HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times, 1889-4-4, Page 2TR VA DESERTED FARM
A TRAGIC STORY OF OLD CANADA,.
CHAPTER I.--(Conneuee.) 1, officer hed gained an advantage of which he
was net slow to avail himeelf.
1
" After some perauattion, el. Dertjarniers a me leatierea in gaming language the
contented to his BOA'S &tire! and Eche, with aseneroue charm and delights of tbe aria.
man kied wishea on tele part ot his parent} theta* aociety to whioh be sought to M-
aud ' cruise, and away regrete thee he was
to leeve them, even i or so abort a time, set
forth immedietely, halt -regretting himself,
when theetour ot departure arrived, that he
//mina be so long parted from his betrothed.
"He had been abseet but a few days when
M. de Lavigey, the lord of the manor, who
-bad not visited his property for several years
arrived, with his nephew, M. le Capiteine
de Lavigny, a yeaug French officer, who had
lately come to Cmada on a visit to hiaancle.
M. de Levigny exprested his ititeetion
to remain at St. Qleude fori several week,
ee eisjoa the itgoitnef huntiqg and sheeting
With hitanenhe ' d Low a great diffieelty
anise as te'wn istinguithed visitors
elldald find' sid ,gings.
"Certainly th . Ets no itccommadation
for them inany df the cabbie' .of .the anion
farmers and aeheimen, tae. taelgedat's ten -
ante. M. Dsajeenters1 house was the. .only
one, within many milenewhero they etoind
t ad rooms, aiella.Desjarniere held Ma tetra
in iddepeficlent pothessitm. M. de Lavigne'
h eld. no authority over him whetevet The
honest, kind-hearted farmer, however, :no
sooner heard of the awkward dilemma in
which two gentlemen found themselves,
than he battened to assure them that he and
his wife would be happy to places theniest
reama in thefr house at their disposal, Which
offer was thankfully accepted:
"My story.," continued M. le Cure, which
has hitherto been all happiness, now begins
to nee .
" C'aptain de Levigny had hardly taken .
possession. of hie lodgings, ere he was at " 'If Monsieur would but honour us by
motel by the exquisite beauty. and naive .
innocence and simplicity of Louise. ACOUS.
tamed, to theemen coquetry and inane fri-
volity which at that period prevailed
-among females of the highest rant in the
French capital, there was something freesia..
tibia to the young man in the manners as
well as in the appearance of the young
Cenadiart. He thought her the loveliest
=mature he had ever beheld, and lost no
stime.in the endeaveur eo fiete,blish himself
inter good graces.
-"The only amid one of the olden and
proudest families of France, and heir to a
large -fortune, he imagined that his eonquest
a -the heart of the unsophisticated country
girl would be an easy one. In this, how-
ever, le was greatly mistaken. He' was a
-handsome young man though far - inferior
to Felix in true mahly beauty. His gay
clothing, and easy, . insinuating manners,
however, est off his- natural good looks' to
advantage and while Louise acknow-
leaged. to herself that Felix was
tailor and han.cleome, and better •formecl,
ethemould int help, admiring him, and wish-
•iteg, im her secret heart, that her betrothed
husband poeseseed semethiug of the officer's
personal graces in addition -to his own man-
lybeanty. Still' alarmed atthe young French-
man's ardent -admiring glances, she sought
in every way to ahun hire,- for several days,
• anti11311111 at Ithetli Madame Deiajarniers told
her that she Was Sorry .to see her leehave so
rudely to their stranger guest.
"Ali, poor, innocent unsupicious Madame
Deeesarnierna apostrophieed M. le Cure, "11
youladleithad a little Moro ktioenedme of
i thetworids and had been aware that this ap-
parent coldness and rudeness on the part of,
your adopted child was but the instinctive
modesty of y entail womanhooa and the de-
fence against libertineous advance) with
which nature has endowed the pure -minded
of 'the sex 1
« Madame Del arniers, however," con-
tinued M. le Cure, resuming the tread of
his narrative "was long past the age at
which female innocence and beauty saes to
-dread the arts of the would-be deaspoiler ;
and having, in her ownoriginal lowly sphere,
known no temptation, she had no ides, in
her ignorance of the 'world, of the depravity
which could lead men to seek the destrao
lion of her sex's modesty, nor could the
conceive it possible that. a betrothed bride
-could forget the ties by which. she was
bound to her lover. She was herself pleased
west the Manners of her youthful guest, and
she wished her adopted daughter to aid her
endeavours to render hira. comfortable.
alarm, though thie alarm took no definite " The fiaherman 'saw no pastengere while ;Balloted 1/ my own liana. en will be the CHANGES IN d.A.PAN.
shape, since eheY coital gee conceive that tow he was on hoard the ship ; butt ,he said often: irostenteee ,in the hende of beavene
troduce her, and to which he, assured her,
she was fitted by. nature to lesoome one of
it e fain* tead, begatest °rem -emits. Be pic-
tured, in contrast!, a life wonted, as he termed
it, in tereneote district of a dependent colony,
in the soolety of boors and hinder, with whona
she was in adapted to emotive° ; and though
he might not have won her love, he fired her
latent arabition, and awakeinecl her inherent
love of admiration. Instead ot aburtning his
acciety, now that she knew his object, as she
ought to have done, she sought it more than
ever, and listened, with tell-tale blushes and
aparkling eyes, to the Retteries with which
he assailed her. What wouder, them. that,
at length, alde euceumbecl to his Rattenee ?—
for, alas 1 poor child, the had no ono to warn
her of the clangers to which she voluntaelly„
• exFosed hernia• .
