The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1871-11-15

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appeared by thousands in the dark
depths of the heavens, then the moon
arose and with her bright rays softly
silvered the birches scattered along
the sides of the mountain.
Sleep had begun to overtake the
young gypsy girl, her head was begin
ming to droop, when she was started by
distant noises in the woods; she lis
tened, and the same noises broke the
silence of the night; Bremen, Fritz
and all the farm people were ont in
search of her.
Without hesitation MYRTLE rushed
farther into the forest, only stopping
from time to time to listen. The
noises became fainter and fainter, and
soon she heard only the rapid beat
ings of her heart, and pursued her
way less hurriedly.
At last, very late, when the moon
had shed her last rays upon the foliage
she sank down among the heath, over
come with lassitude, and slept pro-
foundly. She was then four leagues
from Oremheim, near the source of
the Zinzel, and Bremen would not be
likely to extend his search so far.
1t was broad day when MYRTLE
awoke in the solitude of the Harburg
forest under an old eaten pine.
A thrush was singing above her head
another, far off in the valley, echoed
his song. The leaves shook as if
quivering in the morning breeze, but
the air already warmed by the sun
seemed laden with thousand per-
fumes of veryain, moss and wild
honeysuckle.
The gypsy girl opened her eyes in ut
ter surprise, she looked about her, and
then rejecting that she would no lon
ger hear Cathaline call "Myrtille, Myr-
tile, where are you-yeu lazy girl,n
she smiled and listened to the song of
the thrush.
A brook babbled near by; the girl
had only to turn her head little to
see the living water flow over the rock
and then spread itself through the
grass; above the rocks hung an arbutus
heavy with punches of red fruit; be-
low was q Mag uiicrnt wUlr's Dane
with its violet-colored flowers spotted
with white.
MYRTLE was thirsty, but she felt in
dolent, so content to hear the water
flow and the thrush sing, that she had
not the courage to disturb this har-
mony; so letting her pretty dark head
fall back, she smiled, and looking
through her half-closed eyelids, said ::
II SHALL always be, like this. Well,
1 am lazy. Heaven made ME So"
And dreaming of the farm with its
great cock, its hens, then of the eggs
hidden amongst the straw in the barn.
'If 1 only had two eggs" said she;
"two eggs, boiled hard, like those
Fritz had in the bag yesterday, with a
crust of bread and pinch of salt,
should be very glad; but then, when
eggs are not to be had, mulberries do
very well.
An odor of mulberries made her dis
tend her delicate nostrils. "There
are some," said she; 81 smell them"
She was not mistaken; the woods were
full of them.
In minute, no longer hearing the
song of the thrush, she raised herself
upon her elbow and saw the bird pick
at one of the punches of ar5utus Der
ries. She arose and drank some water
out of the hollow of her hand, and OBJ
served that watercresscs was abundant
thereabout; then, something that never
before happened, certain words of the
cure, Nicklausse, came into her mind
"BehOld the fowls of the air; for they
sow not neither do they reap, nor gath
er into barns, for your Heavenly Fa-
Their feedeth them"
Consider the lilies Of the field, how
they grow They toll not, neither do
they spin; and yet / say unto you that
Solomon in all his glory was not ar
rayed like one of these. Wherefore if
God SO clothe the grass of the field,
which to-day is and tomorrow is cast
into the oven, shall be not much more
clothe you, Oh, ye of little faith.
Therefore take no thought of these
things, for after all these things 90 the
Gentiles seek; for your Heavenly Fa-
ther knoweth ye have need of them.
Ah!" thought MYRTLE, "wl,en
mother Catherine called me heather.
1 could well have said to her: 1t is you
and yours who are heathens, because
you SOW and reap, but we are good
Christians, because we live like the
birds of the air."
She had hardly finished these wise
reflections when the noise of footstep
among the dry leaves startled her.
She was about to fly, when a young
gypsy, eighteen or twenty years old,
tall, slender, with dark complexion,
curly hair, bright eyes, his thick lips
parted, slid down the rock, and said :