O9z THE GOOD FELLOW. 



_ 



Pecuniary difficulties begin to approach : 



" The business which Vauflonck procured him, turned out unproductive. 

 Correspondents complain of the bad condition of the goods delivered to them: 

 many refuse to accept them ; returns cease to be punctual, and the manufac- 

 turers' bills must be paid. Leonie is uneasy ; she entreats her husband to be 

 more careful ; Charles promises to do so, and he is sincere when he swears 

 that he will think of nothing else but of enriching himself; but the moment 

 he is out he forgets all he promised his wife, and allows himself to be led off 

 by Vauflonck, or somebody else, to preserve his reputation of being a 

 Good Fellow." 



Meantime Mongerand, who, after the affair of the duel, had married 

 and settled at Lyons, separates from his wife, and returns to Paris. 

 He assumes a complete ascendancy over Charles, and leads him from 



dissipation to dissipation. 



r r t io 



" If he happens to station himself at his desk, and attempts to employ 

 himself, Mongerand is sure to call for him. He comes swearing, shouting, 

 and smoking. Slapping Charles on the shoulder, he exclaims, ' What the 

 devil are you at this morning ? They are waiting for us there below : the 

 oysters are open : you know very well that German lost them yesterday to 

 me/ ' My husband has a great deal to do/ said Leonie, looking at Charles 

 to retain him. ' Oh, be quiet, Madam, he will return to business in a 

 moment ; the matter of eating a dozen oysters of drinking a glass of 

 Chablis 'twill be soon managed : and Charles will only be fresher for his 

 work. Come, we are all good fellows ; but they have sworn not to breakfast 

 without you/ Charles followed Mongerand, promising to return speedily ; 

 and when they reached the street, Mongerand said, ' Ha ! hah ! so you 

 must have your wife's permission to go out. Oh, this is rare it is too 

 good ! ' ' No, no, it is because it was my wish to be busy ; I am at liberty to 

 do as I please/ ' Very good : but if not, I should tell you to make haste in 

 casting off the yoke- Trample on all that ! Women are what we make them, 

 and a man is a fool that allows himself to be be led. I love the women I 

 respect them I am for proprieties ; and I would never give you bad advice : 

 but, in God's name, be a man : don't let yourself be led you are under petti- 

 coat government/ * My wife, I tell you, is as gentle as a lamb : I do just as I 

 please with her/ ' That's well : then love her cherish her attend to her 

 but dont be led by her. Be master in your own house, and you will be happy/ 

 The advice of Mongerand is more effective than the gentle remonstrances of 

 Leonie. Why ? Because Mongerand repeats all this to Charles at the tavern, 

 before his friends, all of whom vie with each other in proclaiming them- 

 selves masters at home. They would laugh at any one who had the appear- 

 ance of yielding to his wife of consulting her ; because these gentlemen 

 are much more sensitive to a cutting joke of one of their companions, than to 

 the prayers, the tears of their wives. Pitiful creatures ! who pass their lives 

 in declaring themselves masters, and prove it only by their acts of folly." 



Our hero's family increases ; his wife complains more loudly, and 

 he is still more seldom to be found at home. Mr. Rozat, his excellent 

 friend, takes the opportunity to attempt the seduction of Leonie, and 

 Charles picks up a mistress, with the help of Mongerand. He is ab- 

 sent on an excursion of pleasure with his inamorata, when he acci- 

 dentally hears of the failure of his own house. He gets through the 

 unlucky business by the sacrifice of his mother's small property, and 

 the sale of most of his effects. He next enters into a magnificent spe- 

 culation with Mongerand, which fails. The creditors come down 

 upon Charles, and this last blow reduces him to a garret. Then fol- 