'M., de Lavigny was ready to return to
Quelaec, but his nephew had made up his
mind not to return with him., The yourg
officer professed to have derived much
benefit from the pure air of St,
Chtede, anti expressed his i tthention to
roman yet a, few weeks longer, promising
to rejoin hie uncle at Quebeo early in the
autumn; and. so blind were Monsieur and
Madame Desist:hien to the dangera which
threatened them &medic happiness, and to
much pleased were they with the youog
officer's society, that they listened to his
decision with eatisfactiom and assured him
that they would do all in their power
to make his longer sojourn agreeeble 130
remaining our guest until the return o
our son, and would.gracionsly assist at the
wedding of our dear Felix and Louise,' said
Madame Dela arniers, 'our satisfaction would
be completer and the Captain expressed his
deep regret that the necessity of his return
to France before the winter set in, would
oblige him to quit Se Claude a few weeks
before the expected return home of M.
Felix.
"What need," continued M. le Cure. "to
be more explicit with my story? Suffice it
to say, them within a few weeks of the depar-
ture of M. de Lavigny, leis nephew had SUS
oeeded in the accomplishment of his wishes.
Louise, dazzled by the brilliant prospects
opened out to her in the future, andforgetful
ot her vows before heaven, and of the duty
she owed her earthly proteotorer-heedleas,
alas 1 of the misery she would entail upon
her more than parents, and her too trusting
lover and foster-brother—had promised to
become the wife of the high-born French
officer, and to return with him to Paris.
"It• was arranged that their marriage
should take place atQuebee ; and a plan was
laid out, by which Louise was to follow the
Captain to that place the day after his de-
parture from St. Claude.
• "The day appointed. for the departure of
the young ffieer .arrived; and amidet the
regrets and good wishes for his future wel
fare of his simple minded host and hostess,
the young Frenchmen embarked on board
the vessel which was to convey him to Qtste-
bee ; he, on bit part, promised to send a
handiome present to Madame Desjarniere
!vim France, as ramie of bin regard, and as
a slight return for the many kindnesses he
had received front herself and her husband.
• " Little did they—poor, sinaple, honest
people—imagine that their treacherous
guests was about to rob them of their great-
est treasure 1
" Louise had, for some time past, lost
• much of her former theerfolness, and her
foster-perents had noticed the change in her,
and had attributed it to indisposition, and
to the alseence of Felix. They had sought
to camisole her by reminding her that the day
when her lover would return to claim her at
his bride was drawing near.
1" The young officer, too, perceiving that
'mike) was frightenea at his advances, as
-muted a more ,retired manner in her pee-
ssence • and in a short time the young girl,
losing her fears, began to thiek that they
had been groundless, and to treat the
yeung man with greater cordiality. •
Suffice it to say that, in the coarse Of a
• fort -night, the young Captain and Louise
'became mutually pleased with each other,
and though Louise had not yet swerved for
one mordent fro'm her duty and offection for
her bettothed husbarul, she found a strange
fascination in the offiier's conversation, and
eepecially in- his descriptions of the perils
and &impel, he tad encountered (for he had
already then service during his brief mili-
tary eareer. Many of tetese perils Might
have been exaggerated, or invented—pro-
bably they were ; still he thawed protidly
the scar of a wound he had received while
•fighting at the head of his reginaent ; and if
Louise did nob yet love him, she admired
hisn "tor the dangiare he had peroxide+
. wards that be had no sooner glottal the' "Yeltin"Dttjerldereeneediln embarked ear 'What delberal, Intercourse has Achieved.
stmerseeed on the quarter.cleck, the forme fereivelt of ale /mart -broken parents, and
`034pfsCirtod by the letter, and the lady coh. regithereda solemn vow to heaven that he
tinted to ga ea earnestly. towards the shore would netretrotern to St Claude, nor hold
as long as the ship rememed in eight of EC any oorreepondence with any one in
Claude.
"These lettere wore of 00arSe frOta Louise,
wbo was now,indeed, Madame de Levigwv.
They were very loog, and so blotted with
team, that they were Namely legible.
aceident could have befallen their eta
the quite village calla nelehborbood,
"M. Dal heaters, heseevem pet forth in
search of her, and, returued late in the after -
neon without lowing heard any tidings of
the ebeent one, mad hoping to find her Al-
ready at home.
" When he discovered that such wee not
the ease. be knew not what to think. Het
room. avert searched, and, it watt seen that ahe
had gone abroad in her ordinary garments.
Nothing was miasing with tho exemption of
a large cloth cloak, waisah she would prob-
ably have wrapped around her if about to
take ase erdinary walk ae an early nour itt
the merning. A 'swarth was immediately
instituted throughout the night and the
greeter pertioa of the following day, and
though every foot of ground for miles around
was carefully examined, ro traces of the lost
Louie) were discernible. No snepicion of
the truth entered the villagers' minds, and,
and, in their simplicity, they began to at-
tribute Louisen strange did:Appearance to
ame aunernaturad oath°.
