Francisco Ferrer; his life, work and martyrdom, with message written ...

—
14 Francisco Ferrer,
the meeting with m.
coppola.
During: these travels an adventure befell them—only
one, but it lasted a long time. They became acquainted
with M. Coppola, an excellent man, on whom fortune
had not smiled, yet who, with his courageous wife, smiled
cheerily out upon the world from the little shop where
they sold souvenirs and postcards. What was more
natural than that the Coppolas should gossip with theircustomers
Mme. and M. Coppola became so intimate
with Mile, and J\Ime. Meunier that the two French travelers,
won by the many good qualities of these Italian
shopkeepers, soon put honest M. Coppola in charge of
the estate they had recently acquired in Milan. Mme.
Meunier was so well satisfied with the way in which
her agent performed his services that she asked him
to take over the management of the whole property
belonging to herself and her daughter.
M. Coppola took to the task very seriously. lie
possessed the full confidence of the two ladies, and
he fulfilled his new duties with rare prudence and
sagacity. Hitherto, the harshness of his lot had failed
to accord him the opportunity to reveal the talents
which his noble face and dome-like forehead proclaimed
him to possess.
DEATH OF MADAME MEUNIER.
Mme. Meunier died. The daughter, in part carrying
out her mother's last wishes, and in part only too
glad in her unworldliness to be able to rely upon the
services of M. Coppola, begged the latter to continue
in the management and administration of her property.
But her enthusiasms, both artistic and religious;
the noble longings of a timid and reserved woman,
her natural generosity, her pious charity, her love for
travel and for costly trifles, sometimes led her into
such extravagance that M. Coppola, ever sensible of
his duty, had to remonstrate with her to prevent the
partial destruction of the fortune accumulated by M.
Meunier and till then carefully preserved intact.
Mile. Ernestine, appreciating the wisdom of his
reproofs—which had to be repeated over and over
but quite unable to curb her impetuosity, felt that she