The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1892-12-31
DISASTROUS RESULTS.
A Girls Filtration Which Caused Two
Deaths aud Ruined Life.

picturesque little city of Ste. Genevieve
a woman about fifty years of age whose
face yet shows traces of beauty She is
descendant of the celebrated family
of Don Ferdonio Leyba, who was lieu
tenant-governor of the post of St Louis
when this country was under Spanish
control.
She lives in an old house near the
suburbs of that historic city all alone
with the exception of an old negro
NANNY" who was her slave in the
good old times before the war. She
sits and sings the live long day-low,
plaintive songs they are that touch the
heart-and when the evening comes
she kneels before the picture of the
Blessed Mary and prays awhile, and
then she sleeps. And in the morning
she rises early to see the sun as 1t peeps
over the mountain tops and listen to
the music of the larks. She knows no
one, and talks to no one, except the
good old negro woman who cooks her
meals and consoles her when she is sad
o, what a beautiful life she lived
years ago! And if her lips would re-
spond to the feelings of her heart she
could tell story of terrible tragedy
that has since made her life a weary
burden, that happened when the bloom
9f womanhood first kissed her cheeks.
You jes been hearing of Miss Marie, {"
said the kind old colored face. as met
her at Ste. Genevieve. ''She's mighty
poorly now, and blieve it's gwineter
please God to call her home mighty
soon. She doan' do nuthin' now but
sing, she does. and cries mighty nigh
all de time jes if her hart break. Way
in de night time, when de whipperwill
singing and tellin' bout Jack MARVIN
de wilder, an when eberybody ought
tubbe sleep an de whipperwills too,
OATS de time she cries n means. can
do nuthin' for her den. so jes' lies dere
and cries too, an next mornin' de bed.
clos wet wild her precious tears. She
doan' eat nuthin' hardly. jes' err wastin'
body and min till she ain much more'n
skeleton. faint gwinter be long fore
de good Lord take her to His bosom
and den no mo- tears an no mo- heart
aches, fer amt de Master above dun
say: Let all OATS heaby laden come ter
Him en- he'll give 'em resp Yes, chile,
He said that, caus' Miss Marie dun read
1t ter me many times out 'er de big
book what her nanny lef 'er when
she's little chile no bigger'n dat
"You wants to hear what happen tc
'er to make FER sad, does you? Hits
long story an happen way fore de
wah. Miss Marie went down Z New
Orleans on one de big steamboats, wild
'er sweetheart, monstus' fine genner.
man he was. Dey stop at de St Charles
hotel an went to de opera putty nigh
ev'ry night and saw the Molly Graw
and went to de big balls. Course l
went down wild 'em, cause Miss Marie
aim gone no whar since she was born
cepting went, too. Her nanny toll
me on her defbed to take care of her
chile and toll her Use gwineter do ii
longs l live, and l ain broke dat
promis' and Gawd willin' 1 ain
never gwineter break it. De
night de Molly Graw ball Miss
Marie dress fit ter kill. l combed
her hair; n such purity, wavy. black
hair it wuz! She wore 'er white silk
dress n white slippers. an on her
bosom she pinned er big bunch lilacs.
My! my! but she shore did look putty,
en- when she turned from de glass
1vhar she'd bin 'mirin' hersef, / said
Miss Marie, de gemmen gwine ter git
ley heads turned dis night cause dey
lint nobody in dis town nigh as purity
Is you,' an she LATED an sed: DO YOU
,hink SOP an told her l certainly did.
How / remembers dat night! sits ur
vaitin' to undress her m twas nigh
'nter daylight when she Gums in an say
'he jss' had 'lightful time, she did. an
len she's sleep fore could say Jacl
Rabbit
''Dat day kard wild er mighty curi- |
nus name han'ed Miss Marie an her
ace blush an she toll de boy to tell de |
,emmen she be down presently. N den
he primp and dress up and ] doan see
Ter no more fore midnight. When she
anne in jes toll 'er what 'er sweet'art |
ay n how mad he look when he calrd |
or 'er n she dun gon', n he say he
loan like dat way fer sweetheart 'er
lis ter act Mex day Miss Marie wen
,r riding wild der same gemmen, n
vhen she cum hon. her sweetheart met
Ter on de big stairway and dey quarrels
o loud dat dey woke up de people. Dis
vas on er Friday. Monday mornin' de
apers had err big count about duel
at had bin fo't at shutdown under de
ig oaks at Chalmette on er Sunday,
n dat bo'f NV de men killed each nd
er. Miss Marie read de paper an Civ
r scream, n faint away, n de doctor
um an tended on her fer a month,
l when she got well we TUX de boat
er home, n here ives been ebber since.
he ain bin ter see none err de ladies,
l when dey useter call she wudden see
.m."
''Was that her sweetheart that was
illed?"
Course it wus, n she ain had FER right
lin since. She jes calls his name all
u Il