"Vain woold it be for me to attempt to
describe the grief of Monsieur and Madame
•Deajerniers, Intensified ae it was by their
keetteedge of the agony of grief And dietrete
into whiontheir eon would be plural/tad when
he ehould hear of hientetrothed bride's my-
aterions disappearance. •
"The search was continued at intervals
for three days; but on the evening of the
third day certain, newe was brought to the
village which threw some light upon the
matter.
"A fieheimea belonging to a village some
eight miles distant along the river shore had
been plying his vocation titter Cape St. Anne
on theinght of Louise's disappearance; and
this men now came on a visit to a friend at
Bt. Claude. Of course, he very soon heard
of the Rad affair which was the almost sole
talk of the village.
8'iniple aria igaorant, however SO were
" 'Poor child r said Madame to her hus-
band; 'she is naturally anxious as the day
of her noce approaches. I remember how it
was with me when I was about to become
thy wife; but when once the wedding is
over, our beloved Louise will be herself
again. What a pity it is that our late guest
could not remain to assist at the wedding
festivities r •
"On the very day on which the French
officer took his departure, a letter arrived
from Felix, in which he spoke of his expect
ed return that day week, a,nd expressed his
ardent desire once more to embrace his
parente and his darling betrothed Louise,
and his loriging for the day on which he
should dame her as his bride.
"'Three nights ago, do you say ?' said he
to hitt friend. 'That will explain something
which struck me at the time as being very
strange. Litton, old comrade. It was about
three nights since, and I had lowered my
sail, and was lying to, under •the Cepe,
when I saw a schooner coming down thc
river, close in shore. There was nothing in
that; but when she arrived opposite Bt.
Claude, she was hove to, and a boat was
lowered from her deck, into which descend-
ed two sailors, and a tall man, wrapped, in a
large military cloak. The tmet was pulled
to the shore, and the tall man sprang out on
to the beach.
"'Ha, ha thought Ito myself; this
is strange ! Why should a passenger land
at St. Chat& tlais late boar? Who or
what can hebe, I wonder ?' thought the
boat would return to the schooner • but no,
it remained where it had landed its passen-
ger. My curiosity was Aroused. 'By Jove r
I exclaimed to myself, '1 will watch and see
the end of this.' •
"It wasafairly bright moonlit night, so that,
though I was EOM distance oft Icould see
every -thing that mound inmost as well as
though it had been daylight ; while, my boat
lying in the deep shadava of the cliff, I
Jould nob be seen. Perhaps ten minutes
elaeped, andthen the tall man who had the
bearing of a gthtleman, reappeared, with
e female, also wrapped in a caoak, hanging
onehis artre .
"At lenath the man partly led and partly
earried his companion to the boat, put
her. on board, and got on hosed himself.'
tse soon as he had taken his seat in the
etern-sheets, tins women hid her face in his
bosom ; and novel could plainly seenuatahe
waegreatly agitated anawasweepingbitterly,
while the man eought in every way to soothe
and console her. The boat was speedily
pulled back to the schooner; the passengers
and sailors climbed to the deck, the wotnan
being lifted on board by her companion, the
yards were braced forward, and the schooner
returned up the river in the direction whence
she had come,
" Some raischievous work going forward,'
thought I to myself, 'but it is no buainess of
mine, and I couldn't prevent it if I would.
My good friend, ib strikes me very forcibly
that this narrative has something to do with
the disappearance of the pretty Lionise Dea:
jerniend
"Be thought the lletener, and others to
whom the story was told, andgradually the
truth forced itself urn their • minds. They
reoolleetedathe friendly intimaoy• that had
existed between Louise and the military
officer, and soon arrived at the conclusion
that Louise had eloped with the young and
gtallant Frenthtaan.
"I peas oyer the conflating feelings of
grief and regret of Monneur and Madame
Deajerniers, and the agonizing pangs which
torts the breast' of the unhappy, betrayed
Felix, when on his return hothe only a few
demi later, all eager to embrace hie betrothed
bride, he learnt how beady and cruelly he
had been wronged. '
"le is enough to say that gradually, after
a time, his distracted mind became more
tranquil, all he thought of was vengenoe.
Hie very nature seemed suddenly to have
undergone a complete change.
amesel'a side than a lady aud gentlemen Fmaiette beviug previouely taken a feed
• Claude, until the verigthease te cootemplats 1828 to the constitutienel Jepan of 1889 is
only part of tee transformation in the world
in these al yeain pep an Englieh journat.
The political obseevere whose lot was oath
from 1815 to 18e6 --an &teal number of /-
Thu! change from the shutup tTapen of
a
ed had been fully and completely wrought, yeer t ---,WY' 00 Werld f.itadding still, The
What was the nature of this vengeance, if, holy alliance hung like a weight upo7t.
indeetialle.had yet maclo up his mind ,on t Germany and:Italia and, flaiiireetlY, dom.-,
that poiat, he kept a secret in his own :mated Europe: a Reaction ruled the pe -
bosom. iamb, nem meame to Venice. from at.
