Middletown transcript., 1883-04-13

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there to apprehend ? The widow could
not tell, but still Leonie's first letters
came to her so full of buoyant pride, of
confident happiness, that for time the
mother could not but reflect it. The
young couple were absent upon their
wedding journey in the South, and had
reached Rome, when a thunder-bolt
fell upon the pretty, trustful bride.
The man whom Leonie believed to be
her husband had left his true wife in
England "a gay, fashionable beauty,
sufficiently "emancipated," according
to the notions of her class, to mock
openly and lightly at her husbands
latest fancy.
;But this is not for you to hear, my
child" :" the little French teacher said.
Cora, who from motives of delicacy
had avoided looking at her friend,
glanced hastily up, struck by the sup
pressed passion in her voice. What
transformation was there In place of
the quiet, repressed, demure parsonage
she had been accustomed to see, Mad
anne Blanchet's eyes were afre; her
cheeks glowed with dull crimson her
teeth were clinched.
do you know what l would have
done to him ?'' she went on. Il am a
Corsican, and the blood runs hot in
our veins when it is stirred by wrong
ca -
The brief passion was spent. 1t was
succeeded by calm even more full of
meaning. Cora waited until her friend
could trust herself to speak.
"They parted then and there, y Mad
anne Blanchet went on, in a low tone.
!" He did not defend himself. He
simply laughed at her-my poor, heart
broken, Inundated child. He said she
was too innocent for the time she lived
in. And so she was, bon Dieu, too in
nocent. She put all of this into one
last letter to me, and then she fled
fed into the night.
"And now ?'' the young girl said,
after long silence.
Now she is at peace" the mother
quietly. 1.-THE Holy Church
received her in its bosom. Leonie is
one of the sisters of the convent of the
Sepolte Vive. For some time past |
have been laying up money in order to
take the journey to Rome, but until
it was all 1 could do to live
here, and to go away from my employ
ment meant starvation. Oh, if l could
but have seen her, would have starved
yes, gladly-but that is impossible.
All I can do is to visit the outside of
the convent upon her day. Once a
year each sister has day. when she
is allowed to throw over the convent
wall flower in token to her watching
friends that she is still alive, but that
is all. know what flower my Leonie
would choose-a bunch of fresh white
lilac ~
Sepolte Vive'-buried alive p the
young girl repeated, sadly. A shadow
seemed to fall over her life and her
budding happiness.
A few months later saw the Roman
spring unfold in all its glory. A party
Of tourists were visiting that relic of
medieval days, the convent of the
Sepolte Vive. Most of them turned
back disappointed at the threshold, but
a group of three people fingered until
the rest of the sight-seers, after a colo
guy held through revolving barrel in
the wall of the convent, had reluctantly
dispersed. Over this barrel was traced
an inscription: "Who would live con-
tent within these walls, let her leave at
the threshold every earthly care. y
Upon these lines a woman dressed in
black, standing apart from her two
companions, kept her eyes fixed, while ;
her lips moved in prayer.
The order of nuns who have thus 1
themselves to aliving death
3ubsist on charity. It is only when
their supplies are totally exhausted
that they are allowed, after twenty
four hours starvation, to ring a certain d
oell, which the outside world inter
prets, "We are famishing." Two !
Lents are observed by them during the
year-the one common to all Catholic :,
Christians, and another held between =
November and Christmas. In the in :
5ervals the sisters receive and partake
If whatever food may be bestowed on
hem by visitors.
Two of the three loiterers were young F
md handsome, radiant with ill-dis- +
yuised happiness. That they were v
lew-made husband and wife none could 81
1oubt, and it was pleasant sight to Il
zee the wife order to be brought from a n
carriage awaiting them a hamper of a
abundant dainties, and with the aid of q
ler husband proceed to unpack their Fl
store. To gain answer from the con-
vent the young man knocked briskly
lpon the barrel head, which, slowly @
turning, revealed shelf within. t