The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1870-05-26
THURSDAY, MAY 26, 1870: "

Il 4, i 3:.E fEt;tG:ts J%IET a.! 40
f'What is it to you ~ shs'ves 9sayiul
"You have your man dry and safs upo
shore always at your side; he is 10
driven to go out at the peril Of hi
life to find bread to put into You
mouth" g.: .. II
The old woman's words meant moth
ing perhaps, but they struck Catha
riue with feeling Of vivid reality, 70
which she could hardly account. Poo
souls, what a life was theirs-a- life o
which the sweetest and wholesomes
food must be imbittcred by the though
of the price which they might be callet
upon to pay for it some pny. Yes, sh'
had her "man," as Nanon called Mon
sieur Fontaine, aud she looked at hin
as he walked beside her, active and
brisk, and full Of life and good-humor
He talked away oheerfully, Of storms
and fish, and fishermen, Of the Eeole d.
Matation at Bayeuq, which he had at.
tended with much interest, and where
he meant Toto to 60 before long; he
talked Of the good and bad weather
storms, and Of the great piles Of sea.
weed with which the coast was some.
times covered when the tide went down
after boisterous night. ."That is a
sight you must zee, my very dear
Catharine," said the maire. s"People
rise at the earliest dawn, and come
down with carts and spades, and bar
rows and baskets. It would amuse you
to see tho various expedients for carry:
ing away the varech before the evening
tide" ,:.:.' . II. :, ::
"But what do they do with it !" said
Catharine. .:;;:";;:",.@ 9G:.:;'t5
"It forms 4 most valuable manure, D
said the malre, in his instructive voice.
'The odor is not agreeable, but it,
beneficial properties can not be- too
highly comm ended. remember, last
spring, in the early dawn, some one
tapping at my window, saying, Get up,
get up, Monsieur le Maire, the varech
is arrived I hastily dressed, and
found all the company assembled upon
the beach, although it was but three
o'clock in the morning." They had
come to the church at the end Of the
village by this time, and Monsieur le
Cure was descending the well-worn
steps. He pulled off his threc-corner-.
I'd hat, and r Fontaine, hastily stepping
panama in hand, returned the
and asked NJ. le. Cure
whether he would be at home in the
course of half an hour? II have Ger
ain paperasses to sigu," said the marie,
with beaming and important face,
'and [ venture to ask if you would
'indly witness them o. I will return
'fter escorting my wife to the chateau"
aid the maire, with some slight COM
'laisance at the thought Of such good
company. "She joins the neioe Of !
Madame de Tracy and others in an ex-
'edition to Bayeux." |
"We shall have rain soon," said the |
ure, looking at the horizon from the
'hurch. "We must make the most of
his fine sunshine while it lasts." And
IS he spoke the whole place seemed to
row bright.
"Joseph Lefebvre is putting out"
aid the maire. "It seems hazardous;
'ut these people are fish, not men,"
And he adjusted his eye-glass, and
ooked at long low bank Of clouds be-
7ond the rocks of the Calvados. !
"There will be a storm tonight"
aid the cure, dryly. "Madame, how
.yer. has time to divert herself before
t cones. I'm afraid Joseph will
scarcely return sec."
"Monsieur le Cure" cried Fontaiue,
of, ~ shall drop in at the
presbytery on my way home"
.Catharine looked after the cure as
he trudged away toward 4 cottage, where
'he, too, sometimes paid visits Of chari-
ty. The black figure with its heavy
skirts passed through the brilliant
waves Of light. This light seemed 10
make everything new aud beautiful, the
fields, the distant lanes, the. very gtass
along the roadside. The two,' walking
toward Tracy, presently reached J. place
where the field, path Joined the roadj1
and where one Of those wayside crosses>
which are no common in Normandy
had been erected. Some faded gar,
lands were still hanging to it, and the
grass was growing between the stone
steps. Here Fontaine stoppsds y;.:: sa
els not that the carriage from Tracy
coming to ineet US :" ,,,.1 49,. III.
eyes, I think so;" Catharine sns-
wered. ,~n: !;
"Then l will leave you with your
friends, for 1 have several things to d."
Fontaine said, hastily. "Gcod-by, dear
Cath4rine they will see you home !;
they promised me they would, if L
spared you to them"
q: "Good-by, Charles" said Catbarine.
you for coming with mo when
you were SO busy" ..-..'
Fontalne smiled and kissed her fore
head. "Good-by, my little Cath.rine,"
said he, a second time, 80 kindly that il