The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1885-11-14
THE POOR HUNCHBACK.
A Pitiful Story of French Peasant
.Gt Life.

A Pitiful Story of French Peasant
uG Life.
The 'Poor Hunchback" was what
they called her, although she had a
family name and three or four Chris
tian names besides. selected some fifty
years before from the almanac, or given
at the time of her christening.
She had received all the sacraments
except one--that of marriages; for the
simple reason that during her youth
she had not been able to find hus-
band to her liking. Still, it is true. she
was quite hard to please in this respect,
although one who is deformed can not
generally afford to be SO fastidous.
She was not born a hunchback Her
misfortune was the result Of an acct
dent which occurred when she was
scarcely ten years old. One day when
she was about to get a whipping she
tried to escape by going under the bed.
Her grandmother had tried to pull her
out by the arm. aud her shoulder. strik-
ing against sharp angle of the heavy
bedpost, was fractured.
They took her to the village bone
setter-a woman-who after having
felt the hurt place, pulled the joint I'M
til it cracked, ordered sx-to-the-
pound candle to be melted over a glass
OF water, gave the parent package of
dry herbs to make Insane with, and
for all her trouble asked only a remun-
GRAFTON OF forty cents and two pounds
of butter.
From that time the little girl found
that 1t hurt her great deal when she
stopped to pluck up weeds, or when
she bent down over her washing. As
she grew older it was noticed that one
OF her shoulders grew round. and re-
manned much lower than the other one.
At last this condition became so marked
that folks declared her hunchbacked.
And she was so, in fact.
The first time tbev told her she got
angry and began to cry. She would
not believe it, and tried to see herself
IN a broken looking glass nailed to the
wall near window. She asked, under
promise OF secrecy, all the young girls
OF her age whom she did not believe to
be malicious or likely to break prom
Use, to tell her if what had been said
about her having hump was true.
Finally she found herself compelled to
believe in the fact of her deformity.
But even then she tried to train herself
never to think about it; and she disliked
to have it spoken of.
Quite young as she was, she said to
herself that her life was ruined; that
she was already just like any of those
very old women that nobody would
ever think of loving; and with this gen
eral crumbling down of all her future
plans, and the vanishing of all her
hungry hope for happiness she ceased
to consider life except as what it really
is-a painful duty one must accomplish
in order to reach better condition.
1t seemed to her unjust that ones
whole life should be spoiled like that
all at without some hope of COM
mencing another and happier exist
ence; and this idea, combined with the
little OF what she could vaguely under
stand OF the sermons preached at the
town church, on high mass DAYS,
brought her to believe that if she would
but courageously endure this life she
would come back again-"st straight and
handsome" in another life.
She became very pious. She jealous
" began trying to wearing out her life
by hard work--like certain needy folk,
who believe that in abridging each
weeks task by extra labor, they hasten
the coming of their day of rest. To the
hunchback it seemed that the dav of
her death would be a fair Sunday in
deed.
And every time that she met the par
ish priest, or another monsieur pretrie.
she talked with them in the most art
less fashion about the new life in which
she would not be humpbacked any
more.
She remained long time in the en-
ploy OF farmer as servant.
Toward her twenty-fifth year she
found herself alone in the world-all
her family having d ed. There re-
.ined to her, by way of inheritance,
only dwelling place followed out in
the rock, with a brick oven in which to
bake bread and strip of VINEYARD lust
enough for one person to cultivate.
She left her situation in order to live
in her chdnabron, where her sole DOS
session in the way of furniture CON
sisted of the bed against which her
shoulder had been d'slocated, an old
clothes-press. kneading trough.
cofatotse clock in its wooden case, and
chair as low prie-dieu.
BY day she used to visit the village
folk. They often gave her sewing to
do Sometimes they employed her for
a little while to do odd jobs about the
house or TO iron. For such work she
received her board and ten cents dav.
In the morning before dawn, ere
gong to her days work." she went to
look after her little field and trim her
vines; then at the first stroke of the
Angelus. she started of in her great
black cloak, looking more distorted
than at other times with her rapid walk.
In the evening she returned to her
dwelling by dark paths. lighting her
way W til lantern, and went to sleep
thinking that another day had passed
whiehwould never again see her de-
formity.
Her ideal was Ito get straight again"
Afterward she had another idea-to
pocome independent, or as she called
IT, ITO become her own MASTER For
she suffered sometimes quite as much
from her servitude as from her hump.
Although she did quite as much, ard
often even more work than others, GER
tain people always acted towards her
as If they thought they were doing
charity by employing an infirm per-
son at all
In houses where children were, she
used to pet the little ones. She had
been particularly good to those of the
first master into whose service she had
entered.
Sometimes she visited his house in
order to make dresses for the girls. or
blouses for the boys
She always hired herself out at the
vintage season.
And for great many years she lived
thus-servlng, sewing. digging, wash