The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-07-14
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDT JE.

.{ ~ so-nor ,,roy,nce of Berri-and to his
bonse 7 used TO 90 during my school holidays,
INV college vacation, ana my army io, -, %
absence Near the chateau wneIe my loiaU.Ye Jaw
lived was one of those small French towns
which. being out of the way of the busy world
life in which those who inhabit great capitals
live olvavs seem to me the very headquarters
of dullness and eRRUj. Still, such as 1t was, LIE
Blanc was the only place within twenty mlies
or more, where newspaper could be nau d
letter could be posted, or cigar coulu 20
Durchased In France, field sports are not
n that exciting nature which they are with
ms. To rise at s A. NJ, start on q tramp over
cultivated ground for five or SIX hours, anu
come home very much exhausted tor tne Sane
of brinaing in hare or couple Oh par
tridpes was not what called shootlhS' tiu' i
So during my sojourn at Bonasle, geneIaly
confined my wanderings to the smah Uo"h
aforesaid. Gradually came to know soihe
of the people, and they began to know me.
The Marie used TO come forth from his little
office. where he smoked all day, and greet
me almost as an old friend. The Cure, VINO
had. as a young man, served in the Algerian
army. used to look out for me, and was al
wavs glad to hear such tales as l had to tell
respecting the war in India. Then there
were two or three worthy souls, retired
officers, who insisted upon my taking cof-
fee and petits gerres of cognac at their ex-
pense whenever they saw me in the single
street which constituted the only thorough
fare of the town, and who, when was very
Junior Lieutenant of Dragons, insisted upon
giving me the rank of Major, always speak
ING of me as ''Monsieur lie Commandant An
plais." and addressing me with as much
Difference as if had been alieutenant-colonel
of life guards Having visited the little
place annually for several years, as school
boy, as collegian, and as officer on leave, the
good people took an interest in me, and l in
them.
1t is seldom that an Englishman gets on
intimate terms with French country-people,
and still more rare for him to know thoroughly
the in ms and outs of all their little
affairs. Such, however, was my case with the
inhabitants of LIE Blanc, and thus it was that
/ came to hear the tale of circumstantial evil
dence which am about to relate
There were in lie Blanc two priests the
cure and the vicaire Gin France the cure is
what we call the vicar, and the 0jcdire is
what we term the curate), both of whom
knew the former particularly well. There
was, as l knew very WELL no other clergyman
in the place, and no other church within ten
or a dozen miles; and yet, every now and
then, used to see an elderly and most vene-
rable looking man. dressed in the sontane, or
cassock, of priest, walking about the neigh
boring fields and often coming out of church,
as if he had been there for private devotions.
After time, being curious to know the name
of this gentleman, l asked some of my
friends, and they told me he was called ''le
pere Francois"
Now, as the term ''pere" is in France only
applied to the clergy who belong to the reh-
gious orders, and as the cures, Ctcdtres, and
others are invariably called monsieur Table"
when spoken of, or to, l took it into my head
that this old gentleman must be some sort of
monk, who had perhaps forgotten, or perhaps
thrown aside his VOWS and was now doing
penance in this retreat for his past life. And
yet there were certain facts which rendered
this supposition very improbable. No man
seemed to frequent the church more than the
''pere Francois" Not only was he always
present at the daily mass, but often saw him
at his private devotions in the building
when no one was present, and fire.
quently noticed him at the altar rails as
q communicant. His countenance was that
of man who had seen much trouble and
gone through great grief but by no means
one which led me to think he had ever lived
a bad life. And yet why should he dress like
priest and not officiate as such? Moreover,
the inhabitants of the place, although always
ready enough to speak of other peoples bust
ness, either would, or could, give me no in
formation respecting Pere Francois antece-
dents. Whenever they were questioned about
him, they turned the conversation into some
other channel Thus it was that, although 1
had known the little town for some years, and
had seen and bowed again and again to the
old man, it was only at one Of my last visits
that became acquainted with his history,
and then only by mere chance.
Pere Francois real name was Caudret-
Monsieur PAbbe Caudret Many years before
had known him-shortly after the restora-
tion of the Bourbons in France-he had gone
to the ecclesiastical college of st. Sulpice in
Paris, with the intention of studying for the
Church. His conduct at that establishment
had been most exemplary, and after remain
ing there the usual four or five years, he had
been ordained, and returned to his native
diocese in the south, where he was at once
appointed 0icdire in large town parish. In
this position he had remained about six years,
and when he left on his appointment to be
care of q country parish, all his parishioners
regretted extremely his departure. He was
celebrated as one of the most excellent, self
denying, charitable, Jealous, and yet judi
cious priests in the diocese, and was equally
well spoken of by his bishop, his fellow
clergy, and his parishioners. 1t was only
after ten years spent in the most creditable
exercise of his functions, that cloud which
darkened all his after-life, cast its shadow
upon him.
The pres6gtere (Which we should call rec
tory or vicarage) of M. Caudret's parish was
situated near his church, but at some distance
from the rest of the village. The latter was
very poor place, with no other village within
six or seven leagues. Between the priests
house and the church, and built about thirty
wards from the former, was a small house
consisting of two rooms, very modestly fur
nished, and called the hospice. In this hos
pice it was, and had been for many years, the
Ia Lode for Qtr