,
" The words -of poor Madame Deejerniera tame tot Turin. •• 'Russian . influence was
wereelms, bet too prophetic 1 Deprived of strong not outer at every petty. German
both her tenderly level children, f elm fell
.
cefurt. but at Vienna and ut: After
1820 1.1911i8 Philippe was !ab otted" by
the conservative dynasties, and h s heir had
ta tnarrya pettyProtestant princess,. If
a few generous spirits attempted protest or
revolt, Caw:paid dearly for their courage in
fortress dungeons or on the seaffold. There
was no breakinthe.darkaltyinee whiaper of
change in the air ; a terroeinnehusbea ale
hearts ; the might of hinge seenie . mareg,
"Louisa wrote that Fate Was lawfully mar-
ried to Captain de Levigny, within two
hours of her Arrival at Quebec, by Biel:48110p
of that place,—the vast influence of' M. de
Lavigny, the elder, having been sufficient
to cause the preliminaries to be arranged
ready for "the immediate .aerneuittmetien of
the marelage earthy:my. Yet, 'though she
was now the wife of a diatieguithecl gentle-
man, slukaverred, withMany lond eitotestat-
ims, that if all the wealth of the world were
at her disposal, she would give it all, freely,
gladly, could the but blot out the past four
menthe' fecon, tier existence and be once
more Whet eke ' wets whentlir had blade]
her betrothed and beeinyed fostenbrother
aed lover farewella ore he sailed for' •Nove
Sootier. She *Yawed .thate she weild- -have
gone back home, even at the last moment,
11 113 had not been too late and liaa'she not
been carried on heetrd elett"beet berstenepei
er who, according ea' freeleas'atrangenienn
had only riroceeaed e;'iihort-diatassetrap ' the
river after he had taken his departureefeern
St. Claude, instead going.. clireetly to
the villager's, they were not altogether
blind to the growing partiality of 14rise
and,theyoung French Captainto eachnther's
society. Not that 'they iniagined that any
greet harm would covet 01 1±; hue they
thmight it a pity that Felix, who was a
general favourite., eheuld have absented him-
self 'at this eapectud period.
however, Were trio innocent and
ignorant of the workre ways to anticipate
any evil; Mid so Matters proceeded until
two menthe had expired, and M. de Lavigny
was intending to rotten to Quebec.
4‘14attero, hoivever, had proceeded tenth
further than any ode in the village had any
Mersa ,
"To riti the Captain due justice what-
ever may have been his original intentione§
he had quite given tip any idea of working
evil tower& Unlace He had, in feet, be.,
come perfectly felicitated by bet rare geese
&tad beauty; tand regardless of the jeers to
which he would expose himeelf from hie
gay frientle Ortode—oatelcisa of the opposi-
tion of hie etietocretic relatives to etch ao
tallieneet-rheedlthe of the world's opinion,
aehe had resolved, if poseible, to make the
fait Canadian 13IS Wife, and had already
asked her to accept hie hand and there his
brttine.
4t lierk Louise had honeady Bemired him
that the wee betrothed to her foster -la other -
*hone the sincerely loved, and that within
three Menthe glee expected to become lite
t
"Ali yet, the hao. not isworved, even in
thougats frem het duty ; and her heart was
1 n to the abeent Felix.
"Louise was on that day very. dull and
dbareseed. She did. not seem tq know what
she was doing, and when Madame Desjarn-
terra after reading the teeter aloud, placed
it in. her adopted. daughter's hands, the un-
happy girl buret into a passion of twine and
hastened to shut herself up in her own
room
• "'Poor child r said the old lady, how
deeply she feels What love she bears in
her heart for our noble boy But the youth-
ful .pair will soon be re -united, alld our
Louise will be all Braila arid happiness
again.'
"Perhaps, even at that late moment, had
Louise possessed a confidante from whim
she might have ',ought advice -and consenta
tion, the impending bitter had yob been
averted, and she might have been restored
to her fester -patentee and her lover, Bat
this, alter! Was not to be. ;
411that day Louisa kept her room,
complaining, in response to the anxione in -
guides of Madame Desitarnierm of a- severe
headache, which, however% the assured her
Meter -mother would no doubt be betber on
the morrow. When, at length, Madame
'Deejarlifers was about to retire tor the
night, Louise kiesen her several tiring, and
clasped her in her embrace; and, contrary
to her usual habit, elle also kiSSOd ltd. Das-
jaraithe affectionately when he cam:. to bid
aer good -night.
"The Worthy, unauspioions farmer and his
Wife rose the morning at their uthal early
hour. Louise aid not make her appearance,
and When Madam Detjarniers, fearing that
the was 'Still suffering from headache, enter -
ea the yenta girre apartment, she found
that it wefts untenanted. r It was thought
that Loulee had risen early •and gone for
walk, and Madame Deajarolers, aseleted by
her aomeeticteipreparea. for breakfast, anti-
cipating her ettopted datighteret rotten by
010 tirat3 thei mon was ready,
"Stilt, noniee three- not slid siippotring
that she had prolonged'her Walla, the farmer
and his wife tutt down to then' morning
meal. When, however, bouts paned, away,
and still Louise had not returned, het teeter-
parente began to feel some anxiety, and to
wonder What had becontie of her; and when
nowt -day had pateed, and the yoting woman
Wan still Ekbrient, and the serve:Ito and setae -
al of the villagers, on being queatioded, de-
• " Sher had, howeVer, littened to the voice 1 r d thet they had seine nothing of her, the
into a state of utter deepondenoy ; and,
vvithin six menthe of the date of her son's
departure the was laid in hergrave.
