Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1867-07-12
23AisfelIantpns.
A DAY wITH ROSA BoNHEUR.

breiyeries of Mont Breda, and far from
the, beautiful old chosnut trees Of the lux
emburg.
! If you wish 10 contemplate the great
| painter close by, you must take the LYONS
train, alight at Fontainebleau, and ask some
| body 10 show you the road TO the Chateau
/ de BY. After walking for an hour through
a dense forest you viii behold near the edge
Of this forest a very pretty dwelling, in
| which the architect has managed to combine
iron, brick aud timber with rare artistic
taste. From the ground floor TO the roof
| everything Is gTscefal and charming in this
delightful little villa. It's irreguiarity con
| stltutes its greatest charm, and your eyes
might wander all the day long from the
small towers wreathed with ivy to the bal
comics festooned with beautiful flowers, if
| your ears were not suddenly deafened by
| a most singular noise, which puts all at
once stop to your admiring contemplation.
AT first, If you hate Wagner's music of
the future, you would believe that a num-
Der OF enthusiastic singers were rehearsing
! piece composed by the ecceutTic friend of
| the eccentric King of Bavaria but, after
listening with close attention for few min
| ntes, you will comprehend that this strange
| concert results from the bleating of sheep,
the lowing cows, the neighing Of horses,
aud the barking and bowling of dogs, all
blending in a wonderfully diseordant medley.
This cattle concert will then tell you that
you have arrived at your destination and,
approaching the handsome casf-iron fence,
you ring the bell; an old servant girl makes
her appearance. | say an old servant girl,
one of the last vestiges of a race which is
dying out very fast aud which is called ''the
devoted servants
an D..-.
''She Is not at home
When viii she be hack
Il don know.
Where is she?'
Z don't know.
When a servant replies TO such questions
IN this manner yOu uiay rest assured that
the master or the mistress Is at home. In
this case you must proceed very skilliully,
and bring your masked battery, to wit, your
letter Of recommendation, TO bear upon the
enemy.
Il am very sorry that MademoiseIle, Bon
heur is not here, you say to the old ser
want girl; zone Of her friends sent me to her
to confer with her in regard 10 some press
ing business matters; he gave me also this
note, which | was 20 deliver to her. Pray
give it TO her, and express to her my regrets
that did not meet her at home.
VERY well, says the old servant girl,
and slams the door in your face
Well, you are now eighty kiiomcters from
parsis, at a village where sandwiches are
nrihs and whittier ciyilizaiiqp prpetrateS
Qpce day 10 the SHaor 1T The I}3T iaBfnqi
You say, therefore, to yourself / wall take
little walk In the meantime Rose Bon
heur will read my letter Of introduction and,
on seeing the signature Of her friend at the
bottom Of the missive, she viii scold her ser
Of one of her colleagues irusu the door iu so
unceremonioUs "a uanucr, that, when !
shall present myself nncc uoie at the door
Of the chateau, licrlfudc all old servant
girls are called Gcrlrude) will exclaim
'Oh my dear sir Mademoisee Bonheur has
just got home, and awaits YOU quite impa
tiently!
Well. you are utterly mistaken, aud your
mouelogue Is false IN ever, respect, for
when you confron, once more this iuhospi
table threshold Gertrude tells you with a
morose air
''Mademoisclle Bonheur has not got home |
yet She dimes very often at EontaInc |
bleau 1t happens sometimes that She stays |
two weeks from home without telling me |
word about it. You know artistes are 20 /
very queer.
If YOU are not malicious you viii think |
poipted, you will at once start on your return |
trip of eighty kilometers, swearing on the !
way ike Lueifer; but, if YOU are malicious, /
lust request Gertrude to return to you your |
letter Of introduction. and tell her that yOu 1
have orders to deliver il only Into the hands |
of hermiytress Her mistress has, of course, /
opened the letter already. tiertrude can not /
return the letter 10 YOU without Incunng |
the suspicion of being a faithlcss servant I
What viii she do, then?
"Forsooth exclaims Mademoiselle Bon |
heur, caught in the trap, 'admi, the inquis-
tive fellow. -
And you enter the hou,c.
The reader has guessed already that | |
have related to him what happened to my /
self did not know that the most urgent re- |
concentrations do not exert any effect upon /
the obdurate heart of Rosa Bonheur, and /
that she closes her door most unceremoni- |
ously in the face of whosoeyer aspires to lay |
at her feet a tribute OF enthusiastic admlra- |
ton. Well. thank God, | had succeeded in /
getting in. Gertrude pointed out to me
little fellow who approached through an alley /
,f tlre 1,ur X he seemed TO look at me fToWn- I
inrly. but an enormous straw hat which be |
wore on his head prevented rue from recOg- |
Dizing his features.
I STONED a little aud now | saw beard |
less. full face, bronzed by the sun, aud dot |
ted with two hazel eyes of medium size. |
The smalness Of the nose, which was finely |
chiseled, caused the rather large mouth, |
which displayed two rows OF superb teeth, |
to appear even larger than 1t really was.
Long hair, which seemed to me blonde, flow |
ed under the broad brim of the straw hat, |
and fell in truly rural disorder on the shout !
ders of the little fellow.
"Who are you? Whence do you come,
and what do you want? he asked IN pet
ulant tone.
And he placed himself in front Of me, at
ter turning back the skirt of his blue linen
blouse, and putting his hands into the pock-
cts of his grey velvet panislconS.
These hands had seemed TO me very small
| looked at the feet of the little fellow; they
were likewise microscopic notwithstanding
the thick calf boots, the s"les of which we're
covered with nails
The Cesarean manner III which the little
peasant accosted me Disconnected me lit
tie
81 am journalist, | replied: j come
from Paris, aud | want to see Madeuoiselle
Bonheur.
''Well, then, look at her said the little
peasant, taking of his bat.
saw now the true cOlor Of her hair. Ii
is not blonde, it is white. saw, also, two
diamonds with which the collarof her coarse
/ linen shirt was fastened.
Nv dear sir, said Mademulscc Bon
heur. in a nIidcr tone, you must excuse
" - .t,,I lou, ,o.eSSar,