Fromont and Risler -- Volume 2

the same garden with its latticework fence, the same borders of green box. There the old cashier lived with his sister. He took the first omnibus that left the office in the morning, retu

bhorred all men, the brother looked upon all women with suspicion; but they adored ea

To those two retiring and innocent creatures, Paris, of which they knew nothing, although they visited it every day, was a den of monsters of two varieties, bent upon doing one anothe

ault," would be the ve

, my s

," "Monsieur Planus, my

the

the w

r and sister had been marked by extraordinary animation. They were deeply interested in what was taking place at the factory. The sister was full of pity for Madame Fromont and considered her husband's conduct altogether outrageous; as for Si

" he repeated again and

at by the fire with her knitt

be worried by such unheard-of tardiness, when Sigismond entered with a mos

n said in a low voice, in response to his si

who the woman is who is

silent walls of their little dining-room, he uttered a name

t pos

the t

rief, he had almos

, polite person, who had received her with so much

s," said Sigi

small furnished lodging- house in the Montmartre quarter; and he was a man who never lied. They had known him for a l

to tell him," declare

ace assumed a g

ht have been. When I sent for him to come to Paris with his brother, he hadn't a sou; and to-day he is at the head of one of the first houses in Paris. Do you suppose that he would be content with that? Oh! no, of course not! Monsieur must marry. As if any one n

nt opportunity to exclaim, "Oh! the men, the men!" but she was silent. It was a very deli

smond co

use at his banker's too much notice would be taken of it, whereas in our office money comes and goes, comes in and goes out. But look out for the inventory! We shall have some pretty figures to show at the end of the year. The worst part of the whole business is that Risler won't listen to anyth

sentence; but his silence was p

regrets, conjectures, and retrospective lamentations. What a misfortune that they had not known it sooner when they had the Chebes for neighbors. Ma

s had a great deal of influence over his brother, and he's the only person on earth who could say certain things to him. But Frantz is so far away. And then it wou

she never had been able to resist her brother's wishes, and the desire to b

s created in the quarter by that shop without merchandise, the shutters of which were taken down in the morning and put up again at night, as in wholesale houses. Shelves had been placed all around th

and feasted his eyes delightedly on the hurly-burly of Parisian commerce. The clerks who passed with their packages of samples under their arms, the vans of the express companies, the omnibuses, the porters, the wheelbarrows, the great bales of merchandise at the

or the horses attached to a dray, spirited and restive, made the long vehicle standing across the street an obstacle to circulation. He had, m

by the labor of other people, would stretch himself out in h

of life I need-

s possible in a back room with an outlook upon a dark yard, consoling herself with reflections on the former prosperity of her parents an

back room in which she lived, and where it was dark at three in the afternoon, was resplendent with order and cleanliness. During the day the bed became a couch, an old shawl did duty as a tablecloth, the fireplace, hidden by a scree

caused these words to be inscribed in letters a

ION-EXP

sell everything, but could not make up his mind just what. With what arguments di

oadcloths I must have a man to travel; for the best kinds come from Sedan and Elbeuf. I say nothing about cal

his discourse to a

bring counsel-le

ld go, to his wif

the dizzy fits gradually returned. The quarter was noisy and unhealthy: besides, business wa

crisis that "Mademoiselle Planus, my s

gently." But, like all shy people, she relieved herself of her

ughter, Madame Chebe rose in indignation. No one could ever make her beli

taking everything to himself as was his custom. How could any one suppose that his child, a Chebe, th

be considered a gossip, a hawker of unsavory stories. But they

rry about it? Our daughter is married. She lives a long way from her parents. It is for her husb

who passed his life in his office devising machines, refused to accompany his wife into soc

ed the word "brewery!" And yet almost every evening he went there to meet Risler,

going to see Sidonie, in order to interest her in his new schemes. That was not the time, therefore, to make disagreeable scenes, to prate about paternal authority and conjugal honor. As for Madame Chebe, be

uillity, and ignorance seemed to her preferable to everything. As if life were not sad enough, good h

raordinary place, which reminded one strongly of the day following a failure. With his lips closed disdainfully, in his determination to remain silent, he seemed to say to t

