Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1859-03-25

But in spite of the verdict of my physi- |
clan and others, knew that was per-
fectly sane; unless every ardent desire OF
the human heart ARCHES the presence OF
insanity. 1t is true | loved that darling
child with an intensity of affection which
must have seemed very foolish to many
persons, and | was resolved to devote
years, if necessary, to the task of finding
her; but / was just as rational as had
ever been, for all that. If my brain was
disordered now, it was because II always
had been so. If l was a fool or a mad
man now, l had been one from birth.
That there was degree OF wildness, a
want of a tangible object, in my destined
undertaking, must be confessed. But
Perdida and happiness to me were one.
If lad sought happiness in the pursuit
of wealth, / might have exhibited any
amount of zeal without being called crazy.
But to seek it by endeavoring TO find
Perdida, was the height of irrationality.
felt strong inward conviction that
the little girl was, by birth, a Louisianian,
and / was resolved to search every nook
and corner of that State; not so much in
the hope of finding her there as with the
expectation of learning something about
her which might eventually lead to her
discovery.
My only misgiving in relation to. the
affair was connected with my mother
She never opposed my project, but was
afraid that she thought it wild ONE
that is, that | was proceeding on INSULT
cient data-undertaking sort of wild
goose chase upon grounds that had no
substance in them. But knew that she
loved Perdida almost if not quite as well
as did, and that idea consoled me.
1t was now the latter part of a week
late in November, and / was to start the
next Monday morning. Three foreign
ers, musicians, came into our valley,
think on Friday. This was a very rare
occurrence. There was a girl, perhaps
twenty years of age, with two brothers
younger than herself, and | conversed
with them a good deal in the former
language. Some of their songs pleased
us very much, and they stayed all night
with Us.
One Of the airs sung and played by
these itinerant musicians pleased me ex-
ceedingly, and called for a repetition oI
it so often that it attracted the attention
of the girl, and she eventually asked me
if / would like to have a copy Of it.
told her | would, and she promised tC
furnish me with one if l would suppl,
her with pen, ink and paper, which ac
E cordingly did.
T When we rose in the morning, W,
found that our foreign musicians haC
taken French leave They were no
where to be seen, and the natural con
clusion was that something valuable had
in all probability, vanished with them
After minute investigation, however
we were Obliged to confess that we hac
misiuged, them. Not an article Of am
: sort was missing, though they might easi
ly have robbed the house of almos
r everything valuable and portable.
. On little table in the room where th,
! girl and little sister slept, lay the musi
e which she had promised to give me. ]
t was very neatly written, with bass an,
! accompaniment for the harp. As wa
: about TO put it away, noticed feI
words, in French, written in very mi
mute characters, at the bottom of the pa
n per. Looking closely, l read thes
n words:
'L'entant psrdue est parmi les IN
gsiles du Lac Berret'-the lost child
among the eels of Lake Berret.
IS The moment l read this, saddIcd m
n horse and started in pursuit of the mus
h clans. With good deal Of difficulty
e succeeded in getting on their track, an
e in eventually tracing them to railroa
r depot nine miles off; but they had a
Ie ready left, with train of cars, and wer
far beyond my reach. Sad and dispiri
S, ed, rode slowly home.
VI Ifthis mysterious communicate
it meant anything at all, it must mean thi
r our darling child was drowned. Sons
t. times felt disposed to put some faii
< in the thing; at other times ridieule
g myself for being SO credulous. At a
j, events / was determined to visit til
D. Lake Belret, or Yerret, (for / found
spelled these different ways IN the geo.
ID raphieg, gazetleers, &c.,) which is sitl
T, aied IN the interior Of Louisiana. ] f.
10 sure that Perdida bad come from th
~ region somewhere, and / felt my hea