active as ants, sold land, turned
property into money, paid the debts, and settled up everything.
Vilquin showed a good deal of generosity in purchasing the villa, the
town-house, and a farm; and Latournelle made the most of his liberality
by getting a good price out of him. Society wished to show civilities to
Madame and Mademoiselle Mignon; but they had already obeyed the father's
last wishes and taken refuge in the Chalet, where they went on the very
morning of his departure, the exact hour of which had been concealed
from them. Not to be shaken in his resolution by his grief at parting,
the brave man said farewell to his wife and daughter while they slept.
Three hundred visiting cards were left at the house. A fortnight later,
just as Charles had predicted, complete forgetfulness settled down upon
the Chalet, and proved to these women the wisdom and dignity of his
command.

Dumay sent agents to represent his master in New York, Paris, and
London, and followed up the assignments of the three banking-houses
whose failure had caused the ruin of the Havre house, thus realizing
five hundred thousand francs between 1826 and 1828, an eighth of
Charles's whole fortune; then, according to the latter's directions
given on the night of his departure, he sent that sum to New York
through the house of Mongenod to the credit of Monsieur Charles Mignon.
All this was done with military obedience, except in a matter of
withholding thirty thousand francs for the personal expenses of Madame
and Mademoiselle Mignon as the colonel had ordered him to do, but
which Dumay did not do. The Breton sold his own little house for twenty
thousand francs, which sum he gave to Madame Mignon, believing that the
more capital he sent to his colonel the sooner the latter would return.

"He might perish for the want of thirty thousand francs," Dumay remarked
to Latournelle, who bought the little house at its full value, where an
apartment was always kept ready for the inhabitants of the Chalet.

CHAPTER IV. A SIMPLE STORY

Such was the result to the celebrated house of Mignon at Havre of
the crisis of 1825-26, which convulsed many of the principal business
centres in Europe and caused the ruin of several Parisian bankers, among
them (as those who remember that crisis will recall) the president of
the chamber of commerce.

We can now understand how this great disaster, coming suddenly at the
close of ten years of domestic happiness, might w