" Her husband, thee loft alone in the
world., tater many yeare of happiness And
prosperity auelvas are. •rarely accorded to
mankind, sank into a condition of apathy-,
from which all the efforts of his friends were
unable to arouse him. He lost all interest
Mena tame, and in tho effitiers of .the -village
seeideeatielse; wee Madam aeon abroad, except
on the Sabbaths, when he never failed MIAs
ettiepaange at mass; end the once active,enci
endegetia. farmer henceforth lived the seclud-
ed life 'of a hermit."
Here Monde= le Cure, who had talked
long, gave himeelf a brief rest, and mullein
hits plaiseind. "
Pathaps, nionaieritIJ have wearied you,"
he Betel. "113 is a story that omanotbestold
inia few verde, tend the most 'exciting per-
,.
tion heti yet te, come, df, you feel . weary,
Quebec, as AL and Madame' Desiarinera
had thareised. It had' been' artinged that Vaa s'121 and Pinkielia" tha narrative`
• - • of the concluding portion of this • affecting
history until our next meeting ?
"On the contrary, naonsieur," I replied,
"I have become every moraeat more
intimated in your narrative as you preasteded
with it, and I will willingla listen toits con
°lesion. It is you who mist feellatiguect,
eherefore if aou wish to postpone the gonolu-
sitai 'to tome -other day, must rest content;
but I maiden thee I weld rather hear it now,
if you are not too tired to premed."
" By no means," returned the cure; it
sball be as Monsieur wishes. I have too sel-
dom a friend, with whom. I can converse
onequal terms, to wish to get rid of him.
Help yourself to some wine, You find it
good, oh? 'Tis the test I can procure. We
will sit quiet awhile and refresh ourselves,
and then I will continue my story."
(ao BE doNTotrED )
she was to meet the Captain air Midnight cn
the day of his departure, and that she was
not to encumber leerself with luggage, but
was to carry nothing with her but the
clothing she wore. •
"Though she tras no% utt duty bounds -to
love and honour her husband, she av erred
time she had never loved hlm nor could
ever love him as she loved Fe'lix, whose
memory, alas 1 it was now her duty to
banish from her bosoms This, howeyere she
felt was iropossiblenether strive Lasalle might,
Even the momene after ahe had green
the fatal promise to beeline the wife of Cap-
tain de Levigny, she would have recalled it,
had it been in her power; bum she was fasci-
nated—drawn, in spite of herself, by some
irresistible power, as a bird is fascinated by
•the fatal gaze of the serpent, until the falls
into its grasp, and is lost for aver. She
prayed Felix and her beloved foster -parents
to forget that such a vile Wretch as aho—so
base so unorateful, so cruel—had ever ex-
/ .
isted ; and then, with a strange inconsise
tenoy, that they would sometimes think of
her as the once had been, and would not
altogether forget her. She begged that,
when their first righteous indignation had
subsided, they would, at least, remetaber
her in their prayers, as she would ever, ever
remember them,
4"it is too bete now to think of redress,'
he said, moodily, to his sorrowing parents,
have torn the image of the unfaithful
Louise from my breest Loathing haa
taken the place of love, and I live but for
revenge. As for her lease seducer, he and
I cannot live upon this earth together. One
or other of use must perish. Louise I will
yet live to spend a long life of remorse and
=fiery.' "
"Fie declared his intention to 03 im-
mediately to Quebec; seek out the mat who
had wronged and' challenge him to
mortal conibet; nor could all the entreaties
of Ins alracise heanthroken parents swerve'
hien for one moment from hie resolve. •
"He naiad immediate preparations for
hie departure, where ahortly after midnight,
on the very day on which he intended to
hark for Qembec, a large ship, bound to some
port in Femora, come down the river, .and
hove to for a few minutes opposite the via:
lege.. Several fishermen Were plying their
vocation the neighbourhood, and one of
these:men was aignealed by the captain of
the ,
" wish you, My geed Man, to carry two
lettetti on shore to the village of Ste Claude,"
said tho captain as thou as the fisherman
Stopped On to the ship's deck. "Ono is for
'Monsieur and Meditate, the either for M.
Felix lietsjarnieiree Doubtless you ate ac-
quainted With the nutlet ?"
" 'Everybody hereabouts knows thole
good aereple," replieti the fisherman.
Then deliver thee° letters as
soon as patellae. They aro not from me, but
from a laily-pateenger of raitteenlYfaasette do
Lavigny. I airti directed to rthotnpentse you
well for your trouble ;a—end Mt the captain
spoke, he placed five gold Ithita in the fisher-
mana hand.
