Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1854-07-20
nlisteIia,,euus.
From Household Words.
THE GREEN RING AND The G )LD RING.

70 clShty years ago, In the uays OF roWuer anu
pomade; Of high heads and high heels; when
bcaux in pea-green coats lived with ros,-colour,
attended on bellies who stcidicd their dainty
y steps with cwe-hcadcd canes and when lettres-
de cachet lay ike sachotsag lnts on toilet tables
L. among patches and rogue. Less than eighty
years ago, when the fair Queen Of France and
ladies of honor welded these same ettrcs-de-
: cachct with much of the case with which they
huttcrcd their fans. Less than eighty years
= ago, when the iron old Marquis dc Mirtheau
was writing to his brother the Commander de
Maltc those fearful Letters wherein the reader at
this day may trace, as in map, the dcspotlc
powers then exercised by the seigncurs of France
over their Sons and daughters, us well as over
their tenants and vass;lls Hard, short-sighted
Marquis de Maribeau! Little did he reckon
when lie wrote those letters, or when he con
signed Lis son, in the flush Of yoath, and hope,
and love, to rrisJn cell and to exile-that the
family name was to be indebted to the fame of
that ,itupcratcd son for its salvation from OBJ
scurity, or that the arbitrary powers he used to
50 wildly were )on to be swept away forever.
Less than eighty years ago. then, before, the
Revolution WAS dreamed of i'll that part of
France, there stood, in long, struggling, pic
turcsquc ,iago 0: one Of the southern provinces,
Il stoncand-mud cottage, less dirty and uniyit-
ing than those by which it WAS surrounded.
There was no dirt heap und1r the solitary wind
L,r. u, .h
every other house in the village, possessed the
: luxury Of an unfracturod doorstep. No tidy
cottagc-garlets gave cheerful evidence Of the
leisure or taste oi the inmates for i'll those
days the laboring populations of France were
too thoroughly beaten down by arbitrary cxac-
tons to have SPARE hon rs to devote to their own
pursuits but rornd the window of tls partic
ular cottage nasturt'um had been trained by
strings and, through lis yellow and orange
flowers one could, nowand then. catcha gliml Sc
of pair of lustroas eyes.
The superior cleanliness Of this little dwelling,
f the flowers, the dccency Of the trmily, were the
work of one lair Of hands, belonging to young
girl named Alx Laroux, whose industry was
Il the support of younger brother and sister,
and Of il blear-cyed grandmother.
Now, Alix WIS pretty AS well lis hard-work-
u ing girl, yet it was neither to her beauty nor to
l. her industry that she was indebted for becoming
II the heroine of our tale, although her success in
> finding work, when others could find none, had
c made enyious tongues gossip about her. Village
+ scandal is very like town scandal AS like as IL
&c silken masquerade costume is to its linscy wool
II sey original the form is the same, the texture
. alone is diffsrent and at the well Of Beaurc-
" glr; from which water was fetched and where the
salad for supper was washed, it was whispered
s. that Alix was coquctte, that the remote cause
g of her prosperity was the influence which her
bright eyes had obtained over the strong heart
of the BailiF Of Bcauregard. Every one wished
is that good might come of it, BUT
u But, in the meanwhile, good did come of it
d" for thanks 10 the large black eyes that looked
u so frankly into his, and to the merry smile Of
y the village beauty, Monsieur Rcboul Lad come
il to the knowledge of Alix's cheerful, steady ac
II t,ity and feeling of respect had mingled
IL with lis carly admiration when he discovered
~ that, WI lie TO one was more articular in thu
payment of lawful dues than the hard-working
GIRL no one resisted more strcnuousl y any illega
v exactions. At length the stricken hailif-who
~ by-the-by, WIS double Alix's agc-tcstifed the
;" sincerity of lis feelings towards her by taking
~ r brother Jean into the household at the cas-
. tie, and even Offered to have Alix herself admit
y ted among the personal attendants of one of the
," young ladies Of Beaurcgard whose malriag,
80 had lately been celebrated with great magnif
~ ccnce in Paris
But Alix shook her pretty head, and said
" No. she thanked him all the samc,' with
smile that showed her pearly teeth and wha
man in lovc-though bailif-coud resent
denial so swcetly accompanied! Monsieur Re
boul was, indeed, for moment cast down, bu
his spirits were soon revived by some of thos
re wonderful explanations which men in lis Pre-
le dicamcnt generally have at their command ST
le he left the cottage with friendly adicu to th
,e smiling girl, and without suspicion that Ali,
ID had any private reasons for her dislike to cav
| the village, Or that the daily greeting of Fran
IN co.'s the stonc-cuttcr was a matter of more mo
mcnt to her than the prctticst compliments o
the Bailihf Of Beaurcgard.
n The next day was market.day ut Millot, a
81 town about two leagues distant from the village
whittier, for four years, Alix had been accus
a toned to go once "a week with poultry and eggs
her great resource for the rent of her grand
as dame hut 1t was matter of rivalry anon
the young women of the neighborhood to be frs
in at market and Alx who greatly enjoyed su
premacy in everything, had endeavorcd in this
'or as III all clsc to surpass her companions. This
however, was not very easy, for others coul
Try rise betimes, as she did herself. A few mont
before, an accidental discovery Of her brothe
Jean Lad at length secured for her the envie
IT. privilege. Jean like other idle lads of lis class
~ WAS necessarily poacher, and, on one of hi
'iu secret expeditions into the forest which lay be
py tween Beauregard and Maillot, had chanccd t
er- iall upon path by which the distance betwee
va the two places was shortened by at least thrt
ar- Ihls discovery he confded to Alix and eve
'n- since, Under his guidance and escort, she ha
'ur avalcd herself OF it to reach Mallot earlier an
dd with less fatigue than her companions. Sh
ng. hid found the walk very pleasant when Jea
by was with her to carry her basket, and with h
tho boyish sallies to prevent her from dwelling Q
ith the superstitous terrors with which triditio
to had invested the Forest but now that she mu
me tread its tangled paths alone she hestated, ar
in was half tempted to relinquish the daring pr