The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-01-01 00:00:00

ADRIENNE

OR,
THE SHADOW OF TIT E PAST.

[ALL RICITITS RESERVED 4

CHAPTER L
- was a sombre-looking mansion, that great pile of
igy stucco, with mildewed stains upon its crumbling
ills. caused by the dimpness of the climate, and
a heavy shade of trees of tropical growth,
,atted together by trailing wreaths of Spanish moss,
which swayed to every breeze, and gave a most
lir funereal aspect to the neglected woodland that sur-
-- unded it.
The house was built on the plan of a chateau, which
d been the ancestral home of the Montreuil family.
ndet of that house emigrated to Louisiana with
.nville, enjoyed opportunities of amassing wealth
:ough the favour of the Governor, and laid the founds-
n of a large fertune.'
At a vast expense he ore h very inferior
aerials, this building, ,plan of his early
ale; and, thus, in a It;wii iNd country, was
Ind a chtiteau, which, from the effects of the climate,
iired as if it might have been built ere yet Columbus
ad made his great discovery. The house was three
-oreys in height, and the highest one was lighted by
Jormer windows, with a heavy parapet in front of
them extending the whole length of the roof. It was
full of odd corners, angles, and winding corridors,
leading into nooks that would never have been sus-
pected by a stranger.
A pair of octagon towers, of later date than the
main building, were in front, connected by a gallery,
; open above, but enclosed below, to which access was
gained by a heavy door, bearing a brass knocker.
What had once been a wide and well-kept lawn,
was now covered with unpruned vines, shrubbery,
, and weeds, so matted together as to form a complete
jungle. The place seemed to be abandoned to
silence and neglect, and at the first glance it seemed
Improbable that so desolate a spot was inhabited;
but a closer scrutiny betrayed a few signs of occu-
pation.
The narrow windows in the upper storey of the
eastern tower were open, and a faded curtain fluttered
In the evening breeze.
From the deep shadows of the lawn an observer
would soon have detected a narrow pathway leading
to the rear of the house; pursuing this over the
neglected and uneven parterre through which it wound,
the view widens and discloses a vegetable garden in
good order, on which a cabin opens. A small grass plot
was in front of it, and a vine, bearing crimson trumpet-
shaped flowers, was trained over the humble portal.
A shelf beneath it sustained a water bucket, and milk-
pans set out" to sun," as the old negress expressed
It, in whose charge they were kept.
She sat near the door, spinning; and a picturesque
figure was old Eady, with her ebony face surmounted
by grizzled tufts of wool, half covered by a scarlet
bandanna handkerchief, and ornamented with heavy
hoops of gold, pendant from her ears. A calico dress
of many colours, that rivalled in brilliancy those of
Joseph's celebrated coat, extended only to her ankle,
where it met a stout brogan, designed more for use
than ornament.
An old-fashioned wheel was kept busily humming
while the negress converted a pile of carded cotton
into yarn for her future knitting. The face of the
old woman was shrewd, sensible, and good-humoured,
and she evidently found much interest in her occu-
pation.
Suddenly she lifted her head, and looked toward the
declining sun, and words spoken in a strong Virginian
accent broke from her lips.
"I clar' to Moses of 'taint mos' nite, an' dat ole
dunce o' mine ain't got back yit. I wonder what new
scrape hi one an' got inter now. De las' time he
went to ae offis for letters he drunk so much
'ferns' whisky dat I was impelled to blow him up, de
ole fool Ff he comes back agin in such a pickle, oh,
Lot' I don't know what I shan't be tempted to do
, "G de marster only knew what I knows,
what woutu come o' de bones in dat black nigger's
body, I wonder?"
She half laughed as the words escaped her, for she
recalled Pierre's drunken vagaries with evident in-
ternal enjoyment. After a few more moments of
watching, Eady put aside her wheel, and, with the
ease of a practised hand, commenced her preparations
for an epicurean supper. That she was an ac-
complished cook was soon evident, for coffee of most
delicate aroma, crisp cakes, and delicious broiled birds
were speedily prepared with the skill of a true
artiste.

