The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-08-03
<<D0bleSge O&5Qe. y
Adapted for the Argonaut from the
French Of H. du Plessac by Katherine

Marshall
Nine. Patroulllot seemed to forget that
in ceasing to be Mile. Godichard and be-
coming Nine Patroullot she had done
so of her own free wiIl-indeed, she ap-
peared to lose sight of the fact that 1t
was far better to be plain Nine. Patrou-
illot and the wife of an honest man than
to bear a more distinguished name and
be the spouse of rascal. Still, this
moral considera ton failed to reconcile
the otherwise excellent woman to the
name of Patrouillot, and instead of APP
preciating the very many admirable quail
tiles of the most perfect of men, she
spent her time in deploring the name he
had given her. AS Mile Godichard, she
had welded not only willingly, but joy
fully, and in the romantic days of her
youth had been desperately in love with
the man whom she called by the glorious
name Of Caesar-and, frankly, Patrouillot
was quite as distinguished a name as
Godichard.
With the passing years, however. the
love of Nine. Patrouillot for her Caesar
her handsome Caesar, as she once call
ed hinl-diminished, for, as time slipped
by, the distance between Adonis and
Caesar Patrouillot heightened and in
creased until he could no longer be called
the handsome Caesar. Time had not
dealt more kindly with Nine. Patrouillot,
who had developed from a very pretty
girl into a remarkably plain-looking
matron.
From her marriage she had obtained
nothing but the name of Patrouillot-a
name which she detested more and mora
as time went on. Yielding at last to her
wishes, the arniab.e Caesar offered to ap-
ply to the Legislature to have his name
changed, ard suggested Martin or Benoit
But madame flew into an ungovernablc
rage, stamped her foot, and positively re-
fused to be known as Nine. Martin or
Nine. Benoit, and from this time on,
much to the surprise of her amiable
spouse, became more irritable and crab
bed than ever. The honest, :onpIe-minded
Patrouillot was 'perplexed and at a loss
to guess the secret of his wife's increased
irritation.
The real reason was that Nine. Patrouil-
lot cherished a secret ambition, and not
only wished to get rid of the plebian
name of Patrouillot, but to replace it by
high sounding one, adorned with the
aristocratic prefix of de-" and even, If
possible, by title, for long had the no
bility bee been buzzing in her ears. Once,
during the absence of her husband, she
had secretly consulted a lawyer as to
the possibility of changing their name of
Patrouillot to D'Auvergne, because M.
Patrouillot first saw the light of day in
the suburbs Of Clermont-Ferrand. The
lawyer, replied, however, that as the fam
lily name was not possible, and suggested
Lauvergnat. This was not precisely what
the ambitious little woman desired, so she
remained Nine. Patrouillot with increased
rage.
About this time the good natured caesar,
who was ever a careful merchant, made a
successful deal which brought him for
tune far beyond his most sangune hopes
This unexpected good luck, together with
the rents of his houses and shop, placed
him in a position to enjoy life. as he con-
ceived it. A modest, plain, little bourgeois
house in the suburbs of Paris, with the
Seine not far away, surrounded by neat
garden, which he himself would cultivate
ornamented with an artificial rockery,
from the center of which should spring
a modest little fountain emptying into a
metal basin wherein the Patrouillot face
should be grotesquely mirrored, and a
rustic arbor where monsieur could sit and
chat and drink beer with his friends in
the summer evenings-such was the d cam
Of Patrioullot
Nine. Patreuillot's dream of happiness,
however, was Numerically opposed to
that Of the kind hearted Caesar, for for
tune had but increased her ambition. and
to her. wealth meant absolutely nothing
without an aristocratic name. But how
to obtain it?
One day as she sat in her room, consid-
ering this important question, which to
her meant so much, she read on the fourth
page of morning journal the following
advertisement:
Decorations and titles Of foreign no.
pli1ty quickly obtained and assured Fer
nando de la Mimosa, 240 Rue Montmartre:
office hours from 2 to A.
Without delay she sought M. Mimosa.
His appearance, indeed, was not prepos-
sessing. She found a middle-aged man
extremely dark, of doubtful nationality.
though evidently a foreigner, who receiv-
ed her with obsequious affab!lity. and
hardly had she explained the object of
the visit when the obliging Mimosa as
sured her that nothing in the world was
easier.
MY dear Madame" said he, "the whole
aIIalr is quite simple, and in less than q
month your husband shall, receive a duca1
ute of the republic Of Saint-Maltin''
All. that is asking too much, sir" mod
estly replied Nine. PatrouilIot; 1.-The title
OF count Will be quite sufficient"
AS you please, then, madame" said
the obsequious Mimosa; land since Won
join humility to your other virtues, |
snail not insist, though with such noble
ancestors as yours
Ancestors" replied the unsophisticated
nv L 'IAouAlol' WE'LL suppose, mon
sleur, we undoubtedly had them. bnt 7
assure you they have not left trace
behind them"
Possibly not In the last generations
owing to the turbulence of the times. hut
renect madame" continued the shave
1lIiosa, assuming theatrical pose and
sestulatlng in the Italian fashion. "11non
the glorious name of Caesar-a name that
centuries have failed to dim-undoubtedlv
your husbands ancestors date back To tba
Roman period
never thought of that" said the in
hocent Nine Patrouillot, "but if is onite
possible. Do the best you can for rs
monsieur" she said; and then s1iebtI,,
hesitating, evidently from emh ar, r5 tl ss
iilel!t' May L ask your charges for the
services rendered." INC
An madame, exclaimed the noble for
eisner' do not mention money. or I sbau
feel Insulted. My sole desire assure
you, is to reward unrecognized merit-S
the success of my clients is the only ra-
compense l ask, the only end 1 work for
Later on, when the title has been oh
famed we will talk about the charges Of
me cnahcellors Office. For the moment
l Shall only require the trf1ing SIM of
oVV 1ranes-a mere bagatelle-to defray the
expenses of the journey which shall be
oellged to make, for tomorrow I shan
leave for St Martini --e'ii
All, monsieur" said Nine Patrouillot
quite overcome with emotion, you are
really too kind" and presenting the five
hundred francs to the disinterested MI
mosa, Nine. Patrouillot returned home
fully convinced that her devoted Caesar
was scion of imperial Rome.
one evening, month later, while M
ana NINE Patrouillot were at dinner, the
servant handed to the latter the followiny
letter:
MADAME: am happy to inform you