The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1868-08-30
,.opn1xo STAR AND CATHOLIC MESSENGER.
A STORY OF FEMALE DEVOTION

have no doubt that to solhe " ny Ill H.
crs the chief facts OF TIM. IS st haye read it
in Bouilly's Co,scs Popuhaircs; but 10 an l
fool sura If will be interesting.
av;e,e Asselin and her twin brother
Maurice were born in the village Oh Aa.
H sly, the" their birth displayed extraordinary
love tor each other, which love Their go om
,,o,onts cultivated. For twelve years al
Went on happily in their well -conoucteo
household, when their father, Journey man
wheclwright, met with an ac c w. f1I
inwcd him to the grave, and the twins were
.i,nn Wv their late fathers master, ana
treatrd rs his own children 1T being consl-
.iorn1 nroncr. in the villages OF France, that
: chldre., left orphans should pe taken '''e
Of Nv their lnta parent s employers.
Five wears passed away most happily
the boy following the profession OF his
father, and the girl making herself useful
in the household affairs, when their KIND
benciactor fell suddenly i'll and daed. :, .,;:
kindly disposition of his father, and treated
the poor twins shamefully, tasking the
hoy beyond his strength, and eNactinS the
most humiliating drntgery from Genevieve.
The brother and sister consulted toSctner
upon what course to pursue, as remaining
there was impossible; but thouShabun'lanc
Of e,uployment was to be found for them
separately nothing opened for them Jointly,
ana to live apart was thing not to De
thought of. SO they still Shrugged on tln
n rich farmer, compasslonatlng thelr conoi-
ton, gave them shelter under his roof Here
they again passed five more happy years,
the lad working in the field, and the sister
taking care of the poultry, and dong all
the miscellaneous duties OF a 6asse-co"f In
France. Harvesttime in Beauce is season
Of neculiar activity and importance, and
This wear progressed most favOrably. Maui
rice. who was always first and last In the
field, was engaged one sultry afternoon In
placing, before the outburst OF an lmpeno-
ing storm, the browning sheaf OF an I'M
mensely high stack of corn, when an aw-
fully vivid flash of Ii gAtning came, striking
the exposed pinnacle of the stack, and hurl-
ing the poor boy sensefess among the PIE OF
sheaves below, which had been collected
for n fresh stack.
scene of the disaster, and for some time it
was thought the poor boy was dead, till at
last a faint sigh from the sufferer undo
ceived them, and, on lifting him from the
ground, it was found that all use OF his
limbs was gone. The kind hearted peasants
lifted the unhappy Maurice gently into a
wagon, and took him home. Words cannot
describe the agony of his poor sister when,
as she Thought, the hfeless body OF her bro
Their was brought in to her she helped to
lift him on to the bed, ana sa! WIN ms poor
head resting on her bosom, in long eNpec-
tation of some sign of returning ANIMATION
At last her patience was rewarded; ms
ewes opened, and faint smile lit up his
face. lie cgarled her, he tried to speak,
hut his parulyscd tongue refuscdits office.
The pLysici;,n after an hour OF unrcniittifS
attention, pronounced it as his opinion that
PARALYSIS had affected both the head and
lower limbs but nevertheless, he gave
some hope that i'll time CONSCIOUSNESS would
be restored.
After n week of intense watching and
suspcnsc, his sister was rewarded by his
saving 6 Genevievc" and '' sister" How
ioyfui was she but, poor girl, it was only
far day or two. She found that, If i'll
caressing him she pressed his head little
on commissions. She again summoned the
physician, who pronounced the debility of
the lower limbs all but hopeless.
The following winter was very severe,
and poor GcncvieVes sutferinGs' can he
better imagined than described. Through
the long nights she increasingly watched
by the bedside of the poor cripple, who,
feeling himself Il burden to all around him,
would pray to be released by death. His
repinings grieved his sister sorely, and she
would reply to his heart-rending lamenta-
tions:
K" Do YOU wish me dead, Maurice ? Do
You think could live without you ? Never
lose heart, brother dear; you've seen the
corn beat fiat many time and oft by the
wind and rain, yet half n days brisk breeze
anu sunshine sets III up All rlSht again, liner
than ever. "
The poor boy was encouraged, and looked
forward to possible recovery to keep
him amused, his sister gave him his tools,
and in his chair he sat and cut out many
ingenious models, among which was one
of q four wheeled wagon on springs, in
which it was his utmost ambition to be
drawn by his comrades to church, and to
the village green, to once more view the
sports of his rustic neighbors.
His sister, however, would not hear of
any one dragging him but herself and on
the Easter Sunday fulfilled his wish, and
took him in his wagon to the parish church
of Artenay, a distance of a mile from their
home. The only difficulty the poor girl