Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-12-28
THE DRUMMER BOY.

That night, Dec. 25, 17S9, the weather was
blew furiously, Kissing as though in anger,
breaking branches from the trees which fell
with sharp cracklings that seemed almost
like cries of pain It was about o'clock in
the morning. A carriage was rolling along
The road leading from the little village of
Croix Daurade, some two or three miles from
Toulouse, to the Palifcat castle; the wind and
any Roadway; at a favorable moment a
powerful gust extinguished the lights in the
lanterns.
''Stop, Jeanr' cried voice.
Jean, the coachman, obeyed; he got down
from his seat, held the bride of the terrified
horses, talking to them Familiarity to prevent
them from running away.
s'Do you not see any light, Jean?" asked
The same voice.
eyes," replied the servant; 'snear by, at
Margaridetto's, but the house is very mean
and Marguerite is very poor"
''What matters it," said the man who was
speaking in the carriage, tive would be bet
ter off anywhere than in the midst of this
tempest, with wind strong enough to blow
the horns off an OK"
At the same moment the door of the car
rage opened and a tall man stepped down
with burden in his arms. The man went
to the house pointed out by the coachman,
from which light was seen streaming through
the rabbets Of the badly joined door; he
knocked, and in few minutes young man,
OF rather youth of 13 or IA years, opened
the door.
MOI a 011Is nyi0H
the astonished lad
eyes," said the other laying on a wretched
straw chair his precious burden-a young
girl apparently of the same age as the lad
who had opened the door. The two young
people were of the same age, but what diff
ference there was between them The girl
was wrapped in rich fur, beneath which
could be seen a gown of garnet satin; her
pretty blonde head, with its two great black
eyes, was hidden under a large lace neclzer-
chief The young man, wan, thin, enact
ated, had timid and unhappy look which
was painful to see. The dwelling into which
the marquis and his daughter had just made
their way was wretched, cold and bare;
chest of drawers, an old cuckoo clock which
licked slowly in the middle Of the room,
and an old table constituted the entire
furnishing of the hut, the floor of which
was the bare ground At the back,
in an alcove on mean bed, lay q
sick woman, the Margaridetto, as she was
called in the place. A caDdlestick of three
branches lighted with its Pickering and
smoky flames this miserable home. The mar
quis threw a surprised glance over this misery
which surrounded him; the young man, per-
ceiving this establishment, anticipated the
gentleman's thought:
''Ohl it is not at all fine here, but, you
know, mother is a widow, and it is now two
years since she was taken i'll, and as for my
self, hardly earn enough tending flocks to
keep her from starving"
The young girl began to SILVER from the
cold. The lad threw into the fireplace a
fagot of twigs, which blazed up with cheer
full crackle, throwing into the room great,
dancing light. This sudden flash awoke the
woman who was sleeping on the bed, and
whose wan, emaciated face looked like that
of corpse. The young man ran close to
his mothers bed, and notified the sick
woman Of the visit with which they were
honored. She seemed greatly astonished by
the news.
eyes, my poor Marguerite, we were sur
prised by the storm as we were returning
from the midnight mass, and we have come
to your house for shelter"
The poor woman had only the strength to
make sign with her head, proud of the
chance which, happily for her, brought her
noble master into her lowly dwelling. The
young girl continued warming herself be-
fore the fire on the hearth.
'What do you call yourselfs' asked the
nobleman Of the young man.
'Francois," replied thepther.
Sand you are shepherds"
eyes, monseigneur; in your sheepfolds." q
SHOW much do you earng'
''That varies. Three sous day in good
weather; sometimes less in bad.n
SIS that allg
s'We live on that, my mother and I, or,
rather, we do not entirely pine away"
'Poor thing" said the young girl, involun-
tarily
There was so much kindness in this voice
that the young Francois was deeply moved
by it; he fixed his look on the noble young
lady and felt himself seized by those instinc-
tive and involuntary movements of synlpa-
thy that one experiences at first sight for
those that should be profoundly loved The
tempest was Gained, the storm was over; the
gale was quieted and there was hardly more
than a fine and light rain falling. The
marquis called his coachman, who brought
the carriage nearly up to the doorstep; the
lanterns were relighted, and the nobleman
said to his daughter:
"Come, Jeanne, my darling, let us 60 back
to the castle"
Jeanne wrapped herself up again in her fur
mantle and lace neckerchief, but before leav-
! ing the Margaridetto's poor dwelling she laid
in Francois hand gold coin, the first that
had ever shone in that miserable house.
IL
On the morrow and several days follow
ing, Jeanne de Sicard, daughter of the Lord
of Paliicat, returned to visit the poor sick
woman, and thenceforWard looked out to see
that nothing in the way Of remedies or care
! should be wanting in the house of the poor
widow. But Marguerite, exhausted by ILL
ness, suffering and privations, could not live
long, and in month after she died in the
arms of her son. Francois had vowed to
Jeanne an eternal gratitude. Thanks to the
charity of the young girl, his mother, when
she died, was no longer in the gloomy misery
| which had killed her, but was surrounded by
all the comforts Of a family in easy circum-
j stances. On her side, Jeanne, touched by the
young shepherds gentle, and honest manner,
was unwilling to leave him unproylded for,
/ and she persuaded her father to secure for
| him position as a lay brother in the convent
| of the Jacobins at Toulouse; it was the best
| opportunity young peasant could then have;
| educated and trained in the convent, he
| would remain a lay brother or be made q
| preacher, according to his disposition and
| his intelligence
l In the course of the winter of 1883, which
followed the entrance of Francois into the