The Portland daily press., 1875-02-10

10 go to one of the two colleges 10 whlcn
English gentlemen went.
dHalloa. here comes old FontaineP' I in
terrupted at this junctue, happening to see
him from the window. Van Rheyn looked
I'D from his shirts, which he was counting.
He seemed TO have the tidiest way in the
world. 'You can talk away with him in
your native tongue as much as you will, Van
Rheyn."
But l have come here to speak the En-
glish tongue, not the French" debated he,
looking at me seriously. "My father wishes
me to speak and read it without any strange
accent; and l wish it also.
''You speak it very well already"
"But you can tell that it is not my native
tongue-that am a foreigner"
'Of course. What are you to be, Van
Rheyn?"
81 need not be ANYTHING. 1 have enough
fortune to be a rentier-I don't know what
you call that in English; it means gentle
man who lives on his money. But l wish,
myself, to be an English priest"
can English priest! Do you mean par
SOM"
"Yes, 1 mean that. So you see L must
learn the English tongue perfectly. My
mother used to talk to me about the priests
in her own land"
"Parsons," Van Rheyn."
81 beg your pardon, l forget. And tear
have much caught up the French names for
things since my mother died. 1t was neither
priest nor parson she used to call the English
ministers"
"Clergymen, perhaps?'
"That was it. She said the clergymen
were all good men, and she should like me to
be one clergyman. In winter, when it was
cold and she had some fire in her chamber, l
used to sit up there with her, after coming
home from cldSSe, and we talked together,
our two selves. l should have much money,
she said, when grew 10 be man, and
could lead an idle life. But she would not
like that; she wanted me to be good man,
and to 90 to heaven when died, where she
gyman, should have serious thoughts al
ways. So wish to be one clergyman"
He said all this with the greatest simplicity
and composure, just as he might have spoken
of going for ride. Indeed, he seemed to be
of thoroughly simple, straightforward ma
ture.
cit might involve your living over here,
Van Rheyn, once you were in orders"
"Yes, know. Papa would not mind.
England was mammals country, and she
loved it, There was more peace in England
than in France, she thought"
81 say, she must have been good mother,
Van Rheyn."
In a moment his gray eyes were shining at
me through mist of tears. "Oh, she was
so good, so good! You can never know. 1t
she had lived [ should never have had sor-
row."
s'What did she die of?''
"Ah, cannot tell. She was we'll in the
morning, and she was dead at night. Not
that she was strong ever. It was one Di-
manche. We had been to the office, she
and L"
"What office?'
ooh pardon-I forget am speaking Eng
lish. L mean to church. Monsieur Mons
had preached; and we were walking along
the street toward home afterward, mamma
talking to me about the sermon, which had
been very holy one, when we net the Aunt
Gabrielle, who had come into the town for
high mass at St. Omen. Mamma asked her
to come home and dine with us, and she said
yes, but she must 60 TO say bon.j0ur to old
Madame Soubitez. As she parted with us
there was suddenly great cutlery. 1t was
fete at Rouen that Sunday. Some bands OF
music were to play on the estrada in the pub
lie garden, competing for prize, consequent
ly the streets we're crowded. We looked back
at the noise. and saw many horses, without
riders, galloping along toward us; men, run
after them, shouting and calling, and the
people, mad with fright, tumbling over one
another in effort to get away. Later we
heard that these horses, frightened by some
thing, had broken out of hotel POSTCARD.
Well, mamma gave gave just cry OF fear and
held my hand tighter as we set oil to run
with the rest. the horses stamping wildly al
ter us. But the people pushed between US,
and I lost her. She was at home before me,
and sitting on the side of the fountain, inside
the chateau entrance-gate, her face all white
4 oh olunr the nearest lion
with both hands. had never seen her look
so. Come in, mamma, I said, and take lit
tie glass of cordial; but she could not answer
me, and did not stir. called one OF the SER
wants, and by and by she got little breath
again, and went into the house leaning npon
both of us, and so up to her chamber. Quite
Immediately papa came home; be always
went in town to his club on the Sunday morn
ings, and he ran for Monsieur Petit, and
medicin-the doctor. By. Z O'Clock in the
evening mamma was dead"
"Oh dear! What was the causeT"
"Papa did not tell me. He and Monsieur
Petit talked about the heart. They said it
was feeble Oh, how we cried, papa and !!
He cried for many days. l hope he will not
bring home Theresine de Tocquevile"
The dinnerbell rang out, and we went
down. DIR. Frost was putting up the letter,
which old Fontaine had been trapslating to
him. 1t was full of directions about Van
Rheyn's health. What he waste dc, and what
not to do. Monsieur Van Rheyn said his son
was not strong; he was not to be allowed to
do the gymnastics, or the "boxlng," or TO
play at rough games, or take violent exercise
of any kind and a small glass of milk was to
be given him at night when he went to bed.
If the clothes sent over with him were not
suitable to the school, or in accordance with
the English mode, DR.. Frost was prayed to
be at the trouble of procuring him new ones.
He was to be brought well on in all the stud
les necessary to constitute the 'sgentil-
homme," and especially in the speaking and
reading of English.
DR.. Frost directed his spectacles to Charles
Van Rheyn, examining him from top 10 toe.
The round, red, freckled face. and the strong
ly built frame appeared to give nothing but
indications of robust health. The Doctor
questioned him in what way he was not
strong-whether he was subject to cough,
or to.want of appetite, and other such items.
But Van Rheyn seemed to know nothing
about it, and said he had always been quite
well.
sThe father fears we should make him in
to muscular Engshman, hence these re-
strictions,' thought DR.. Frost.
In the afternoon the fellows began to come
in thick and threefold. To describe their
amazement when they saw Van Rheyn is
quite beyond me. 1t seemed that they never
meant to leave off staring. Some of them
gave him little chaff, even that first night.
Van Rheyn was very shy and silent. Though
entirely at his ease with me alone, the num-
bers seemed todaunt him; to strike him a nd
his courage into himself.
On the whole, Van Rheyn was not liked.
Once let a school set itself against new fel-
low at first-and Van Rheym's queer ap-
pearance had done that much for hint
takes long while to bring matters round
if they ever are brought round. When his
hair began to sprout, it looked exactly like
pigs bristles. And that was the first nick
name he got: Bristles. The Doctor had soon
changed his style of coat, and he wore jack
cts, as we did.
Charles Van Rheyn did not seem inclined
to grow sociable. Shy and silent as he had