The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1886-09-18
CELESTINE.

was pledsdll 10 SIT lOl uOuIS lulJ
resting in the shadow Of the arbor
Bernadon, IA little old man, bow
ell wrinkled, with back so rounded
and head so low that he might be
taken for vague, human interroga-
ton point. sat doing nothing in the
garden, by the side Of the house in
which he dwclt alone
The house was Il strange one. A
niserably constructed building,
ilanked with cross structures and
tower like a chateau, quite isolated
in the middle of plot of ground
with uncertain boundaries, it stood
in one of the richest quarters Of the
city.
Bernadon arose suddenly and,
speaking into the hollow of his hand,
he said
with this repair, Celestine will
do"
Celestne was the name the old
man had given his house. He low
ed this old shed, which he had erec-
ted AT different times with his own
hands. lie loved it much, this i'm
mense ruin that had cost him TWEEN
ty thousand francs and was not
worth four sous With the tender
ness Of bachelor deprived of the
presence of women, he had called it
Celestine in his old age.
And Celestine was all his joy
filled his whole life.
This parody Of manor house had
the appearance of a squat old wom-
an, and the large tower represented
for Bernadon the head of his dear
idol. He had made round openings
high up on the facade, and he men
tally called them Celestine's eyes.
He had recently given the dwelling
a roofing Of red tiles that was Celes-
tine headdress. Finally his sleeping
room, the central apartment and
poorly lighted, constituted Celestine's
heart. The poor thing was not sol
i'd 1t settled u little, day by day,
notwithstanding its youthful age.
1t had lost one or two little turets
as one loses his teeth. And Beran-
don, overwhelmed by taxes and de-
prived Of income, had found himself
so poor that he had been unable to
reconstruct them.
All he need only havespoken the
word to be rich. All that would
have been necessary would be
to sell the shed and the plot of
ground ON which it stood. They
would have been worth several thou
sand, perhaps. But abandon Celes-
tine-see her demolished ? Never !
The old man left the arbor and
approached the dwelling.
YES" he said again, with this re-
pair everything will do"
He spoke of a largeiron brace that
he had placed in the interior Of the
principal tower at the bottom, an in
genious, firm brace that had cost
him his very life-blood, but that
would prevent Celestine from tum-
bling down for many IL day.
And half closing his eyes and in
clining his head, like a painter ex-
amining his work, he looked loving
ly at Celestine, as if seeing her for
the first time.
Suddenly he trcmbled. Some
enc had laid hand on his should
er.
AT how much do you value your
property, my friend ?"
Bernadon Strengthened himself, as
if he would have broken his back,
and, with a ringing voice, looking
the man in the face, he said "It is
not for sale, sir; look elsewhere"
And he terrified the would-be pur-
chaser with an injured look, as of a
husband whose wife it had been pro-
posed to buy. The gentleman bow
ed.
IF you should ever decide to SELL,
he said, 81 am stopping at the little
hotel on the left.
And he went his way.
Benadon turned at once toward
his house
Then, fear not p he said, as if
addressing IA person. With short
steps, his hands behind him, and his
eyes half closed by the sun, Berna-
don returned to his arbor
But all at once an exclamation es-
capped him
1T can't be possible Y
And his eyes opened wide. A
child in that arbor? A very small,
red child, wrapped in shawl? A
child, abandoned there, was placed
beside the wall
The old man bent over and look
ed down.
1T is impossibleN T.
But then sharp cry struck his ears,
] u ! ! ! l.