"Defghted at reoeiving such an abuodent
reward tor 'Mean°, smell siervioe, the fisher-
man faithfully promitied to deliver the let
tern With hie Wu heed, at daybreak ; attd
thanking the eaptain of the }hip, tuadteends
ing hie greteful thank} the generous lady
Ito returned td his boat. The thipis made
'ante immediately braced fotarard, and, elle
went ott her way tovrarde the broad An
"Though her letters, in this portion,
were so blotted with team that IS was dif-
ficult to trace a single.wor'd, she expressed
I, hope that her evembeloyed 'Felix would,
in course of time, take to hicadelf a wife,
tams° love and goodnese would render him
happy, and who might bertha live long to
enjoy the happiness which she heel wanton-
ly and wickedly oast from her.. Her huaband
the said, was khad, loving; and generous. He
had permitted her to write as she pleatiea,
withontasking toelefiowwhatehe had written,
The fault wile all hertenot.hinsince he.could
not help the fatal fascination with which he.
had drawn het -from the paths of love and
$ tate- ; mixt Ahq only wished that be htsa'a
wife who could love him more devotedly,
that she could ever love bine and who
would be naore worthy of him then ahe Was,
or aver could be.
tax -4'e The Down Grade."
• Propriety -mid impropriety stand diamet-
rically oppoaed the one to the other, to one
of the twain all thought and its autcomeseet
tion tends: We may.therefore jaulge of the
propriety ei impropriety of the *diligence -
in tobacco, tacholic drinks, dancing,* °arch
playing, theatre going, tto.
, The use of tobacco, especiallyen the young,
exercises. a disturbing, weakening influence.
To 'whatever heights of excellence anyone
may attain. it will never be as high as it
would have been without its w4e. The ten-
dency of the. °outlined Use cn tobetho is to
enalave• and -weaken the will ; sell -heart)! is
frequently lost thereby so that it. becomes
impossible to resist thatemptation to indulgi
ince if ib it within reaoh, .the craving, there
-
fere, being painful to endure. • •
Theanaolier carries with him a conisciousi
uesithat the habit rendeM offeneive as
revealed by the eflorts =del° sweetenshis
breath, to get out into theaeure air § tole:6011-
m his clothes, and purge 'avetay his 'effete,
sieences. Beltway. oompanisa build
smoking , oars to abate the , Indiana
and street railways relegate the seekers to
the back seatseof prohibit smoking because
of its offeeeivetteas, and even taverna peovide
snaoking room to give the house.= air of
leoency. Self-respectis lessened; no:one.but,
• a smoker will entertain the same esteettefor
a. man after he has discovered him to 'be the
victim :of the smoking: or chewing habit,
%neat respect is it possible to have for any-
one, man, woman, -boy or girl whose olotheS,
*ofIensive fumes of toinexte
aetbey approxithor petteyea;edpiithhaatle'rthigehattahlaes,
anyone who hes rendered himself thus cffen-
siva to enter any place of publics accommo-
dation? If anyone Was to sprinkle himself.
with benzine or carbolic acid and then enter
a street or railway oar or public, hall the.
ory would go forth, Pub him out 1 -Put
him out 1 The tobacco user should re-
ceive. a like ovation bemuse he has wilful-
ly rendered himself offensive and reveal-
ed no respect or consideration for tbe
feelings of others, With much greater foroe
do the preceding words apply to. the use of
%lobelia liquors. Wrecks Wrecks 1 On
On ! reeling along with accelerating speed,
flown, down, the down grade to the final
plunge. Began naoderation, with the posi-
tive deterininatien . never •to exceed. that
limit, and flow .hell (meth wide ite ponder-
ous jaws to rtheiveehe victims. Yet men,
women, boys and girls thoughtlessly step on
to the toboggan, alcohol, slow at the start,
but wait a little, the }smash will come, and
whTohweitielnbdefah4voitetdia,ninVing is never towards
ihoreased motility, hut on the contrary,
towards lasciviousness and immorality. The
whole history of the dance between the
sexes reveals that tendency downwarde,
never upwards. In like manlier the tendency
of card playing is not towards honesty,and
uprightness of character; no one would ever
recsommencleard playing todevelope hones -
ea' and uprightness of character. r It won't
work that way." Theater going le :meat
Usually dram* the first steps of 'a down -
Ward course, no one over 'Athena}, in
the sone . of Morelity by • witotheing
Ashlar., a. scene or, ethitiation 'etreta
a -latent latsciviona character. What the
minds or passions absorb they impart to
their surroundings. " Plays ' are usually
more or less impregnated with vice, and
gather:together the vile of the earth. True,
tethertiatoey -go there,. and that tends
to increetuse the evil), by giving its an air of
ratipeetability§. evittelien . inviting by their
present:setback who Weald shrink from the,
immodest arenta of the alma.
The comnaon expression "tobacco"
drink," ," °nate" " dancing," . %St
Wthileti," and 44 theatres," wreck a Mee
ligW4hiYet !:-I'wttioankl'd you think of a MEM OX
wo-
man, who, if asked:by, anyone, :What must I
do to aetain tratte, Sieben degree of mor-
ality (end no ono 'should stop there of that)
ithohleceild mutants • Saloka, thew, drink a
few gleams. of wine, beer, brandy, or a
little Whitney limn about ."take a head at
a h d
car attend t eatrea " ba ano-
t $
ing-perties,a end that will lead • you out
into and &mint:eh:1 you in the highest state
of morality. Would enyeeightenunded per -
eon. tell %urine who *teed to retrace
his steps from a. downward path, te
penile elan course just ineigetea ? If not,
why not? Wotild it be equal, to pouring oil
on the firo of their hifiathed appetites and
passions? Weald it not plunge them deep,
sie: and deeper into the ,mbie Minty of
mental and physical corruption?