It

These were served on fine porcelain, and then
placed on a silver waiter, covered with a napkin of
spotless purity. When all was ready, she again took
a survey from the door, and returned to raise the
tray to her head, as she discontentedly muttered:
"De marster's supper's all ready, an' my ole man
ain't fotched the letters yit dat he am so anxious to
eft. I'm mos"fraid to take it up widout 'em; an'
I's more 'fraid not to sti to onse, caze he'll storm the
ole tower down ef I d'lays m usual sarviv. Oh,
I.or'! oh, Lor' what does make 'dat Pierre sich a born
mutnscull ?"
With a sigh she poised the writer lightly upon the
folds of her turban; then, with quick steps she
threaded her way through the garden, opened a side
door leading int") the house, and entered a wide, echo-
ing corridor, which made several abrupt angles before
it ended at the base of a staircase leading to the second
storey of the eastern tower.
Doors from long-disused apartments opened from
this passage, and in the gathering twilight it seemed
to the imagination of the superstitious negress, filled
with dusky shadows; and her eyes dilated visibly as
they rolled from side to &de, half in expectation that
the, doors would unclose and some grim phantom
thrust forth its hideous mocking face, and leer at
her as she passed upon her way.
To the superstitious fancy of the unlettered black,
it was sufficient that human life had ceased to animate
there apartments to people them with shadowy ex-
istences from another world. Eady could have told
many a thrilling tale of faint whispers, rustlings of
dress, and echoing foot-steps, made by viewless
hews who flitted beside her in her evening jaunts
through the old mansion.
The dreed in which she held her living master
might he measured from the fact that she forced her-
self to encounter these impelpable beings sooner than
fail to take his evening meal at the usual hour.
The corridor was crossed by a wider one at the i
front of the house, from which ascended a spiral ;
staircase leading to an upp r gallery, on which the
front towers opened. The railing of this stairway
VIM of caryed.mehogony, and the steps as well as the
floor of the lower hall were of inlaid wood. The even-
ing sun struggled through the dense woodland without,
and lighted this portion sufficiently to show that the
frescoed walls were mildewed and falling to decay
from neglect and damp.
Yes, it had evidently been a great mansion in its
palmy days, but the pride which once sustained its
grandeur was laid low in the dust; the hopes that
clustered around the hearth of the old homestead were
buried in the abyss dug by passion and crime. A
blighting curse seemed to hang around the old walls,
and the curse of evil passions and unbridled temper
certainly dwelt with the solitary old man who lived in
that lonely tcwer.
Eady gained the upper floor, and after a momentary
pause in front of her master's door, knocked gently
Upon it. No answer came, and she muttered, ap-
prehensively:
"Dress de Lee! de coffee'll git cole, an' marster's
temper'll git hot, and we'll have a 'eplosion. What
ar' he doin , I does wonder ?"
Again she rapped—this time louder, and a gruff
voice called Out:
Can't you come in without all that knocying ?
Get in with you, you old jackdaw, and don't stand
out there till my supper is not fit for a pig to eat."
Thus bidden, the old woman entered a lofty room, of
large size, and unique adornments. A long table oc-
cupied the centre of the floor, on which books and
Artist's materials were promiscuously scattered; beside
this stood an easle, on which was a covered picture.
The room was an octagon, and in one of its eight com-
partments was a fire-place; on one side of this was a
well-filled book-case, on the other hung a large oval
mirror, which, on examination, was found to be
slightly concave. Then came two windows, occupying
the entire width of their respective angles; a third
window in front left two spaces upon the wall for the
exercise of the artistic talent of their owner, of which
he had not neglected to take advantage, but had filled
na from o
f ttiem with two pictures, not ofroriginalsctsontacekpetion
the painter, but simply copies m
,
the antique.
A couch, placed near the front window, an
chairs, completed the furniture. In one ofticile a
latter
at the owner of the place. This was am a overhair
sixty years of age; tall, wiry, and brown; his
whitened to silver, and his face wrinkled and worn,
more by temper than by time. His black eyes, deep
V vivid as a flame, flashed beneath heavy, over-
Hanging brows; and his straight nose, thin lips, and
firmly curved chin, all 8136E734:indomitable will, and
unflinching purpose; though at moments there was a
singular dilation of the pupil of the eyes, which gave
en expression of wildness amounting to ferocity to
the marked features.
It was the face of a man who had sinned, suffeied,
but never repented; and, as the long, slender hand
Wag stretched out to replace the book he had been
reading, it was not difficult to imagine the nervous
clutch with which it would close upon a dagger and
drive it home to the heart of one who had injured
him.
lie seemed to have worked himself into a passion
at the trifling delay in the appearance of his even-
ing meal, and he glared ott the old woman, as she
entered, and placed the waiter before him, as he
growled:
Bumph! so you've managed to get in at last,
madam. Pray why did you not enter at Once as
I bide you ? '
e Because I didn't hear you," replied Eady, in an
Irritated tone, for she, too, had a spice of temper, and
she had made the notable discovery that the only way
to manage the singular being she had to deal with
was to retest upon her matter occasionally in his own
tone.
He glanced at her with an ominous frown, and then
disdainfully examined the delicatit repast prepared
with so much care, Be asked. in a voice of extreme
Irritation:

