day at dawn he accompanied his master on board the
"Modeste" bound for Constantinople. There, on the poop of the vessel,
the Breton said to the Provencal,--

"What are your last commands, my colonel?"

"That no man shall enter the Chalet," cried the father with strong
emotion. "Dumay, guard my last child as though you were a bull-dog.
Death to the man who seduces another daughter! Fear nothing, not even
the scaffold--I will be with you."

"My colonel, go in peace. I understand you. You shall find Mademoiselle
Mignon on your return such as you now give her to me, or I shall be
dead. You know me, and you know your Pyrenees hounds. No man shall reach
your daughter. Forgive me for troubling you with words."

The two soldiers clasped arms like men who had learned to understand
each other in the solitudes of Siberia.

On the same day the Havre "Courier" published the following terrible,
simple, energetic, and honorable notice:--

"The house of Charles Mignon suspends payment. But the
undersigned, assignees of the estate, undertake to pay all
liabilities. On and after this date, holders of notes may obtain
the usual discount. The sale of the landed estates will fully
cover all current indebtedness.

"This notice is issued for the honor of the house, and to prevent
any disturbance in the money-market of this town.

"Monsieur Charles Mignon sailed this morning on the 'Modeste' for
Asia Minor, leaving full powers with the undersigned to sell his
whole property, both landed and personal.

"DUMAY, assignee of the Bank accounts,
LATOURNELLE, notary, assignee of the city and villa property,
GOBENHEIM, assignee of the commercial property."

Latournelle owed his prosperity to the kindness of Monsieur Mignon,
who lent him one hundred thousand francs in 1817 to buy the finest law
practice in Havre. The poor man, who had no pecuniary means, was nearly
forty years of age and saw no prospect of being other than head-clerk
for the rest of his days. He was the only man in Havre whose devotion
could be compared with Dumay's. As for Gobenheim, he profited by the
liquidation to get a part of Monsieur Mignon's business, which lifted
his own little bank into prominence.

While unanimous regrets for the disaster were expressed in
counting-rooms, on the wharves, and in private houses, where praises of
a man so irreproachable, honorable, and beneficent filled every mouth,
Latournelle and Dumay, silent and