" Her letters' abounded, in feet, with
evidently heartfelt expressions of fervent
love for her deceived and betrayed foster
brother, • and for her kind fostenparents,
while she made no endeavour to spare her-
self, bat was, on the contrary, vehement in
het' denunciations of her own ingratitude
a,nd cruelty. "But, indeed, indeed !a she)
repeated, time after time, " I was bewildek-
ed--terapted—I WAS not myself—I knew not
what I was doing until I had gone too far
to retract. Oh, why didst Thou permit
these fatal strangers to ceme to our dear,
happy, and retired St Claude at such a
time? Oh, my own, much -loved Felix, why
wett thou absent when thy presence was
most needed ? But why do I ask these
questions? Why do I endeavour 'to cast
blame upon others, when the fault is mine
—mhte alone? May heaven forgive me 1
And thou, ray beloved Felix, and ye, ray
°build:ma • foetemparents--my more than
father arid mother—try, oh, try, in course
of time to pardon your poor lost Lousie,
and to think of her as the once was in her
einvnerclednae and Itappirtess—now loth fo r
" The letters concluded with expressions
of ardent affection and that addressed to
ani Madatne D'esjarniers contained a cm
Moat). signed by the Bishop of Quebec, and
properly witneseed, of the marriage of
Captain de) Levigay, of Paris, France, to
Medemoiselle Louise Legris, of Sh. Claude,
district of St. Anne, Lower Canada.
"M. and Madame Del arniers wept bitter
tears over their latter, and thee] of their son,
which he permitted them to read.
"'My son at length bbed forth Mad-
,
ame Desjarniees, 'heaven ath interposed to
pre•vent thy departure from Quebeo with the
deadly purpose thou hoist tn. view. Let us
try to forgive our epee, lost Louise. For my
part, inost freely forgive her the sorrow she
has teethed, aird will continue to cause Me,
for I cannot forget het Let her ,and het
husband bean peace, and lot us pray that
bhen may be herPPYd
"With a grim smileeFelix received back
hist letter from his mother's' hands, and
thempling it up, threw it intothe fire, where
he vvetthed it in silence until it was reduced
to tinder.. Thee} he imokee
" mothema lettin he, 'you may forgive
Louise and her husband if you will, but I
cannot. It is true that a journey to Quebec
would now be uselese. shall go to France
instead. I shell never seek red until my
project of ,revenge Is censurentated. Until
then you will not see me again. Then, per-
haps, if I survive, I may return to Sh.
Claude. Newer before,'
"It was in vain that M. end Madame Des-
jarrners with there, prayers and entreaties,
betiought their on not to leave them deso-
late and alone in their old age. In vein that
Madame Desjarniers said that the loss of
both her children would soon bring her gray
bairn to the grave—that if Felix left her,
the:tele lie teturned ever to soon, he Would
not had her living. Vainly they atoned
hint that the tiengeathe he coatemplated was
*hiked, And. Wend recoil upon his own head
be Was as if his heart 1:Md been turnea to
adataant. Nothing could Move him from
Ine aerie purpose°. s
"iikettallg vein did the distreMeci
parents dell id MOMier Ligny, the their cure
of St. Claude, to their aid. In respense to
the obeetvation of tho cure that vengeance
alone IMIOnged to heaven, the young met
maid impletely, Ay, good father; 1513
heavettas vetegeance le too dote tor me. The
revenge I ;seek must, and }shell, if I live, be
of the temptet ; and time the young French aexkley oi the old folly! was changed into
Wilde. Since, 1858 the observer
has seen marvellous eliatiges, ehe
ng up in every direction. ,Itely
he world
e break-
.oneanti
free—the dream of 'Donne, atle, hfe long e
aspiretion of Mazeini fulfilled and realized.
German amity' is , Accomplished, Despotic
Austria contains two great Parliaments and
many inferior Legistateres. France hashed ,
two repablion and heeled her primacy bee
war. Across the Atlantic a great war leas"(
}struck the fetters from four million naves.
Canna ia,dpeViblig itselfliradually to foreign
intercourse, mid , Japets attuanorne to the,
front rank 'of Asiatic nations with leaps and
bounds. Perhaps the generation now in ite
cradle limy happen to fall erten a period of
reaction' and repose "The affrighted globe
may yawn at alteration" and got° sleep for
aa yeare, as it did _from 1815 to • 1848. For
changes are not alwaye lovely and beim-
:fittest • Just as .European society had
triton up &mimosa° art as ,a universal
fashion—ars our fair ones had begun to set
the loveliness of draped robes swathing the
sinuous lines of wornanhood—we hear with
horror that the revolution has spread at
Jeddo, even to female dress, This is too
nntoh. We do not mind the Japanese
copying our constitutions. Let there even
import our lord mayors if they like, or, if
they are covetoth on the subject, we cella
generously lend them the whole Irish
party, as a beginning of a new opposition.
But for the sae of all that is • beautiful in
woman's dress, let - them not adopt the tor-
turing stays, the, senseless trains and th
hideous dress improvers of our womankind
Let there be one spot on earth free fro
Paris and its fashions, from European dres
making and their inartistic modee.
