The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1882-02-23
THE BREAKING UP OF THE ICE
BRIDGE.

THE BREAKING UP OF THE ICE
BRIDGE.
Among the inhabitants of one of the
little fishing villages on the south shore
of the st. Lawrence River was a thrifty
French Canadian named Pierre Laval.
His family consisted of his rosy-chceked,
good-natured wife, Louise the eldest
child, from her womanly ways nick
named g the little mother" Jean,
strong lad of thirteen, and the baby,
whose bright black eyes and white skin
made one think of two huckleberries in
a bowl of milk.
In summer there was no mole attract
Eve spot in N than the coy Laval
cottage, with its porch wHeathed with
honeysuckle, and its little plot of ground
gay with beds and borders of bright
tinted flowers; and in winter the pantry
was always well filled, and the wood
shed piled to the very rafters with great
logs; for Pierre was a good provider,
and by working hard at fishing during
the summer months and at numbering
in winter, he managed to earn consider
able money, and instead of spending. it
Mt the village inn, he carried it home for
the use of his wife and little ones.
On the afternoon of a certain cloudy
0pOA VI olAC Law al " JC1ACNA
every few moments, and Louise peered
anxiously down the road. At last she
spied the stout figure of Jean coming up
the street, and drawing her little red
shawl tightly over her head she ran to
meet him.
Hurrah, Loup' he cried gayly; tie
boat is almost done, and the boys are
going to let me have the naming of it.
think / shall callit The Louise"
But the girl did not seem to hear.
"Oh, hurry, Jean!' she gasped, press
ing her hands together nerYOuslyi " the
babyr'
Then Jean, for the first time, noticed
how pale and anxious his sisters face
was.
"Well, what of the babyP'' he asked
g Sick, oh, so sick! he never was like
this BEFORE
"And you wanted me to go on some
errandP lam sorry now that | staid all
night, but mother said l might if the
boys wanted me-"
''Your staying was all right, Jean,
only everything has gone wrong this
time. Word came this morning that
gang of men was wanted at the big lum-
beryard, and father and the neighbors
went away early and will not be back
before the end of the week"
''But where's Mother BarbetP Can't
she cure the babyP"
Louise shook her head sadly. "For
once, Jean, her medicine don't seem to
do any good; but she says she has been
with the great doctor over the river two
or three times when he has had thrOats
even worse than the baby's, and that he
uses new kind of medicine-a little
white powder-and it always helps peo-
TNfn 1-iarht off E4n har tho F1a of
the powder, but couldn't find it at the
little shop in the village, and mother
didn't dare trust me to go across the
river with Jet. He hasn't been out of
abe stable for four or five days, and he
is as wild as a wolf"
N was too small a town to be able
TO afford the luxury of physician all
for itself; besides, the people took so
much exercise in the open air, and ate
such simple food, and kept such early
hours and were so strong and healthy,
that a doctor would have found but lit
tie to do. In cases of severe sickness
the people of N always sent for the
learned physician across the river; but
on all ordinary occasions they depended
entirely on old Mother Barbet," the
fame of whose skillful nursing and sim
Dle remedies had spread far and wide
IL was toward the close of the long
and bitter Canadian winter. Already,
in some localities, little shallow pools of
water standing here and there on the
frozen surface of the st. Lawrence
River showed that the sun was getting
back some of its summer heat and pow
er; and the inhabitants along the shores
prophesied the speedy breaking-up of
the ice, the clearing of the river, and
the temperance of the long procession
of stately ships sailing by ON their way
to Montreal. But as yet not a crack
had disiigured the glittering mass of ice
which for two months had stretched out
as level as n floor, making a firm, safe
bridge between the little village on the
south shore and the large town Of V.
If the people of the little village wanted
anything from the large town, all they
had to do was to harness their horses,
and "whiz'' across the ice and back
again in few moments, 1t was thou
sand times better than the slow, unre-
liable summer ferry: and, too, during
the clear, calm moonlight nights, you
could hear the tinkling of the bells and
the sounds of gay laughter as one sleigh
load after another of young people sped
over the ice, bent on some merry-mak-
ing or frolic-
AS Jean and Louise entered the cot
Isi0e, bilelI UlOblitI LiCJ tIGAAl WIN a
sober face. How still and lonesome it
seemed without the bright baby, who
always laughed and put out his little
hands the moment the big brother came
in sight Jean felt conscience-smitten
when he remembered how often he had
said: Bother take the baby" when
his mother had left the little fellow in
his charge for a few moments. In fact,
il was but two or three days since he
had been wicked enough to wish the
baby dead, when he had been called in
from play to rock the cradle, And
hadn't the good priest told the boys
of the parish school only that very week
''that murderous thought was almost
as bad in the eyes of God as murder
Gus blow" If the baby should die
the boys heart gave a great thump as
he thought of it-how could he, Jean
Laval, ever look any one in the face
again!
T" Take courage, motherr' he said,
bravely. I'm harness Jet, and have
him at the door in a moment
Mrs. Laval wiped her eyes with the
corner of her apron and looked anx-
so,relvv e - 20 won