Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-07-11

Was heard within the orchard, no
Joyous caroIling greeted the ears OF
the youth as he listened with eager ex-
pectaticn. In vain he stretched him.
self to the utmost. as he stood upright
in the stirrups and looked out from
the back of his tall steed through thu
breach In the ruined wall, as be had
done once before. lie beheld no lovely
girl, 20 fairy princess. The lime.blos-
SONS fell no more In sho ser UPON
the ground, tho daisies and the butter
cups had disappeared, choked by the
long grass which had been suffered to
grow rank and wild beneath the trees.
For moment did Monsieur de Belle
gaIde stand thus listless and nanimate,
straning his sight and stretching his
neck to gaze into the inclosure. The
long. rambling building lay in one mass
of peaks and points and bows and bat
tresses, surrounded with weather.
cocks innumerable, as is the custom
with these ancient chateaus. but not
a soul was visible. lilo looked up at
each window in turn; no, human
form appeared at any Of the latticod
panes, but with lovers instinct he could
tell at once which was the chamber
where. perhaps at that moment, was
Stun bering the object Of his thoughts.
lie knew it by the rose-cOvered ball
cony and the long, trailing tendrils Of
the passion. flower, which, trained from
the sturdy stem planted against the
wall. had entwlned themselves round
the delicate tracery of the iron-work
hence the bright, starry blossoms
dropped and swung in the breeze, now
visible, now hidden from sight as the
leaves were blown hither and thither
in the morning air.
lie was Just turning away in bitter
disappointment, half chilled at the 81.
lence and solitude of the place. when he
was startled by low, moaning sob,
| which seemed to burst from the very
heart Of some sorrow-strickeni individual
close to the spot where he was stationed.
The sound came from close beneath the
wall, and he felt as if he were guilty OF
an act Of meanDess in thus intruding
upon the sacred privacy Of grief; so he
coughed aloud, and then jerked his
horses rein so sharply that the animal
snerted and made the curb-chain jingle.
On the instant a SIR II scream echoed
through the silence of the woods, pre-.
sently a light form bounded with fawn-
like agility upon the moss-covered
stone, and the woebegone countenance
Of the fair Princess Graciosa filled the
hollow rent in the wall so close to that
Of the bashful Prince Percinet that be
blushed deep as scarlet, and actually
turned aside, unable to bear the
burning gaze which burst so sud-
denly upon him. But alas for poor
Graciosa Her eyes were red with
weeping, and her bosom heayed with
conyulsive sobs, while down her sweet
face the tears were coursing each other
and uickling into the golden ringlets
which hung loose upon her neck. All.
surely that horrid Duchess Groguons
had been at her wicked tricks again!
1t required some little effort on the
part Of the Count de Bellegarde TO en-
courage him to inquire concerning tho
cause Of the despair by which the
! little maiden seemed to he thus over
come.
There was no embarrassment, no
reticence 10 the answer which gushed
eut quite spontaneously amid the sobs
which could not be controlled. All,
Monsieur what shall we do? can
not give you any milk this morning.
What will become of us: La Rouge.
our dear La Rouge, is dead We have
no milk to drink, and shall soon have
no more bread to eat. Grandmere is
i'll, and we have not sou wherewith to
buy food. Old Hubert is gone to the
furnace with barrowfull of clover to
sell to the superintendent wife for her
goat, and am all alone"
The image of her own loneliness was
more than the little maiden could bear,
and she burst into paroxysm Of grief,
hiding her face in both her hands,
while Monsieur de Bellegarde re.
manned aghast, unprepared for the
ayowal of such misery as this. lie
felt a sore perplexity concerning the
form his coincidence ought to take. But
as he looked round in his embarrass-
ment his eye was caught by the thou
sand blossoms of the psssiOn-ilower as
they balanced to and fro in the wind.
and, love lending him that readiness of
resource he never refuses to his vota-
ries, made him exclaim eagerly:
"Nay. but, Mademoiselle, 1t was not
for milk ! came this morning, but for
one of the passiOn-lowers which BIOS
som above your balcony. The flower
which grows in such abundance here at
Talvere is so precious az Lunevillc
that-would you believe 1.-THE Ia
dies of the Court are compelled to pay
a double louis dor for single bios
som, and King Stanislss, who loves no
other flower, never looks kindly on
any Of the courtiers who do not bear
sprig OF it at mass on gala days. As
it happens that this very day there Is
to be o grand Te Deum at the cathe-
dral in honor OF his Msjesty's return
from Nancy, | rode hither with the
humble hope that you would allow me
to purchase one Of those flowers to
place in my vest to please him."
The little maiden dried her eyes in a
moment IN order to open them wider
with the greater ease, and then she
smiled so sweetly that the abject ter
ror he had felt all the time he had been
speaking vanished in a moment, and
when she nodded acquiescencs and ex-
. claimed, A" Al, Monsieur, It's Provi-
dence has sent you here" and jumped
lightly down and ran across the grass
to gather the flowers he had asked
, for, no prayed that the words might
= prove prophetic Of the good fortune
, in store. In the twinkling of an eye
| did the maiden return with the
, loyelest Of the blossoms of the pas
/ sion.ilower, and without the small
t est shyness, without any Of that
b giimacipg hesitation court lady would
t have assumed, did this child Of nature
i hand it over the wall to the cavalier.
If | h. Ia 49,. !.