The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1888-09-07
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.

On orc ofthc dark anil narrow streets
N the French quarters Of New Orleans,
Rising tall aud grim from the hauq.c:ss.
is the P.vrrcpCnt mansion. Balconies OF
t-quisits hand -wrou.:.At iron hang from
the upper stories, but tic yellow stucco
- falling from the walls Of the house,
'ad time amt decay have laid thoir insidi-
3us hands upon il.
II Is s.rIns-, dr-ary-looking house;
no vines ever trail over tho balconies. no
childish face ever peeps from the ;e=lol.ly
b1rrcd Windows. The hcSvy street door,
with itS beautiful iron scrolls and ara
hrSques sunken deep into the wood, rarely
opens save to the priest or soulo ser
fr"Ia the neighbering convent OF Our
Lady Of SucSor
No one lives in the big rambling man
SION, with its score Of rooms but ii
Nine. Pierrepont and her servant, Dsb-
bette, aad - for thc!a-
MA fol, e5clai=i-d my zarrulous lit
tie ereo!s lady, they would l. no moro
amusing IL they were dead No visitors,
no frtes, no anything. IL Is just si:sing
waiting, waiting, day after day, aud for
ukSts'
She finished the sentence with n shrug
and = comprehensive gesture that took In
every human possibility
IL was quite by xccidrnt was enabled
To show Mime. Pierrepont some H;tIo
courtesy, aud after that penetrated
easily enough into the dim old house that
was always = standing challenge To my
curiosity.
Many an evening Of the long, swoet
7prinG days have sat on tho balcony
with the gentle, little, old creole lady,
herself ~ fragile and delicate as n bit of
ler old Sevrcs china. listening unwcar-
ir'lly To her talk Of tho past. for madame
belonged 10 the regime and lilo ended for
her when her only ron fell at Manassas,
and tho big plantation and the riches that
had once been hers were ,wcpt away by
tho war that left her poor and chiliIess
From the gallery where VIC oftcncst sat
vo could see tho bishops garden, gay
with flowers, bchind the old cathedral,
and now and then between the brc=ssia ths
lines OF the houses the mnsts Of tho ships
anchored IN the river showed sharply
siihouctted against the sky.
Here oil PAbbette would bring & madame
her glN-s OF eau sucre md we wonld sit
silently together rs friends msy, or quite
naturally, ~ ~ there could be nothing so
intoFcstinS in the world. She uould be-
Eiu speaking Of the great sugar planta-
tItion on the Trche, where she was born
1nh grew . wpmanhoci and married.
N'sAhHN AhsAs fNtsl stANGT NiTet rCOTN years OF
city lifo sha WAS homcsick for the waving
cano-flrld- and the country.
''Ah," shc would say with n sigh, "there
vas the mansion house with tho negro
quarters, like a village, my friend, and
tho little chapel where the priest con-
t.'sct one, and just beyond, under the
live oaks, the little cemetery, with its
tomhs like so many little marble houses;
the 'tomD fsmilio Picrrepont' like it had
been for years.
'Ah, i I-member how the roses and
icsSaDIine blooned there and how the
wiad blew over it. One would nu mind
dying ~ il one might only rest there"
and madame would cross herself sadly,
thinking, perhaps, how soon She must be
Laid iu some quiet city OF the dead
Ono evening when Nc lad been very
quiet FOR \ long timo and madame had
been speaking nor- than usual of the
past, sh~ sIdtrnly uufaStsne'l diamond
brooch from her throat and handed Is TO
me for my inspection.
/ had sften noticed IL before and won
dcred ut its curious setting. Two di.,-
mouds OF unusual size and brilli,ncy
fprrl.cd centre about which smaller
stones IN loops formed Chain ending
in true lovers knot.
They are sone OF the Pierrepont dfa-
monds, she said in answer TO my look OF
inquiry.
Presently she stretched forth her with
cr,I old hand aud took the brooch. and
hgiGiug il now 30 il CAUGHT the light and
aashr9 it hsck in dazzling rays, now 30
thrrc was only dull red glow in the dis
rtouds' fiery hearts, she told mo their
s.~ry.
Sometimes sho spoke in broken Eng
lish. sometimes she spoke in French, aud
once when she spoke OF tho old plantation
Lie she used the soft, sweet pstois OF the
creole negroes.
Many years ago, she said, when her
grandfather brought his beautiful young
bride To the great sugar plantation in the
Teche, lac gave her, among other wedding
gifts, n superb set OF diamonds, every
piece OF which bore the same design
twin stones, he and she might fancy,
bound together in n true lovers knot.
All, but they were happy, those two, on
the great rich plantation. Children vero
born 90 them, and the bri-ht years,
scarce counted, slipped by until, coming
suddenly a storm in summer, death
claimed the gay young husband, and the
tomb Of the ''familie Pierrepont" ia ths
littlo cemetery behind the chapel was I'M
sealed TO adrnit another tenant.
After that time dragged itself along to
the wife whose heart was buried In her
husbands grave and she lived only in tho
memory OF the time when he and she had
been together.
Perhaps her mind became unsettled
from too long brooding on ono subject;
perhaps the angels Of the good God sent
her comfort so: who knows, But she
came TO believe that her husband was
waiting for her just beyond the gates OF
death, not old as she had grown, but in
the beauty and freshness OF eternal
youth. and il was her fancy to go TO him
when she died decked as she had been a.
n bride. She would touch the white
satin OF her wedding gown with caressing
fingers and hold tho diamonds against
her withered cheeks.
"Ah, but he will welcome me, -line
Alphonse." she would say, with smile.
Finally, the idea that she had changed
I'm all thc years since his death, so that he
might not know her save by his gifts,
took possession of her and became a ter
TOR not To bs thrown off. Suppose, after
abe was dead, they should refuse her this
pitiful handful of all the riches she was
leaving. What if she should fail to know
him and sko should miss the husband
she had SO loved in that strange other
world.
The thoasht haunted her like n tor
nenting spirit, and almost on the day be-
iorc she died she took her two sons down
. the little chapel and on their knees,
sfore the holy mother of sorrows, made
-iem swear upon the crucifix TO fulill
her last wish. So when she was dead
they put on her once more tho wedding
gown, and fastened in Ler snow-white
h1i- the tiara Of flashing diamonds that
had cleaned there, when Il was black as
night. On breast and throat and wrist
they put the i-'-"'- - she had w~-n
them on her bridal day, and then the
coffin lid WAS screwed down and the
tomb familie Pierrepont" received still
another tenant.
There were only few who knew that
fortune in diamonds was buried in old
Mime. Picrrcpont's grave, and by and by
AZ WINS Iaff rs,orrie1