"Worthy fellows!" said Morrel, as he went away, "may your new master love you as I loved you, and be more fortunate than I have been!" August rolled by in unceasing efforts on the part of Morrel to renew his credit or revive the old.

On the 20th of August it was known at Marseilles that he had left town in the mailcoach, and then it was said that the bills would go to protest at the end of the month, and that Morrel had gone away and left his chief clerk Emmanuel, and his cashier Cocles, to meet the creditors.

But, contrary to all expectation, when the 31st of August came, the house opened as usual, and Cocles appeared behind the grating of the counter, examined all bills presented with the usual scrutiny, and, from first to last, paid all with the usual precision.

There came in, moreover, two drafts which M.Morrel had fully anticipated, and which Cocles paid as punctually as the bills which the shipowner had accepted.

All this was incomprehensible, and then, with the tenacity peculiar to prophets of bad news, the failure was put off until the end of September.