Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-11-10
THE pDDR HtNCHB On.
\ PitifuI >t"r, "f French Peasant
Life.

The Poor Hunchback" was wha
they called her. although she had t,
family name and three or four Chris
tian names besides. selected some fifty
wears before from the almanac, or giver
a. the me of her christening
She had received all the sacraments
except one that of MARI age; for the
simple reason that during her youth
she had not been able 10 find a huS
band to her liking. ST Il. II is true. she
was quite hard 10 pleas" IN this respect
although one who is deformed can not
generally afford to be so fa>tid Gus.
She was not born a hunchback Her
misfortune was the result of an acci
dent which occurred when she was
scarcely ten wears old. One day wher
she was about to get a whipping she
tired to escape bv going under the bed
Her grandmother had tr ed to pull her
ont bv the arm. and her shoulder. Strik-
ing against sharp angle Of the heavy
bed post. was fractured.
They took her to the village bone
setter a woman-who. after having
felt the hurt place, pulled the Joint un-
I'll i cracked. ordered n siN-to-the-
pound candle to be melted over a glass
OF water. gave the parent package Of
dr. herbs 10 make a hSdHs with, and
for all her trouble asked only remun-
Grafton Of forty cents and two pounds
OF butter.
From that time the little g,rl found
that it hurt her great deal when she
stopped to pluck up weeds. or when
she bent down over her washing. As
She grew older i was noticed that one
OF her shoulders grew round and re-
ma ned much lower than the other one.
Al last this condition became 50 marked
that folks declared her hunchbacked.
And she was so. IN fact
The first time thev 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 are whom she d d not believe to
be malicious or likely to break prom.
ISL ~ lf4l iltl Il Nlldl iil bttu 81 u
about her having hump was true
Finally she found herself compelled to
believe in the fact of her deformitv.
But even then she tried to train herself
never to tn nix about it: and she disliked
to have it spoken of
Quite Young A. she was. she said to
herself that her life was ruined; that
she was already just ike any of those
very Old women that nobody would
ever think of loving: and W tn 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 rs what it really
iS-a painful duty one must accomplish
in order to reach better condition.
Ii seemed to her unjust that ones
whole life should be spoiled like that
ali at once-w without some hope of COM
meme cng another and a 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 courageouslv endure this life she
would come back again straight and
handsome in another life.
She became very plous. She jealous
ly began irving TO wearing out her life
tv hard work-lke certain needy folk.
who lelieve that in abridging each
week task by extra labor. they hasten
the com ng of their dav of rest. To the
hunchback it seemed that the dav of
her death would be a fair SUNDAY in
decd
And every time that she met the par
ish priest. or another HOHSisI,r prctri6.
She talked with them in the most art
less fashion about the new fc in which
she would not be humpbacked any
more.
She remained long time in the en-
plOy Of a farmer As servant.
Toward her twentv-iifth year she
found herself alone in the world-all
her family having ed. There re-
manned 10 her. bv way of inheritance.
only q dwelling place followed out in
the rock. with a brick oven N which to
bake bread and strip of vneN Yard just
enough for one person to cultivate.
She left her >ituat on in order to live
in her cbdmhroH. where her sole pos
session in the way of furniture con
sted of the bed against which her
shoulder had been d slocated. a., old
clothes press. kneaing trough.
couitOi<c clock in it, wooden case and
a chair AS low a prie-dtc".
Bv dav she used 10 visit the village
folk. They often gave her sewing To
do. Snnctin e. the emp owed her for
Q urtl- wril" to do odd i"r- about the
house or TO iron. For such work she
rcce we'd her board and ten ent> day.
In the morning, before dawn. ere
gou To her day : work. she went t.
look after her little field and trim her
vines: then at the first stroke of the
Angc,u> she started of in her great
black cloak, looking more distorted
than at OH '''times with her rapid walk.
In the evening she returned 10 her
dwelling by dark paths. lighting her
wa W tn lantern. and went To sleep
think NJ that another day had passed
which would never again see her de-
formtv.
Her IDEAL was Ito get straight again"
Aftcrward she had another idea to
become independent. or rs she called
IL, 10 ltttblllt lltl bN II Illi>ttl tL
she suffered sometimes quite a much
from her Servitude a from her hump.
Although she did quite aS much. and
often even more work than others. GER
tt n people ALWAYS acted towards her
As if they thought they We're dong
a charity 10y employing an intirm per-
son at all.
In houses where children We're. she
used to pet the little ones. She had
been particularly good to those of the
first master into whose service she haG
ente ed.
Sometimes she visited his house in
order to make dresses for the girls, oI
blouses for the bows.
She always hired herself out at the
vintage season.
And for a great many years she lived
thus-serving. sewing, digging, wash
ing. carrying baskets of earth for the
vineyards. or pushing a wheelbarrow
She killed time in this way-killed the
weeks, the months. the years with the
peculiar vigor of little nervous some
body possessed by one strong purpose
Her particular wish was to die sud