Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-08-08
SAINTE MARIE.
Al zsrsoDr.


soure years ego cifcumStances ieo
- - he rrepeh capital. / had no In
esstjoa Of living there. bat, lingering on
sreduslly formed tics end made u mj
hens-K, indeed, that can BE- called Z
hone which vas only IN apartment In
hsbissd BY . solitary woman but such
q Il IVES, I grew fond Of It. The
quarter Of Paris I lived 10 VA
pretty and quiet, without being
dull. and had local character
peculiar to itself. II Was much
Inhabited by rich trsdsspsopls, who
lived In pretty villas. Everywhere there
were gardens, and when opened my
window In the summer evenings, The
cir brsathsd was balmy with the scent
Of flowsrs and tue blossoms Of trees
and shrubs. There were even folds
ssd fiuit-trees to walk among and dewy
grsss, and, in the hush Of the lovely
evenings, one might hear the soft, rich
voice Of the nightingale minsls with the
strange, silvsry note Of the equally In
visible bullfrog.
The church, replaced now, In defer
enoe TO the larger requirements OF the
parish, BY huge Romanesqus ediflcs,
was in my time small antique strac.
turs standing on slightly-raised mound
In . kind Of small "place," in the
centre Of which stood . monument to
the honor of " Christ our Saviour and
His servant the worthy -" The
church Was crooked, being sunk ct the
foundations, and had an odd, lopsided
look, the eject Of having but one aisle
The other, legend said, having been
swept away by the onslaught of
IN English army many hundred years
since. Within, the little church
was still, calm plsce, except for the
rustic and hustle Of ovsrzealous, devout
ladies, whom generally managed to
avoid. There was, however, one lady
with whom, without any choice of mine,
I there became inevitably acquainted,
while executing in common With her =
certain small parochial charge laid upon
us by the good Cure. She was o
fidgsty little, elderly Italian widow,
with struggling locks, and many old
fashioned furbslows and founcss and
compliments. As to intelligence, she
seemed, 40 far as regarded this world,
to have few ideas beyond the
Italian cuisine. whose receipts she was
always giving me; but her other
world horizon had, soon discovered,
the wide range which so frequently
goes with simple faith. People are, /
have often found, interesting in the de-
cree in which one is interested in them,
and 80 it fell out that before long this
Madame Brute and I, in spite Of many
differences of temperament and charac-
tor, became fast friends. She lived at
Saints Marie, large and national in
stitution which provided home for
poor eentlefolks with claims to Govern
ment protection. The rule vas that sp-
plicants for admission must have reach
ed the age Of sixty, but nevertheless
che home was the scene of love affairs
affairs sometimes wholly ludicrous, but
sometimes not altogether void Of real
sentiment. l liked hearing Madame
Brute's stories of the old people, and |
became very much at home in her COM
fortress but sunny room, which looked
out toward the Seine, over the pleasure
grounds, and in which every chair and
table, and the bed IS well, were always
Uttered up with things strewn about
lace shawls, crooked bonnets, choco.
late, prsysr-books, brisht-colored reli-
gious pictures, and perhaps . saucepan,
oil in confusion together, and she per-
petually complaining of want OF time.
"Ah," she would cay. "one has al.
ways go much to do whom one lives
alone stitch bore and another there
and then one is old and falls asleep"
His favorits topic of conversation Was
. certain Madame de Bellemaison, Of
whose charms and virtues and misfor-
tunes she was never tired of talking.
Her windows were just opposite those
of Madame Brute, and while she talked
about her became interested in watch
ing the little white hand, on which .
diamond ring sparkled, which was often
to be seen at Madame dc Bellemaison's
window. II was very pretty, plump
hand, and held . fan which sheltered
the face from the light. The rest Of
the figure, which one could tell from
the attitude Of the hand, was always
recumbent, being hidden from view by
the window sill. learned that Madame
de Bellemaison was paralyzed and was
fond Of visitors.
"Absslutsly, Mademoiselle, you
must come some day with me and see
her. She was once great beauty, and
lie still as clever IS abe is good and
spiriiuelle. She knew every one when
she was young, sud tells the most
charming anecdotes Of great world
now become historical"
And 30, without much reluctance on
nv part, it calne about that / was one
day introduced to the lady who owned
the white hand. Aprim bonnie showed
Us in, and my friend herself announced
me, with sonorous Italian pronuncia-
ton Of every vowel, a. Mademoiselle
Moore-a charming" Here, fortu-
natsly for my bushes, our hostess,
with benign bow and smile, and q
pretty gssturs Of the hand, like a grs.
cious little empress, made further in-
PRODUCTION superfuous.
"Apy friend Of Madame Brute is
welcome here" she said, sand Made
poiselle 10 very kind to come and see
an old woman"
Her face was furrowod, but the fea.
lures and complexion were still exqui.
sitely delicate, and, with her snowy,
fluffy bsir, she was the very picture Of
On old French lady.
The maid had evidently been just
reading the Egovo to her, and the little
lady still kept her hand op it, as il !,
were not done with and, In fact, 81 ",
presently learned, her mind was occu
pied still by what bad been road to her
At first, q . stranger, and 10 . ct .
awkward English shynsss, I hardl,
speks, though, in my way, WAS enjoy
III sny visit. Ny hostsss's appearance
charmed me, and then discovered tw,
portraits Of her which we're intsrsstin
: 10 compare with the original. Bot
had been taken in youth, and were il
old.fashioned dress. In one she wore
broad Gainsbefoueh hat with n Ion