0
•• Dude!) Play at Due '
-
• Laxnewrottn Vee,—A • duel with pistols
was fought -here the other atternoon byttwe
young •soelety.. avrells, who have hitherto
been companions and fast friends, and
who -
have occupied the: same suith of roomeal
Warwick C.. White and /ff. C. Starkey vrel
known young men, lead a mistindire e•
A peotracttea;aiamite. yesalted, cal
int!. perionanagreeniene to fight aduesenien. ,
butting
•
pistols.: aleccloaditigly, -White selected lene.
Williams -as hie' second§ And. Sharkey named
John Dolmas his representative. The prin-
cipals att'd seconds at once••lef 6 town, and in
a seoluded-place- in' the stilootbee marked off
thirty' paces.. ,The eirincierins. faced the
other armed -With eeven-shoemre, and at a
Andel begair,firing. The'peitetha Were elleth
tied without result Seeen inaiedeliote were
fired, without: effect: . At tins stagsfebriar
affair ie hove- to:look as if neither of thte
aggrieved yotiths, ootild hit a flock of barns. es
Tree pistols mere chergea .for- a -third time.11
Tatelasti elven retinae were fired in rapid 1.
suothesioe, •and when the tett:tote cletarea ee
away it, was found that lane bill had passed -
through -White's hat end', that the coat of l
Starkey fillOW01 a -bullet:mark. • Forty-two
.shots *ere, fired. altogether, , At the con-
ch:mime the principals.. etepped forward,
shook hands, andbectorte friende.
- e• . .
An African Boy's lincoeSe. ,
• . Thirty years ago, jest, about the time '
When the big' African lakes twere discovered
-therm lived in .:17nyamweal,...a boy named
•Maidiewho- has since -become:famous. His
•father went every need and then several
hundrede of .m'iks from home to the great,
eoppee country.. of Sanga to bay the metal
from hativennbeera, When Maidi became a
voting manehie father took him on some of
these eaeieditiOnsi Finally. adradi started
out- to buynapPer on his own aigtount. He .
arrived: inthe:rameeal. region.ence when the
big chief ,:ofetheinangerecountry..was at war i
with ia .rmeart trilainwho were invading his
district fronethemorthe- Maidahad with bit
four gene awl phony:of ananmeition. Fire- t
1
arms. had never been heard Of in that country,
and -when .Maidi nutrohedioat to win a battle
for tis friend r the chief of Sanga, the enemy •
fled in great dismay after it few shots. ' Just •
aa a, few •of Livusgetoneei Makololo por-
ters :with :only - 'nine guns conquered the
whole Shire county and. watt up as little i.
:kings, se Msidi laid the foundation of his
fortune with . foot guns., , The olfl chief feet
so grateful tit Meidi that he meate the young
mania lusin . He died soon after and the
humble ivory trader euddenly beoame the
chief of milt° a large Meentryed -He killea all
the &iota be the:tighten:tight -become hie
riettesecenried mi. iaggeOlnietatfereathre againet
ale the ; enerettieding triatam,gradeelly spread
hie. alitainiee,, aod I le.* ,etille 'extending 'ib.
tariligstones'a 'Climisenibe and the greatest
and" tho Myatt Viitiniatiemed thlati'talked of
,aethe greathstahlefs' denier Ofthe big lakes.
doubt) the math noWeeful ruler in the Congo,
"batleooilnu: sari_ ti,:ta,t, dif.si, di.. is„ .i,107, without
it
NEWS PMcapIA,
eem.mtwa
Threatened einestioni Or 'chr
etebeien he F mine
. — s
-
. Ben reinnoisere; March 80—The steamer
.Arielate arrived bete night from , China and
Japans' t Iti.Shelitiejig ebeeetideteign excite -
*Ont. tenet Wain:* Pikx004:iy.o,at Choice!
the •Earepeane ;feared, an attack.
tram Mtiiiii. .
0,00 )00/J1!!: IS it reported that ‘;,ithe matins
dent Peopotied'umrching. agaihie alle Casten),
hoeise: and ether. plaiiite, At Mt inan-of-Wer
Was, thertie,fritenter excitement prevailed. No.
attaiik wag made, hettevet, '
A. iniesonary from Chi-Hal-Yn 'edited that
the .Chihetle• bit thets day:tent) 'papbea plaeards:
outside .of var.loge fere!git,reekleheee netifei-
ing the tenants that they intended to Mate
snare flit ieheletientebeftiffeloeg, The .rebele
ere iteppereed to Mind** 2,500, Od Febtu-
ary 22,600 soidiere were sent to intercept,
then, het. emild. find to , indieetione of tee
enemy, *he 'are stipposed to heve,fione in -
lead. • • • • , . .:
' • The Chineseeautherithie iletaare that the.
reports of famine in eel:deal. China ate ex -
s ,
aggereted. Great suffering le admitted t0.
bidets lit the IfOrthera provinoes,
h`oeIgn employes in Corte haste not been.
paid for theatre]. months Ong the work has
It does }teem tareage, I et0 declare ,
that ,,, year et tnarried. life, 6t6.P,,P°c1. :.... ;
Cen elle ige the cleat' with the atthern Juke miter 10 um 000 butthele of'evlitaat for Intay
11(1 . , , „
To t red,headed vitite, ,delivery ehattegea Mande he Chicago,
,
.. •
by
s