The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-01-01
But | cut him short, and insisted that


he should assist to exhume and open the
box. Seeing that was determined, he
at length set to work, but he was so slow,
and evidently SO unwilling, that at length
my patience got exhausted. took the
spade from his hand, inserted it in the
crevice upon which Shawn had been
working, and with one powerful wrench
forced off the lid We both recoiled in
horror-the box contained corpse!
After the first shock of the discovery
was over, looked again, and my dis
may increased tenfold.
"Why, Shawn" l exclaimed, :" if it
ism IT,
ayes, in troth,' broke in Shawn :;
"s,1re enough it is" And we both stared
into the box again.
In order to explain the strange cir
cumstance1 which enabled me to recog-
nize this corpse, must chronicle events
which took place several weeks before I
exhumed it.
On the fifteenth day of February the
annual winter fair was held at Porta-
clare. The anticipation of this day al
ways created a good deal of excitement
in the minds Of the peasants in and
around Storport, for it was always con-
stituted a sort of gala day; but the an
nouncement of the fair of 1877 brought
with it whisperings of woe to many a
home. The crops had been bad that
year, and the miserable half-starved
tenants had been unable to scrape to-
gether enough money to pay the rent,
so the Proctor had summoned them
to attend the sessions at Portaclare in
order that they might show cause why
they should not deliver up the whole
of their worldly goods.
On the eventful day, which was ush-
cred in with hurricanes of binding
sleet, ordered Shawn to bring out the
horse and car, that we might drive into
Portaclare together. By the time we
started the hail had ceased to fall, but
still the wind blew bitterly, freezing
| with its icy breath the little pools on the
way-side, and when we drove into Port
aclare l felt almost as if my blood was
frozen. 1t was midday by that time
and, save for one or two decrepit old
men whom we had passed on the road
we were the last to arrive
What a gathering there was
The streets of the little town
were so crowded that it was almost i'm.
possible to make ones way along. In
the market-place bevies of rosy-cheeked
seryant-girls stood waiting to be hired
pigs grunted and squealed as the drov
ers whipped them along; the shop-keep
ers stood at their doors shrieking to the
passengers to buy the agent sat in the
coy parlor of the inn comfortably en-
joying his glass of wine, gazing with q
smile into the wild woe-begone faces o.
! the creatures whom he had summoned
thither, and determinedly shaking his
head at every heart-broken appeal
"Don't come to me,'' he said; ssI'm
done with yea lot of lazy spendthrift.
as ye are. Yen go before them to-day
as II make We pay"
| sat in remote corner of the room
and quietly watched the wretched crea
lures who crowded around the man
their wild eyes, their famished faces
their trembling bodies clad in the dirty
rags which were their sole protection
from the cold. And as / glanced from
| them to the frozen window-panes, and
the sleet which fell, covering with thir
| crystal sheet the curb-stone of the street
my heart turned sick.
"Poor, miserable, half-staryed wretch
es!'' | thought, "most of you will have
sore hearts tonight, for you will lose
your little all, God help you! and there
will be nothing but starvttion left.''
Heart-sick at the sight of so much
woe which | was utterly powerless to re-
lieve, arose and was about to leave
the room, when my eye was suddenly
arrested by figure, ragged, wild, and
woe-begone, which crouched close ur
by the window. Five minutes before,
had seen this man crouched like strick.
en- beast before the agent, his skeleton
hands outstretched, his parched lips SUI
ing for mercy.
"For the love of God, Tony Man.
naghan, niver be hard on poor boy
he had said; "all my potatoes had the
black disease this year, and they rotted
in the ground. My pig took the sick
ness and died. | have two little chill.
dren down wild a fever, and if We take
away my COW, I'll have no dhrop OF
milk to give them, and they'll die!''
This appeal, heart-breaking as it was,
had met with the usual repulse.
Don't bring yer lies to me. Ye'l
go before them ash make We pay.''
So the man had crept back into the
shadow, and as | saw him crouched be-
side the window, noticed that the pit
eous look of appeal had left his face his
features were strangely convulsed, his
wild eyes cleaned, and his hands
clinched and unclinched in nervous
dread.
''That man means mischief | said,
as passed out into the street.
At o'clock the tenants cases were
to be called on, and as the hands of the
clock approached that hour made nv
way through the crowded street, in the
direction of the court. The wind blew
bitterly, thin flakes of snow were fall
ing, and as walked / felt the ice break
ing and cracking beneath my feet. I
noticed, to my wonder, that the streets
through which | passed were almost de-
serted. Presently succession of
means and cries struck upon my ear !;
then noticed that people were running
ayaitaH1xr apd fnlloYu;per H.,