Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-02-22
THE FATE OF MADAME CABayEL.

frogress had not invaded, science had not en-
hghtened, the little hamlet of PIeuvrot, in Brit
tany- Ihey were a simple, ignorant, supersti-
tious set who lived there and the InxuTies ~,
ciyiiizatlon were known to them as little n. il,
learning. They toiled hard all the week: they
went regular 10 mass in the little chanel; be-
lleved implicitly all that Monsieur lie Cure said
To them: and many things he did not saw and
,hey TOOK all the unknown, not as magnificent
The sole link between them and the outsde
world was Monsieur Jules Cablnel the pronria-
TOT par excellence of th1place; marie iure de
pax and all the public functi0naries rolle.I in
10 one And sometimes went to Paris, whence
ne returned with cargo of novelties that ex-
cited envy admiration or fear, according to the
degree Of intelligence i'm those who beheld them
Monsieur Jules Cabanel was not the n,a.t
charming man Of his class in appearance bI,t
ne was generally held To he q good fellow AT
bottom n sh Ort. thick-set. ioy-bred man
with blue-black hair cropped short ike a MT
a was his blue-black beard inclined to obesity
ana font OF good living, he had need have some
sn ,', eehlhd inc bush 70 compensate for his
want " personal charms. lie was not bad
however, ne was only common and unloyely
I 20 hity years of age he had remained un-
married. Perhaps his handsome bOusekeener
Adele. had something 10 do with his persstent
eehb2ey- They said she had. under their
hrcath- as II were, down in the village: but no
one aaIed TO - much as hint tie like to herself.
sue was proud, reserved kind of woman and
6ad strong notions Other own dignity which no
cne cared 10 disturb. So. whatever the under-
hand gossip of the place might be- neither she
nor her master got wind OF il.
presently, and quite suddenly. Jules Caban-
el, who had been for a longer time than usual
IN Paris came home with wife. Adele had
twehty-iOur hours notice only to prepare. and
the task seemed heavy. But she got through
AZ; arranged the rooms a. she knew her mas
Ter would wish them to be arranged, and even
Iiaced a voluntary bunch OF flowers Oh the sa-
Ion table.
f;Strsnge towers for a BRIDE sail to herself
little Jeannette, the goose girl. who was some
tiIaes brought into the house to work. "a she
noticed heliOtrope-called in France la heur
DIES veuves''-scarlet poppies, with a bunch Of
bellsdOnna, and another of aeonite-scarcely
howers OF bridal welcome or significance New
ertheless, thew stood where Adele had placed
them; and if Monsieur Cabanel meant any,
thing by the passionate expression OF disgust
With which he ordered them out OF his sight.
madame seemed To understand nothing, As She
smiled with the look OF person who i assist
ing at scene Of which the true bearing i, not
understood.
Madame Cabanel was an Fnrli,hyomsn:
young. pretty, and fair a. an angel.
ia beaute du diable," said the Pieuvrotiues.
win something between sheer ami a shudder,
iof the words meant with them more than they
mean IN ordinary use. Swartby. ill-nourished.
low of stature. and nieagre in frame as they
were themselves, they could not understand the
pump FORM tau ngure. AMI fresh COMPLEXION
OF the EnslIshwoman. Unlike their own expe-
Renee III was therefore more likely to be evil
thsH good The feeling which had sprung up
against her at iirst sight deepened when il was
Observed that although she went to mass with
praisewOrt punctuaity. she did not know her
m,-,aI, and signed herself a trayers. La beaute
'-Pcnf!' said Martin Briolic the old grave
digger OF the little cemetery: with tlt5(. red
lips OF hers. her rose checks. and plump shouI-
lived ON blood"
He said this one evening down at In Venue
ffieuT :, and he said il with an air OF csayic-
ton that had its weight. For Martin Rriolir
wa, rcPutesi the wsest man in the district not
even excepting Monsieur lie Cure. who was wise
-, his own way, which was not Martins, nor
Monsieur Cabsnel, who was wise in his. which
WAS neither Martins. nor the Cures. He knew
All about the weather AMI the stars. the wild
herbs that grew on the plains. and the wild shy
beasts that eat them: he had the power of di-
Nination, and could find where the hidden
springs OF water lay far down in the earth. He
knew. too, where treasures could he had on
Chrlstrnas eve, II only YOU We're quick and brave
enough TO enter the CLEFT In the rock the right
moment, and come out again before too late;
and he had seen with his own ewes the White
Ladies dancing in the moonlight, and the little
lmps, the lutins, playing 10y the pit at the edge
OF the wood. And he had a shrevd suspicion as
70 who, among those blackhearted men of La
Creche. en-oois; the rival hamlet, was q loup-
garou, If ever there one on the face of the
earth-and no one doubted that He had other
powers OF yet more mystic kind, so that
Martin BIiohc bad word went for something
Fanny Campbell, or a. she now. Madame
Cabsnei, would have excited no special atten-
tion anywhere but at such a dead alive, ignor-
snt, aud gossipptns place a Pieuvrot What
history she hal Was commonplace enou oh She
vas simply an orphan ami a governess: very
Young. and very poor, whose employer, had
9aarreiled with her. and left her stranded in
i'aris, alone and almost moneyless and who had
married Monsieur jules Cabanel As the hest
thing she could do. Loving no one else she
was not difficult to be won BY the irst m an who
showed her Kindness in her trouble and desti-
tuition; and she accepted her middle 81 suit
or, who was litter to be her father than her has
band, with a determination TO do her duty
cheerfaily and faithfully. She did not know
however, of the handsome housekeeper. Adele
nor o. che housekeeper's little nephew to whom
her master was 50 kind that he allowed him u
live AZ the Maison Cabanel, and had him well
taught by the Cure. Perhaps II she Hal she
uer'd have thought twice before she pat her
sen uniier the same roof with q woman who for
bridal boquet offered her peoples, heiiotrop,,
and pJssou ho<ers-
~ one hsi Z, name the Predominant charac-
tertstie o. Aaiame Cabanel, it would be east
ness oi temper. You 1t in the round soft
fiHes OF her face AMI figure. In her mild blue
eyes. and placid, uavaryine smile: which.
however, sometimes irritAted the more petulaat
French temperament, and especially Disguised
Adele
at seems almost impossible to make madame
angry, or even to make her understand when
she vas insalted, the housekeeper used to say,
Hitk 0isoAins