The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-07-29
[AH Rights Reserped.l
CHAPTER II.

Beaumont is composed of two villages,
completely separated and quite distinct one
from the other-Beaumont-r Eglise, on the
hill. with its old cathedral of the twelfth
century, its bishops palace which dates
only from the seventeenth century, its in
habitantants, scarcely one thousand in
number, who are crowded together in on
almost sitting wav in its narrow streets
and Beaumont-la-Nil at the foot Of tie
hill on the banks of the Ligneul, an ancient
suburb which the success of its mauufac-
tories of lace and of fine cambric has en-
riched and enlarged TO such an extent That
it has population OF nearly 10000 persons,
several public squares, and an elegant sub
prefecture built in the modern style These
twodivisions, the northern district and the
southern district, have thus no longer any
thing in common except i'll an adminiStIa-
tive way. Although scarcely thrifty
leagues from Paris, where one can go by
rail in two hours, Beaumont-FEglse seems
10 be still irnmured in its old rampartS, of
which, however, only three gales remain.
A stationary, peculiar class of people
lead there a life similar to that which their
ancestors had led from father to son dur
ing the past 500 years
The cathedral explains everything, has
given birth to and preserved everything.
1t is the mother the queen, as it rises in all
its ma iestv in the center of and above the
little collection of low houses, which, like
sblvering birds, are sheltered under her
wings of stone One lives there simply for
it. and only by it. There is no mOSemeut
of business activity, and the little trades
men only sell the necessities of life, such as
are absolutely required to feed, to clothe,
and to maintain the church and its clergy,
and if occasionally one meets some private
individuals, they are merely the last repre-
sentatives Of a scattered crowd of worship
ers. The church dominates all; each
street is one of its VEINS the town has no
other breath than its own. On that &C
count this spirit of another age, this relig
ious torpor from the past, makes the cois-
tered city which surrounds it redolent with
a savOry perfume of peace and of faith.
And in all this mystic place the house of
the Huberts, where Angelique was to live
In the future, was the one nearest to the
cathedral, and which chung to it as if in
reality it were a part thereof. The per-
mission to build there. between two of the
great buttresses, must have been given by
some vicar long ago, who was DESTROYS of
attaching to himself the ancestors of this
line of embroderers as master chasuble
makers and furnishers for the cathedral
clergy. On the southern side, the narrow
garden was barred ny the colossal building;
first, the circumference of the side chapels,
whose windows overlooked the flower beds,
and then the slender, long nave that the
flying buttresses supported. and atterward
the high roof covered with sheet lead.
The sun never penetrated to the lower
part of this garden, where ivy and box
alone grew luxuriantly; yet the eternal
shadow there was very soft and pleasant as
it fell from the gigantic brow of the apsis,
a religious shadow, sepulchral and pure,
which had good odor about it. In the
greenish half light of its calm freshness,
the two towers let fall only the sound of
their chimes. But the entire house kept the
quiverinS therefrom, sealed as it was to
these old stones, melted into them and sup
ported by them. 1t trembied ut the least
of the ceremonies; at the high mass, the
Tumbling of the organs. the voices of the
chOrlsters, even the oppressed signs of the
worshiperS murmured through each one
Of its rooms lulled it as if with a holy
breath from the invisible, and at times
through the half cool walls seemed to come
bhe vapOrs from the burning incense.
For five wears Augehque lived and grew
there; as if ia n ClOister far away from the
world. She only went to attend the Z
O'Clock mass on Sunday mornings, as
Hubertine had obtained permission for her
W ouuul LOIllc, UUdb IL StnU W
school she might not always have the best
of associates. This old dwelling, so shut in,
with its garden of dead quiet, was her
world. She occupied as ner chamber n
little white-washed room under the roof
she went down in the morning to Ter break
fast in the kitchen, she went up again to
the working room in the second story to
her embroidery, and these places, with the
turning stone stairway of the turret, were
"a nj ,fs.l,
lime; for she never went into the HubertS'
apartments, and only crossed the parlor on
the first floor, and they were the two rooms
which had been rejuvenated and modern
lied. In the parlor the beams were plas-
tered over, and the ceiling had been decor
eted with palm leaf cornice, accompanied
by rose center; the wall paper dated from
the first empire, as well as the white marble
chimney piece and the mahogany furniture,
which consisted of a sofa and four arm
chairs covered with Utrecht velvet a center
table, and a cabinet
On the rare occasions when she went
there to add to the articles exposed for sale
some new bands Of embroidery, if she cast
ner eyes without, she saw through the win
COW the same unchanging vista, the narrow
street ending at the portal Of st. Agnes; q
Parlshloner pushing open the little
lower door which shut itself without any
HOlse, ana the shops or the plate worker
and YAK candle maker opposite, which APP
peared to be always empty, but where was
agood display Of holy sacramental vessels,
and long lines of great church tapers. And
t1e cloistral calm of all Beaumont-l Eglise,
OF the Rue Magloire, back of the bishops
palace, of the Grande Rue, where the Rue
1es Ortevres began, ana of the Place du
Cloitre, where rose up the two towers, was
lett IN the drowSy air, and seemed to fall
gently with the pale daylight on the
deserted pavement.
Hubertine had taken upon herself the
charge Of the education of Angelique.
moreover, she was veryold-fashioned in her
IDEAS, and maintained that woman knew
enough if she could read well, write cor
Lecuy, and had studied thoroughly the first
TOUR rules of arithmetic. But even for this
united instruction she had constantly 60
contend with an unwillingness on tho part
vi ner pupil, who, instead OF giving her at
Uhtion TO her books, preferred looking out
Vi the windows, although the recreation
was very limited, as she could SEQ nothing
out the garden from them. In reality,
Ahgelidue cared only Tor reading; notwith-
Standing IN her dlctatons, chosen from some
cassie writer, she never succeeded in spell
ns page correctly, yet her handwriting
was exceedingly pretty, graceful and bold,
olle OF those ire -uar styles which we're
gulIe the fashion long ago. As for other
1elules' geography and history and cyphcr-
s' she was almost completely ignorant OF
Ilrih. What good would knowledge ever
70 herf IL was really useless, she thought.
.-a'cr on, when II was time for her 10 be