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

,sa, my oouCnoru oanK or the Saguenay
Where the precipitous cliffs give place
s,o IoHing, rocky hills, lies the little
I numbering village Of Chicoutimi. Here
liesv Jacques-happy. frowav i;tt1a To-
ques. He does not know 5 bnt that thai ~ : -, z
the incest thing in the world to live an ~
near the north pole that ON The sI1ort
summer nights the beautiful aurora
can spread her cold curtain of shifting
silver over him; 80 near that in w;ntaI
old North Pole himself can drop in in n
neighborly way and bury the honse in
snoW;drifts. Gould anything be- more
charming, except living hand in hand
$ with Jack Frost in. his. ice cave at the
top OF the world jacques and I have
tender pity for any one who does not
live in Chicoutimi, though jacques he.
gins to have misgivings that perhaps
I Quebec, where the wonderful steanners
come from, may possess some points of
Jaeques lives In q. small auuare house.
perched on the rocky river bank. Why
the high winds that ScIurn the Sacuenay
to mass of white froth do not blow it
away nobody knows. But, like q huge
birds nest. there it clings to the ton 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-house, and then clapped a
wooden tent on it. Though it only
boasts OF one story and one room, this
fully satisfies jacques, for he is O social
j little fellow, and enjoys sleeping all in
one bed in the corner of the kitchen.
Then, too, the room is magnificent in
his eyee, 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 mp bodily
and tuckIng lower story under it. as
is the universal custom in Chicoutimi
when one grows weli-to.do in the world.
This gives all the shousss ajaunty, en-,
terprisimg air, as If they had Just cot
upon their legs and were about to start
Off 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-mill, quarter
OF mile above. It is o mere pittance.
Any one but Frenchman would starve
upon it. even in Chicoutimi. But there
! the French live on notking week,
and that uncertain very" Fish and
onions form the chisf of their die. with
now and then, by way of luxury. q soun
made of bit of gristle and potato or
two. The children. grow round and
IS rosy, but the. grown people have lean
and hungry look. 81 course. thew have
bread for standby and every other
niorningI see little Jacques 90 jumping.
rollicking, singing by, with an imniense
loaf carefully poised on his towsly pate.
or tightly squeezed against his dirty
blouse.
Ii you should say to him, ms did
You love that bread, don't you ~ he
would reply, ibis brown eyes all aglow
Mais, cue CO pain est bon Voue
n'avez lamals WI rien CONNIE ca aux
Etats Unis On ne Ia MULE part ex.
cepte Chicoutimi. Nest CO pas que les
petits 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 p If he were O
Yankee boy, we should say this came q
Little too near Dragging. But the limo.
cent Ignorance and anxiety of his last
question quite take away your breath.
And when he brings you 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
agassr oaksn color e and such u dry, un.
One afternoon jacques father. wen,
away to stay all night. His last words
to jacques were: "Be sure NOT to gr
near the MILL" For the mill was yerJ sJ
dangerous though very attractive place
amused himself playing on the logs tha
were floating in the water beside ti,
hsnis aSe Iyng sls Il sss rSSis Loading gl