The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-09-26

8
A RURAL TRAGEDY IN FRANcE.-Trav-
ellers by Tours and the southwestern prov
inces of France will have noticed, in pass
ing through the Department Of Lois ct
Cher, singular looking country. 1t is
flat table land, covered to a great extent
with little rocky elevations resembling GOOD
sized mOle-hills, more than anything else.
The little rocks, indeed are hollow, but IN
stead of moles they contain human beings,
who, in default of better quarters, have
taken up their habitations therein. An en-
tire village, (says an English journal ,
called Roche Gordon, is made up OF such
holes in the ground, the oritices consisting
sometimes Of rough planks, sometimes OF
stones, and sometimes Of mud. In the
midst of all these dwellings OF wretched-
ness and desolation, there arise splendid
mansions and palaces, surrounded by
parks and flower gardens, and adorned
with all the luxury and taste OF modern
elegance.
Not many miles from Roche Gordon, is
the Chateau of Chamford, the Versailles of
Touraine, which, some time ago, was pur-
chased by the ncientaristocracy of France,
and presented as birth day gift to "Hen-
ry the Fifth" The law which prevents
ing property in the empire was set at
naught on this occasion, for the public
tribunals conveyance of the estate to the
Comte de Chambord. High on the CEN
trail tower of the chateau there glisten now,
as of old, the feur de us of the Bourbons,
massive lily, hewn i'll stone, some six
feet high. The four hundred and fifty
rooms which the mansion contains, are
kept in admirable order, prepared at any
moment to receive the descendant Of hum
dred kings.
Not very distant from the human mole
hills is another magnificent domain, the
Chateau of Valehcay. Here lived, died
and was buried the greatest OF French dl-
plomatists, Charles Maurice, Prince de
Talleyrand, la beau frere du did6le, accord
ing to distinguished theologian and wri-
ter of sermons. There are many more his.
torical and far-famed residences in sight of
the mud holes Of Roche Gordon. There is
Piessis lie Tours, the castle den of Louis
XII, made famous to English readers by
"Quentin Durward;" and there is, not far
of, La Rabaterie, the whilom residence OF
Oliver lie Daim, barber, valet, and prime
minister to the pious minister of France.
Many more chateaux, castles and palaces,
among them the splendid park and man
sion of st. Afghan, adorn the neighbor-
hood Of the human mole-hills, but all
their magnifcence scarcely relieves the
country from the aspect of utter dreari-
ness and poverty which it presents. To
judge by its outer aspect, it is still fit,
teenth century land Of feudal barons and
earth bound williams untouched as yet
by the leaven Of the tiers etat, which grew
up in the flames and ashes of three revolu-
tons.
The great natural produce Of the depart
ment of Loir ct Cher are sheep, kept to tn e
number of half million, and snperintend-
ed by about a thousand shepherdesses.-
These fair ones, on close inspection, are
stone delighted to portray, but stout strap
ping damsels, with horny hands, leather
1eggings. and wooden shoes. However,
there are exceptions to this general pOr-
trait Of the sex, and two such exceptions,
fair girls and glossy ringlets, lived latterly
in the little village of Mehers, a few miles
from the Chateau Of St. Aignau. The two
gether on the plains, Willing away their
time by repeating to each other stories OF
elves and witches, said to arise at midnight
from the damp lagoons, dancing around
jack lanterns and hooking the poor
mortals who live in holes of the ground
Full of such fairy tales was the brother OF
Louise Rousseau, Denis, an Informed lit.
tie bunch back, with monstrous head and
wonderful thin legs, himself resembling
one Of the supposed demons of the marshes
Denis Rousseau frequently went with his
sister and her friend into the plains, as.
sisting in tending the sheep, and watching
of the fair form Of FRANCHISE. The latter
seemed scarcely to regard him, yet secretly
conscious of her power over the little dwarf,
held him under complete control, employ
ing him in errands and the execution of
little orders. One day she commanded
him to bring her stout piece of string the
hov CHI
him on q journey far on the moors, pre-
tending to have lost one of her sheep. That
morning Louise Rousseau had come up to
the ordinary meeting-place with new
bonnet, bought at the special request of
her friend, and which she intended to wear
at the forthcoming tete Of Mehers. It was
simple enough piece OF dress, a few gay
ribbons tackled to piece Of muslin; but,
as it was, it excited the intense admiration
of both the girls. Trying it alternately on
each others heads, they wandered together
far into the fields, till at last they came to
piece Of moorland, overgrown with low
brushwood. Here Louise Rousseau sat
entirely lost in the pleasure of looking at
it. Suddenly rope flew round her neck,
skillfully thrown by the girl Francois, and
after few convulsive struggles Louise
Rousseau ceased to breathe. The dead
body remained for day in the low lagoon,
dUtdCheu Oy VulUuTeS uOVorluS IN Un0 air.
Two days after this event, on the 7th OF
June, 1860, FRANCHISE appeared at the viii
lage tete in a new bonnet, radiant with de-
light and full of smiles for the admirers
who thronged around her. Among the
latter was the dwarf Denis, who saw at a
glance that the bonnet of his lost sister,
supposed to be drowned in one of the
ponds, was on the head of the murderess.
He trembled, he says in his evidence with
in himself, divining a foul crime, but had
not the courage to contide his thoughts to
any one. The next morning he, with an
other lad went to the moors to cut wood,
when all at once they came to and almost
stumbled over the corpse of Louise Rous-
seau. The dwarf fell to the ground sense
less, while the other lad ran back to the
village to apprise the people Of what he
had seen. Soon number of men arrived,
who carried the body of the poor shepherd
ess to the hut Of her parents; and before
many hours were over the juge d. instruc-
ton, with gems d-arme from Blois, made
his appearance on the spot.
A cursory medical examination left no
doubt that cruel murder had been COM