Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1872-1875, 1874-11-19
JACQUES.

JACQUES.
On the southern bank of the saeuenav
where the precipitous cliffs give place
70 roiling, rocky hills, lies the little
numbering village of Chicoutimi. Here
lieey 1aGGques-happy, frowsy little JAG.
Iues. he does not know but that it is
the incest thing in the world to live so
near the north pole that on the short
summer nights the beautiful aurora
can spread her cold curtain of shifting
silver over him; so near that in winter
old North Pole himself can drop in in n
neighborly way and bury the liouse in
snow-drifts. Gould anything be- more
charming, except living hand in bnnd
with Jack Frost in his ice cave ut the
top of the world? jacques and I have
tender pity for any one who does not
live in Chicoutimi, though jacques be.
gins to have misgivings that perhaps
Quebec, where the wonderful steamers
come from, may possess some points of
superiority. -
jacques lives in b. small square house.
perched on the rocky river bank. WHY
the high winds that churn the Saguenay
to mass of whito froth do not blow it
away nobody knows. But, like huge
birds nest, there it clings to the top of
the rock. It is built of rough two.inch
planks piled one on top of another. and
capped by asteep board roof. Altogether
1t looks as If giant had played at max
ing cob-hcuse, and then clapped n
wooden tent on it. Though it only
boasts of one story and one room, this
fully satisfies jacques, for he is a social
little fellow, and enjoys sleeping all in
one bed IN the corner of the kitchen.
Then, too, the room is magnificent in
his eyes, for its unblinded, wide-awake
windows are shaded with paper curtains,
gay with blue castles and red cavaliers.
But his mother is ambitious. and
dreams of lifting the house up bodily
and tucklng lower story under it, as
is the universal custom in Chicoutimi
when one grows well-to-do in the world.
This gives all the houses ajannty. en-
terprisih1g air, as if they hid Just got
upon their legs and were about to start
oil around the town for dish of friend
ly gossip.
Jacques, father earns five dollars a
month by hooking in the logs that float
away from the great saw-lnill, quarter
of mile above. It is moro pittanca
Any one but Frenchman would starye
upon it, even in Chicoutimi. But there
the French live son nothing week.
and that uncertain very." Fish and
onions form the chief of their diet. with
now and then, by way of luxury, a soup
made of bit Of gristie and potato or
two. The children grow round and
rosy, but the grown people have lean
and hungry look. OF course. they have
bread for standby; and every other
morningI SEQ little jacques 60 jumping,
rollleking, singing by, with an immense
loaf carefully poised on his towsly pate,
or tightly squeezed against his dirty
blouse.
II you should say to him, as did {:
You love that bread, don't you ?" he
would reply, his brown eyes all aglow /:
Mais, que ce pain est bon Vous
n'avez iamals WI rien CONNIE ca aux
Etats Unis On ne Ia MULE part ex-
cepte Chicoutimi. Nest ce pas que les
petlts garcons chez vous meurent de
faim sans ce pain ?" which is his way of
saying: "Isn'tthis bread good, though!
You won't fine such anywhere in the
world except in Chicoutimi. Don't the
little boys in the United States starve
without this bread ?" If he were a
Yankee boy, we should say this came q
little too near Dragging. But the inno-
cent Ignorance and anxiety of his last
questlen quite take away your breath.
And when he brings you q thick chunk
OF this remarkable bread, in his little.
grimy fingers, you wonder If it is really
made of musty sawdust, that it has such
queer, oaken color and such n dry. nm
palatable taste. N''
One afternoon jacques father went
away to stay all night. His last words
to Jacques were: "Be sure NOT to m
near tho MILL" For the mill was a yery
dangerous though very attractive place
to little folks. For awhile jacques
amused himself playing on the logs that
were floating in the water beside the
) house. Lying in the river, loading with
lumber, were three shipa-olie ! from,
Norway, one from Provence, and one