The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1874-05-01
MARIE.
A PARTISAN NOVELETTE,.


nothing more. Her days were spent
in factory, where, with hundreds
of others, she worked early and late
to earn the poor pittance that formed
, her daily bread, and her nights
we're spent up in a garret, where the
noisome smells from the court below,
: and the curses and cries somtimes
made her shudder. But she was no
heroine. The other girls said she
was not even pretty, but her braids
of long, fair hair were bright and
soft, and her eyes, though her face
was pale, were sweet and pure, and
in spite of her life, as it was, she was
innocent as when long ago her moth
Ell had died in the same garret where
she now lived. She was not even q
christian--few in Paris are, I believe
and then churches are not for poor
people, you know, and when her
Sundays came they were such days
of rest after her hard, .hard week that
she was glad to be away from the
crowd and rattle and noise, and sit
by herself alone.
One day there came to the factory
some gentlemen, all friends to the
proprietor, who walked through and
looked at the machines, how the girls
worked them, how nimble their fin
gers were, and how the clothes were
cut-all matter of fact enough to the
girls but curious to them. They all
laughed and joked and said some
thing to the girls, and one stopped
before her chair and said, "What
beautiful hair!" touching just so gen
tly some one of the long golden
strands. She blushed very red and
they walked on.
Her name?'
Marie, said the proprietor. Yes
pretty hair, but nothing else, she is
only poor sewing girl, not even one
of the heads of the department; only
a very poor girl, monsieur
As the stranger walked out there
caught in his coat a long thread of
hair which he laughed at, smiled,
then loosed slowly placed it in the
rich locket he wore on his chain, and
then passed out. He did not return
again, but one day passing the bou-
levards she heard her name called,
'MarieP A gendarme in uniform
stepped up and handed her a card:
Monsieur Henri de Dannes, Marquis
de Plaquemine,
She was surprised. Gentlemen
do not bother themselves about poor
sewing girls often, and then mar
quis. Who was he? What could it
mean?
He is here Nam 'selle, and wishes
to speak to you. Will you go?'
She followed, she did not know
why, and when the soldier stopped
at rich saloon, and the door open
ed, she stepped in and saw the gen
tleman who spoke to her at the fac
tory some weeks ago.
Then she burst into tears--'Mon-
sieur don't for Gods sake monsieur. |
| am only poor girl, and what can
q marquis want with me. For Gods
sake, don't please, and she buried
her face in her hands.
The long hair fell in its two braids
down over her shoulders, and as she
sank almost to the floor it covered
her almost like cloud,
Monsieur arose; he was an old man,
past fifty, his hair was gray, and his
face was hard, clear-cut, and cold,
and his eyes were like steel, just 50
clear, and sharp and cold: he walked
to the window Of the rich saloon, and
then, returned half way, leaned with
one hand on a chair and the other
tenderly, ever so tenderly, for hard
old man, rested just for one moment
on her fair hair, and it trembled.
By many strange ways and much
blood had monsieur come to be stand
ing in that place, and then for one
moment there seemed to float before
him o vision of fair Lorraine, a youth
long ago, face sitting in cottage,
and two long braids of hair, a prom
and an fomo che would he his Yeors
Of toll and no;n of snccoss and t,i.
,,m,,b and q ret,,rn to find her mar.
riod ~ y cbnrl and n common co,n.
t,v reosont and tbev botb rome 10
pSris
c;nco +bon ,,ors;o,,,. woo Lnoun 10
bo a hard man and Whom with his
Ioo;ona in Africa twas soid be was n
fegce ono. but he was b;gb in conrt
.oDd III ,,,.o;sod ord boropod hin,
1 He &C. stood for a moment tins and
tbon worder;ng N himself bolf
oIond. ITario ;s tb.+ yonr nomep
Voc ,noneie,,r9,
evorr motbe,'s nomeY
eYes monsieur
Tbo bnnJs wore ronovod from b;e
focs now and tLe foir Soft oras voro
roised wopdoringly hnt tbe face Of
tbo mons;enr Voc borJ og,in onIv