Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1892-02-09
FELICIE.

usher, 80 bad drought as this one"
Rut no one heard Edmond; If any one had
,..rd him. he would have paid no attention,
- Edmond did not have all his wits
Tba grass and the crops, which once had
t..sn green, were now brown; the earth was
bsLed hard and everywhere little cracks ran
4 ali directions. The rough places of the
roads we're all hidden under thick mantle
- dust. as kindly in its appearance as the
.uter's mantle, but less SO In reality Unless
aGod knows what we shall do" said one
vilape elder to another
sand he never tells us until he is ready
aid Edmond, reverently.
Sothe great drought lasted.
Then Armand Hamel died 1t was not the
drought that killed him. No one knew exact
" what had killed him. II cannot tell; it is
Gods dong,n the doctor had said. But he
vas dead and after death comes the funeral
For tile first time in months the sky was
overcast; the red sun ceased to glare upon the
earth, and under the gentle clouds the grass
and the crops seemed actually to revive
little. and even to raise their heads again
Bat no rain fell.
"Does this mean raini" one villager would
ask of another as they met in the parish house.
while their wives went at once into the
church to pray
Perhaps the man addressed would answer,
with a shrug. "7'lra clouds hang low over the
cape;n or perhaps ie would 20 out upon the
gallery, whence he had just come, and look
ing around at earth and sky and sea would
saw. cautiously: who knowsi Perhaps
In either case the answer was satisfactory.
Every one hoped for rain; almost no one
expected it; and the question was asked
rather to pass the time until the funeral SER
vice should begin than because Eugene Da-
SILVA thought that Joseph Billet could read
the weather signs better than he himself.
No one asked Edmond, but he of all those
present said nothing doubtful To Eugene
be said at once, ut will rain; the grass is
getting ready for a shower" But no one
heard him; at all events, no one paid any at
tention; be was only half witted
From. the gallery in front of the parish
house one could see many things Directly
in front was the road white with dust, filled
with the caleches and planches and quat-
roues which had brought the farmers and
villagers to the church. Across the road
were fields, and beyond the fields hills, cut
into terraces by great glaciers melted ten
thousand years ago On the right was the
church, with its tin roof and its spires; and
the priests house, with two willow trees in
front Of it, and the convent and the grave
yard. On the left, behind the poor brown
trees, was the seigneury; and behind the
house, across the rivera mile wide when the
tide was in, barely two yards when the tide
was out-rose the cape which gave the town
its name, and seemed to protect the town it
named
Over the cape hung black, threatening
clouds, but so little did they Indicate rain
that the farmers eyes more readily sought
the church and the priests house than they
did the rock and its low hanging crown.
In course Of time constant succession of
remarks and replies on the subject Of the
weather had emptied the parish house of all
its male inmates; the women and children
had already gone into the church. The men
stood on the gallery in front of the house, al
most in silence; no one cared to talk about
meerrand which had brought them together;
50 they stood waiting for something in anx.
iOus impatience
Suddenly from the steeple of the church
rang out sharply the little bell, and at the
sound the men started, and crossed them
selves Then, as if the expected had hap
pened, they moved toward the church. the
OLDEST man leading the way, the younger men
struggling to avoid bringing up the rear
again the bell rang out. 1t was tolling.
Gut OF the cloud of dust, along the narrow,
worn road, came the yellow hearse, open to
'ne SKY, bearing the red coffin, dust white
now wherein slept Armand Hamel. Behind
'ne hearse, in the towns only two horse
'enlcle, brought out on great occasions like
weddings and funerals, rode the mourners-
AaVler Hamel, Philomene his wife, and little
iehce felletier, the maiden who was to have
oeen Armand's wife, Had Armand lived but
amohth longer, Felicie had been their daugh.
@r; now she was neither their daughter nor
their sons widow.
ine men halted awkwardly at the church
s0of' ana removed their hats as the hearse
ue" up. Thepriest stood ON the steps, mis-,
Mi 10 nand, and placing himself before the
s ~ began the office of the dead Most OF
@s men without the church and the women
'i 0n repeated audibly their prayers:
DehVer me, Lord, from them that hate
aie' 'hat be not swallowed in the abyss
'sa' Inc pit wherein they have cast me
s,ose not above me-" And again: lord
uoa' King Of the ages, thou alone art full OF
kindness; hear me, o Lord. whose pitv is NJ
deliver it.n my 'oui' anu
,aeantime the mourners had entered the
sa" len, and were making their way to theii
h. , a. Ihey walked slowly, delayed rather
N.Y. 'ne emotions of the girl than by any weak
u.s. ssS Vi tne older mourners. At last the,
began ' ""o '''e BURIAL service
All this time the clouds that had encom,
mos s' Tue cape came nearer, and more and
~ assumed the character of rain clouds
APE ioomed up, and the miles of water
sn.o n IL and the church seemed but yards
b.as 'r |. seemed to be- Edmond put out hi.
lol s, as II to touch the great rock; then b,
Fs d. tne sky and went into the church,
n, thy'ning was strangely still. The voic,
cru ue priest sounded as if it came from &
jess Instance The children, usually rest
nro sa' quietly. The darkness of an ap
lichs storm pervaded the church; tn,
CO. oeiore the altar burned dimly and un
10 ~. Only where Felicie sat, it seemed
"s lad, was there any light; around he,
no, -. was a strange brightness; but he di
ieei AFRAID.
cors- the priest closed his book, and tb
r sps sighed with relief as he d.
head =. from the sanctuary and stood at til
client O ~ .ne coffin. Then priest, coffin an
tbrouaS agregation left the church, and wen
Tbera 'ne narrow gate into the graveyard
which =. grave had been dug, next to that |
bursa 'ue shlpwrecked Portuguese had bee
Ill and around the grave gathered the
raw Ss center stood the priest and I'll
hams, sgers; next to them were old Xavie
tbsa, ,el and his wife, Philomene. and betwee
-s@ stood Felicis Palla,;ar