and women. AS
we clasped hands and looked in each
| others faces, we knew that the years
| which had made men of us had only
| deepened our bOyish love.
1t was pleasant, very pleasant, for a
wanderer like myself to find such awel-
/ come awaiting him. 1t was good to sit
/ once more in that coy old room and
/ talk with John late into the night, dis
| cussing all that had happened since last
! we sat there. | had many questions to
/ ask. Dalebury is only a little town.
| Having been born and bred there, ]
i 4
1 abroad long enough to forget old friends
/ so piled John with many inquiries as
| to the fate of one or another. After
| awhile / asked:
who lives now in the old house at
| the cOrner-where the Tanners lived
once?"
a widow lady and her daughter
| named Dorvaux."
French, | suppose, from the name?T
mo, believe not. Her late husband
was French; but so far as | have learn
| ed, Mrs. DOrvauX isan Englishwoman.
| Newcomers! They must be quite
an acquisition to Dalebury. Are they
| pleasant peOpIe?"
Il don't know-at least, | only know
| the daughter. She is very beautiful. y
added John, with something very much
| like a sigh
My quick ears caught the suspicious
| sound. Could be on the eve of an in
teresting discovery?
Very beautiful, is she? And what
may her Christian name be?"
"Fleurette-Fleuret replied John
| repeating the soft French name, and
| lingering upon it as though it were
| sweet to his lips, like wine.
Then he changed the conversation
| and far away we drifted from beautiful
| maidens and ndmusicalna names, as IrecOunt-
! ed some of my colonial eXploits-how |
! had treated strange accidents, out-of-
| the-way diseases, ghastly gunshot
| wounds; until our talk became purely
| professional, and without cheerfulness
t or interest for the laity.
l spent the next day in lookingup old
! friends and neighbOrs. | had brought
| money back with me; not very much, it
| 1s true, but rumOr had been kind enough
! to magnify the amount. so every one
was glad to see me. Mind, | don't say
| this cynically: / only mean that. leav-
! ing the nuisance of appeals to the pOck-
! ct, for old times sake. out of question
all must feel greater pleasure at seeing
a rolling-StOne come back fairly coated
| with moss than scraped bare. So all my
| old friends made much of me, and
wondered why the world in general
should be accused of forgetfulneSS.
While | was at one house, another
visitor entered, and | was introduced to
Miss DorvauX. AS | heard her name.
the recollection of my grave brother s
midnight sigh made me look at her in
tently and curiOusly: more SO, | fear
than politeness allowed.
+. Now you must decide for yourself as
| to whether Fleurette Dorvaux was
beautiful. When | say, candidly, that
only one person in the world admires
her more than | do, that only one per
son is her more devoted slave than ]
| am, confess myself a partial witness
| whose testimony carries little weight
| But to my eyes, that day. Fleurette ap-
peared as follows, About twenty years
of age; scarcely middle height, but with
dainty rounded figure; brunette. with
dark-brown eyes, long black lashes,
making those eyes look darker; such
black eyebrows and such black hair
| nose. mouth, and chin as perfect as
could be; such bright, bonny, lively
little woman! Not, decided at first
the wife for hard-Working, sober doc
tor like John Penn.
Stay-is the girl so bright. so lively
after all? On her entry she had greeted
my friends with a gay laugh and merry
words, emphasized with vivacious little
| French gestures. and for few minutes
she was all life and sunshine. She
name, and with easy grace began talk
ing to me thoughtfully and sensibly
As she talked, something in her man
ner told me that life was not all sweet
ness to her. At times her bright brown
| eyes looked even grave and serious, and
the smile, ever on her lips as she spoke
softened TO pensive one. The first
impression she made on me. the idea
that she was only a brilliant little but
tertiy thing. left me, and | FASTENED to
atone mentally for the wrong | had
done her by saying to myself. Il am
for once mistaken; the girl has plenty
of sense, and likely enough, viii and
purpose in that pretty head of hers
| However, grave or gay, wise or foolish,
| saw Fleurette Dorvaux beautiful
girl. and pictured woe for many youth
in Dalebury.
After John had seen the last of his
patients that night. he joined me in the
old room. and with bottle of goot
wine between us. | said:
| i saw your beautiful Miss Dorvau'
to-day"
John started as he heard her name
but made no reply; so | determined t
learn all that was to be learned.
1t was very easy task. Old Johl
had never yet been able to keep secre
from met may be ne never meant t
keep this. Any way, in a short time
heard the whole history of his love.
Fleurette and her mother came t
Dalebury some twelve months ago, ant
John. whose heart had been proc
against all local charms, had at one
surrendered. There was something il
the girl so different from all Others
Her beauty. her gracefulness, even he
pretty little foreign ways. had take
/ h Bx-cf and CO fo IPQ
from the symptoms he described, hi
case was very soon as desperate as tina
, of boy of twenty. 1t may be, the yer
strength of the constitution which ha
, | so long defied love made the fever rag
more fiercely. Yet, severe as the al
tack was. the cure seemed easy enough
He had comfortable home and goo
income to be shared; so he set to wor
! seriously to win Fleurette's love. A
seemed going on as well as could b
wished; the girl appeared happy in N
society. and. If she showed him no tang
bic marks of preference, seemed please
r and fattered byhis attentions I ct at las
when he asked her to be his wife, sh
refused him-sweetly and sadly, it
true, but nevertheless firmly refuse
him.
Now, although /. being four yeal
: younger, and. moreover. his brotheI
choose to laugh at John-call him gray'
sober and old-you must understan
!, this is all in jest and by way of gooe
: fellowship. and that John Penn was
man whom any girl should have bee
proud of winning He was no hero, {
genius or anything of that sort; bt
then most of US move amongst ordinal
men and women, and only know heroe
e heroines. and geniuses. as we kno
t princes and dukes-by name. He Ws
e a clever. Woodworking doctor, with
f good provincial practice. Modest
]. deters me from saying much about h
+ personal appearance, as the world Sc.
/ a strong likeness between us. | Wi
only saw he was tall and well-built. an