-‘ How now? Where are the letters and papers for
which Pierre was sent?"
"He hasn't come back from de offis yit, monsher.
'Deeu you needn't flare up so, an' look as ef you
meant to eat me instid o' yer supper; 'case I ain't to
blame ffor Pierre's idincrazys, for I do think the drop
he will take when he's out o' my sight makes him sin
and crazy too, for that matter.'
The deep-set eyes flashed angrily upon her; but
the absurd pun upon the long word she was fond of
using, caused the listener to burst into a wild laugh,
which sounded so harsh and mirthless, that it was far
from reassuring the old woman. She folded her
hands before her, and assumed an expression of
stubborn endurance, which was perfectly familiar to
her master.
" Ah, ha !" he said; "so you've come to me in one
of your iron moods to-night, old woman; but fire
smelts iron, Jackdaw, and lam a son of flame. Vulcan
was my father, and Ate) my mother; so you had
better beware how you rouse the evil temper within

"'Deed, sir, I had no such intent; an' ef Ate was
yer mother, I think her name orter teach you
that vittles aint good to eat when they gits cole. You'd
better eat my rice cakes an' drink your coffee, sir,
while dey is fit to put into a Christian's stomach."
" Ha ! ha! your advice is good, Jackdaw, and I
believe I'll take it; but I will wager anything you
like—a new turban for yourself, or a fresh bottle for
Pierre—that you consider my stomach as belonging
to anything but a Christian, in spite of your form of
speech."
Eady inwardly chuckled at being so thoroughly un-
derstood, but she demurely replied:
"Deed, sir, I should be sorry to think such a thing
o' you. I allers tries to bide by the Scripter sayin'
Judge not, lest ye be judged ;' and I tries myself to
practise dat charity what covers a multitude o'
sins."
" Hem ! and in that pharisaical spirit you excuse
my shortcomings. Very well. Now go and see if that
wretched old rum-bottle, Pierre, has returned with my
letters. It will not be well for you to come back
without them, I can tell you."
Thus dismissed, the negress left the room, and the
recluse slowly ate his supper, as if he luxuriated in the
only sensual indulgence now left to him. He was not
a gourmand, but a true bon vivant, who ate only the
most delicate and appetising viands, with a gusto
which enabled him to do entire justice to the merits
of the cook who prepared them. Eady knew this
perfectly well, and it gave her a sense of security in
her humble position, in spite of the unbridled temper
with which she had to contend.
M. Lecour finished his repast, leaned back in his
chair, and luxuriated in the recollection of its merits.
To one of his restless temperament, a few moments
sufficed for this, and he began to feel impatient for
the appearance of the letters, which circumstances
rendered of unusual interest to him.
He arose and walked up and down the large room,
with his hands clasped behind his back; at first his
steps were slow and regular, but they gradually
quickened as his impatience gained the mastery,
and the emphasis with which they were struck upon
the floor increased, until a perfect storm of sound filled
the old tower. Twilight began to deepen, and words
were soon added to the clatter of his boots upon the
floor.

"Confound the wretches ! will they never come
with a light? Am I, Ito be left here till darkness
gathers around me? Is it not enough to be alone,
always alone in the deep hours of night, even with
lamps burning around me, but must I be left to fight
with the phantom in this awful grey twilight? Ho
there! lights lights, I say, or I will wreak my
vengeance upon you, you miserable, inefficient
idiots !"
He glanced wildly around in the gathering twi-
light, and his face became livid as his eyes fell upon
the mirror; within kt was reflected the shadowy out-
line of a figura in white, enveloped in a filmy veil,
that covered her whole person. He looked around
the room, saw nothing which could be the substance
of that shadow, and with a shriek that ended in a
hoarse rattle in his throat, he fell heavily upon the
floor. _ _

The noise of his fall quickened the uncertain foot-
steps that were now heard approaching, and the
cracked voice of old Pierre_called.out,_ querulously:

