The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1880-12-04
FOUND In A FROG.

The sun had risen when Gita awoke.
She lived at the top of a tall old house
with her grandmother, and both were
poor. When she had put on her thin
cotton gown and smoothed her hair with
her small brown hands, Gita ran down
stairs lightly; and these stairs-some
crooked stone steps in dark passage
would have broken our necks to de-
scend. She came out in narrow street
with the tall houses almost meeting
overhead, and steep paths or flights of
steps leading down to the shore. The
town was Mentone, in the south of
France, with the boundary of Italy not
half mile distant. At one end of the
street was visible the blue sky and two
churches, yellow and white, on an open
square, with towers, where the bells
were ringing.
Gita felt in her pocket for crust of
hard bread and began to eat. This was
her breakfast and If she had been richer
she would have drunk little black
coffee with it. As it was, she paused at
the fountain, where the women were
gossiping as they drew water in buckets,
and placed her mouth under the spout.
Raphel came along and greeted her.
Raphael. tall young fellow with bright
eyes, face the color of bronze and a
little black mustache, was the son of a
merchant who kept goats and donkeys
for the visitors who came here every
year. The goats furnished rich milk
for the invalids to drink, while the la
dies and children rode the donkeys.
Gita found Raphael very handsome.
He wore curious straw hat with the
brim turned up, shirt striped with
red, blue pantaloons and a yellow sash
about his waist. One could see he es-
teemed himself rather dandy. In turn
Raphael found Gita the prettiest girl of
his acquaintance, with her large black
eyes, brown face and white teeth. Be-
sides, Gita was amiable. and did not
mock at him when he walked on the
Promenade on Sunday with his hat on
one side and a cigarette in his mouth.
~ have asked the consent of my
parents to our marriage" said Raphael.
+" They refuse, unless you have dover
OF at least hundred francs. We must
wait"
Gita sighed and shook her head as
she pursued her way down to the shore.
In these countries the young people
must obtain the consent of their parents
to marry and the bride should have a
dowry. Gita had not a penny; Ra-
phaers father might as well have asked
him to bring the moon as one hundred
francs.
Grandmother was seated under an
archway, with her little furnace be-
fore her. roasting chestnuts. Grand
a wrinkled old woman, with a
red handkerchief wound about her
head, was a chestnut merchant. The
sailors, children and Italians coming
over the border bought her wares, and
when she was not employed in serving
them she twisted fax on the distaff.
"Raphaers father needs a dowry of
one hundred francs" said Gita, as
gave her few chestnuts.
All, if you were lemon grip
said grandmother, beginning to twist
the fax.
Gita poised q basket on her head,
took a white stocking from her pocket,
md began to knit as she walked away.
The women of the country carry all
burdens on their heads. You NAV see
! mother with mound of cut grass on
her head, dandling little baby in her
arms as she moves along. Grandmother
lad been lemon girl in her day, but
rita was not strong enough. The
emon girls bring the fruit on their
reads many miles, from the lemon |
,roves down to the ships when they are |
ent to America and other distant
ands.
Gita went along the shore knitting,
Ter empty basket tilted on her head. |
The blue Mediterranean Sea sparkled
s far as the eye could reach and broke
n the pebbles Of the beach in waves as
lear as crystal. Soon she turned back
oward the hills, following a narrow
ath between high garden walls, passed
nder railroad bridge and entered an
live garden. She worked here all day
altering up the little black olives
'hich fall from the trees, much as chill
rem gather nuts in the woods at home.
'ther women were already at work;
leir dresses of gay colors, yellow and
va, showou dSaiuSt the gray Dack-
round OF the trees. A boy beat the
ranches with long pole. Gita began
work with the rest. She did not
ink much about the olive-tree, al
ough it was a good friend. She was
lid twenty sous a day to gather the
'rries from the ground, which were +,
EN- taken to the crushing mill up the !
vine to be made into oil. Gita ate the
cen lemons plucked from the trees as
child of the North would eat apples.
t she loved the good olive-oil better.
hen the grandmother made a feast it
IS to fry the little silvery sardines in
so Grip and brown.
The olive-tree is native of Asia Mi u
r, and often mentioned in the Bible. !.
me of the trees in the garden where :
"a now worked were so old that the 4
mans saw them when they conquered
world. I,
1t noon the olive-pickers paused to Ia