ot no further satisfa

ismond, who was impatie

ve me, and politely

eyes at the thought

and he said in a grave voi

rdon for having made you take this step; but t

fe or secure. Even when Fromont Jeune did not ask him for money, he was afraid, and he summed up a

he would say, in his

maining open, no matter how much he turned the key; or else that a high wind had scattered all the papers, notes, ch

a little white mouse had eaten its way through the bottom of the box and was gnawing and d

umage, old Sigismond shuddered with rage. In his eyes it was the ruin of the house that stood there, rui

ming of her music-teacher, the arrival of the fashionable dressmaker in the morning, all the boxes that were brought to the house, and the laced cap of the employe of the Magasin du Lo

rough the open windows. The carpets that were shaken with a great noise, the jardinieres that were brought into the sunlight

stared him in the face, reminding hi

he studied more caref

s count

st upright of men, into a shameless villain. There was no possibility of doubt

he first time, to go at once too far, beyond reason. When he was once convinced of the treachery of Georges and Sidonie, Risler's degradation seemed to

t and his clear-sightedness in business were a thousand leagues from that absent-minded, flighty character, half-artist, half-inventor. He judged him by himself, having no con

difference, which he believed to be wilful and premeditated, covering his face like a mask, he adopted the plan of turning away and fumbling among his papers to avoid those false glances, and keeping his

eminiscences as they turned over t

came to the factory. Yo

ned at Douix's that da

evening, eh? W

the strange coolness th

self. He mentione

as it were, by malevolent glances which caused her to turn nervously toward the old cashier's corner. This estrangement betwe

nce his equal, now his superior, he can't stand that. But why bother one's

her with wide-o

ause she has become Madame Risler Aine. Heaven only knows all the outrageous things that are said about

t without a painful sensation, so that, after a while, Risler ceased to go to the counting-room at all. It was not difficult for him, as Fromont Jeune had charge of all financial matters. Hi

e used to say. But Claire Fromont passed the summer at Savigny. As soon as the first fine days arrived, the trunks were packed and the curtains taken down on the floor below; and a great furniture van, with the little girl's blue bassinet rocking on

all the fashion and wealth of Paris were driving by the seashore under their light umbrellas, and would make their outing an excuse for a thousand new inve

She could not think of them;

ing better than to gratify this latest whim; but a country house cannot be concealed like a bracelet or a shawl. The

r Paris. Risler listened with a smile. He thought of the high grass, of the orchard filled with fine fruit-tre

see. Let us wait til

at is to say, the strik

vanishes; and the fortune of the firm, like a slippery, gleaming snake, always in motion, expands, contracts, diminishes, or increases, and it is impossible to know our c

t week of the year, when so many windows are illuminated for family gatherings. Every one, even to the least important 'employe' of the firm, is interested in the results of the inventory. The increases of salary, the New Year's presents, depend upon those blessed figures. And so, while the vast interests of a wealthy house are trembling in the

ctory, the heavy pages of the great books rustle as they are turned, and names called aloud cause search to be made in other books. Pens scratch. The old cashier, surrounded by his lieutenants, has a businesslike, awe-inspiring

ou getting o

ave, afraid to ask any further questions. He knows from th

establishment. Receipts and expenditures balanced each other. The general expense account had eaten up everything, and, furthermore, Fromont Jeune was indebted to the

a thousand francs, instead of the five hundred his uncle used always to give. Everybody felt the effects of that generous impulse, and, in the universal satisfacti

the ceiling, so that the light fell directly upon the subject of the inventor's meditatio

d the door, turned joyf

s to think out. But no matter! I am sure now of my invention: you will see-you will see! Ah! t

much for the future; but you don't seem to thi

orgotten all about it. It isn

mewhat disturbed and embarrass

satisfied, especially as this is our first year together. We have forty thousand francs each for our sha

e confidence he was betraying, Fromont jeune pl

e generosity of these Fromonts, who had made him what he was; then he thought of his little Sid

appy smile on his lips, he hel

happy! I am

bundles of bank notes spread out before him in the narrow bands which

is?" he said to Georges

nie's house i