"Come on, Eady, for de love o' Heben, for de ole
marster is in one o his tantrums. I carat see my
way befe me, it's so dark down here. Come faster
wi' de light, or he'll strangle me when he comes to
hisself."
Thus admonished, the old woman came almost on
a run, carrying a wax candle in each hand, for in the
maudlin condition of her husband, she was afraid to
trust him with either. Pushing past him she quickly
entered the apartment; Pierre followed her more
slowly, and his great eyes rolled round the walls with
an expression of affright, before they fell on the pros-
trate form of hisdnaster.
M. Lecour lay with eyes widely staring, and froth
Issuing from his lips. It was a piteous sight, that
old silver-haired man lying there, with his locked
features of an ashen hue, and an expression of utter
anguish and fear impressed upon them.
Ah ; it is the White Terror again," whispered
Eady, as she stooped to raise his head from the floor.
lrus cussed (do hovi... te te he the death of us all yit.
I wish the ebissary would set it afire an' burn it aown
outright."
" His-s-h, ole 'oman, his-s-he, Ef de marster was
to hear dat wish, he'd murder you, sure enough."
"Murder me, indeed !" she contemptuously
retorted; "I reckon he's bad too much to do wi'
such deviltries as that aforetime, or hewouldn't be so
easily scared now. Besides, he'll be glad to keep me
alive as long as he lives, dat I may 'pare his vittles as
he likes 'ern. No—/ ain't 'fraid o him, but ef you
pokes your ugly phizogamy where he will see it de
fust thing when he comes t 3, he'll re sure to pitch
inter you, thinkin' ole Sam have sent one o his
ebessarys to fotch him to the 'fernal regions."
Pierre had been leaning over his master, but at this
uncomplimentary caution he suddenly drew back,
looked into a mirror which formed the door of the
book .case, and internally acknowledged that it would
be no unnatural hallucination on the part of his
master; for a more ungainly specimen of the black
man could scarcely have been produced than him-
self.
Dwarfed in size, with crooked limbs, long heels,
and the ape-like face which is sometimes the heritage
of the pure-blooded African, the old negro, by no
violent effort of the imagination, could easily have
been mistaken for an agent from the Inferno, by a
man half demented by the solitary life he led, and
the memory of events in which he had taken a part,
which shed a lurid horror over his daily existence.
Eady sprinkled water over the pallid features of her
master, chafed his chilled hands, and presently he un-
closed his eyes and looked around with an expression
of vague terror. He shivered convulsively, and mut-
tered:
It was a shadow evoked by my own fantasy. My
eyes are diseased; I—l must consult an oculist. Lift
I me up, Jackdaw; help me into my large chair. There
—I am well again."
He sunk back upon the well-worn seat, and closed
his eyes a few moments; then,suddenly arousing him-
self, he sharply asked:
"Where is Pierre, and what has become of my
letters?"
"l's here, marster, an' dis is de passel do young man
at de ails, gin me for you."
Pierre came forward rather unsteadlly, holding a
waiter on which he had placed several newspapers,
and conspicuously above them two packages bearing
a foreign post-mark. His master surveyed him
leisurely and searchingly, and grasping one of the
papers, he hurled it contemptuously at his head as he
exc'aimed
"Drunk again, you old baboon! Get out of my
presence, and leave Jackdaw to wait upon me."
Thou; h mortally afraid of the darkness and loneli-
ness without, and the airy shapes which his super.
stitous imagination peopled the old mansion, the negro
ttood in even greater dread of his irritable master. He
hurriedly consigned the waiter with its contents to
his wife, and retreated, though he took good care not
to go beyond the threshold of the door, which he
closed very imperfectly.
In the transfer of the waiter, one of the letters
slipped down and rested against the other package,
with the addl., as turned toward M. Lecour. His eyes
fell upon it, he gasped, grew paler than before, and
Fady thought he was about to fall into another spasm,
but he recovered immediately, clutched the letter with
an expression of ferocious endurance, and examined
the writing, as he muttered :
This should have been written by the dead, the
hand is so much the same as hers. Pooh! I am a
fool! It is but the same writing taught to ever:, girl
who is educated at that convent. lie! from my
revTehael
esda rad
wo nhiocl
ee mh
ips
thoarsyi s
our
>cloyed granddaughter,"
peosnt
rtahneg
eei nn de
ne at iwn gr
ne
gp tahtel
dt
btawilteti erol nteht eet sersr
from
hoomen
et
his
fromri
se oypo
young
egt envelope,hlraeedlayt
isrelative.
e superior
eroi
0 Giving
iohnfi
gc
tl
to that of the elder lady, he unclosed it, and i precedence
e readc° cn a containedentnhrtet:
following lines:
"Path, Convent of La Mere de Dieu.
"M. Lecour,—ln Consequence of the failure of the
'gent to settle the account due for Mademoiselle
r anyboard
longerfo utnhdeerlasm
y protection, unless she
t year, I decline to
will consent to assume the veil. In
her position, it
Dreutarainacrhes
will probably be best for her future happiness and
respectability to abjure the word and all its vanities,
out I regret to state that she by no means agrees with
ale in these views.
"With the ardentiropulsiverleSS of her years and
iemperament, she declares that death will be preferable
:o seclusion from a sinful world, whigth her imagina-
ion decks with the most deceptive aD,raction s.She
als been permitted to cultivate an intimacy with a
3lassmate who is the daughter of a high dignitary of
;tate, and on two occasions she has visited her at her
Father's chateau. This was against my own judgment,
3ut the position of Mademoiselle La Grand's family is
tuck that I could not very well refuse a favour
3etitioned for by her. This young lady has a cousin
who is represented as handsome and insinuating, and
[am afraid his flatteries have made a deeper impres-
-sion upon your young relative than is desirable, for
the seems very miserable since her return to her old
duties.
"1 desire to have your views with regard to the
future destiny of my interesting charge. Is it your
wish that she should take the veil? You have never
positively stated your intentions with regard to her,
and therefore she has been allowed to exercise a

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