Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-07-07
A STORY OF VILLAGE LOVE
How a Fathers ObstinacY was Over
come by a Simple Shepherd Couple.

come by a Simple Shepherd Couple.
Paris Morning Ne,rs.
For once, if you like, we viii leave poll
tics out of the question. Indeed, it would
be difficult for me to do otherwise. | am
writing you in the midst of forest-from
this good old village of VIvario, surround
ed by hOnests folks, who think more of
their work than of politics. The latest
newspaper that / have read is seven or
eight days old; the most interesting news
travels slowly to this beautiful spot; the
inhabitants, who are too busy to gossip,
have horror of chit-chat, and are
scarcely more talkative than the tall pines
and myrtle bushes. So / will tell you a
village story, and am going to relate it
just as it was told to myself, scarcely an
hour ago.
AS you may well imagine, young girl
and youth are concerned in the story,
and consequently love is the theme. The
youth, little shepherd of the forests of
Palneca, loved a young girl of SantO-
Pietro, the cool mountain village where the
fashionable ladies of Aiaccio go to spend
the summer. The young girl also loved
the youth. They had told each other so,
and had pledged themselves to one an
other, and think from time to time they
kept their promise, for never in the men,
ory of shepherds were the flocks of Pal
neca so often grazing on the pastures of
Santo-Pietro. But the end of all this, the
upshOt of all these promenades, was GER
tainIy marriage. They believed so, at
least, as though since Romeo and Juliet
the course of true love had always run
smooth.
At the first word of marriage the father
of the young girl, the fated Capulet, flew
into a terrible passion, so terrible that for
several days after the flocks of Palneca
did not dare to wander near the hillside of
Santo-Pietro. But on the fifth day the
young girl, who knew her classics, fell i'll,
and then was repeated the great scene in
the ERantzau"-the cruel father at the
bedside of his dying daughter, and far out
in the country the plaintive notes of the
shepherds reed-pipe. At last the tather
relents:
eve will see about that" he said, ''af-
ter he has drawn his conscript's number,
and has served his time. 1 do not want
you to have husband who will be COM
PEELED to leave you as soon as you are mar
RED"
How came it that in this country where
there is no telegraph the shepherd an
hour afterwards knew what had been
said? The fact is that on entering the viii
lage, he had only one idea uppermost in
his kaleidoscope from his term of military
service. The shepherds of Palneca are
not lacking in resources, and ours in
question was by no means stupid. The
next day, while cutting wood in the for
est, he, as if by accident, gave his right
hand a smart blow with his Ratchet and
severed three fingers. Now let the mill
tarv examination take place! He went
home and tended his hurt as well as he
was able; and when the wound was
healed and he had been rightly and duly
exempted, he went to Santo-Pietro, and
bravely repeated his offer. "
81 am not going to serve in the army"
he said, ''for / am sure they will never
take me. You can marry us now"
But the father stopped him by word.
ssNever," he cried, evil i give my
daughter to one who is maimed.'
And it was apparent by his tone of
voice that he meant what he had said. In
spite of his daughters illness he remained
inexorable. 1t was clear that this old
man did not like manned son-in-law. He
made but one reply to the prayers and
tears of this young girl.
''Never, you thoroughly understand,
neverl And don't let him come hanging
around here any more. Cripples ought
to marry cripples. Let him marry the lit
tie blind girl of Palneca, or the hunchback
of SAINT Andrea"
The young girl did not reply, and not
once during her illness did she speak of
her shepherd. When she was GONZALES
cent she was seized with longing for the
forest and the open air, and every day
took long walks by the hillside of Palneca
by the road that her fiocks knew so well.
One morning after a long search, she
again came across the little shepherd, pale
and haggard, like shepherd tired of this
world.
''show me your wounded hand" she
said.
he showed it to her bashfully, and pi-
ously she pressed it to her lips.
ssShow me-" she said to him again, 'the
Ratchet which wounded you"
He took it and showed it to her. Then
raising it and placing her hand on
stone:
'sThis is how you did it, isn't it! this is
how the accident happenedw
And before the shepherd was able to re-
ply the Ratchet had fallen, the stone was
Redeemed, and beside it lay the three
fingers of the pretty maid Of Santo-Pietro.
Nov, shepherd" she said, 'sshow me
how you healed your wound.o
And together they returned to Santo-
PietrO, he with tears in his eyes and she
radiant. What could the father do? Had
he not imprudently said that cripples
ought to marry cripples. He cursed them
and married them. The wedding was cele-
brated two months ago; for / repeat that
this unlikely story occurred but yesterday,
as it were, and in our own sceptical CEN
tury.
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