Feliciana sentinel., 1892-10-29
DISASTROUS RESULTS.

DISASTROUS RESULTS.
A Girls Filtration which Caused TIVE
Deaths aud Ruined Life.
There lives near the beautiful and
picturesque little city of Ste. Genevieve
a woman about fifty years of age whose
face yet shows traces Of beauty. She Is
q descen. liant of the celebrated family
of Don Ferdonio Leyba, who was lieu
tenant-govcrnor 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
''mammy," who was her slave In tho
good old times before the war. She
sits and sings the live long day-low,
plaintive songs they are that touch the
heart-and wneu 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 it peeps
over the mountain tops and listen TO
the music of the larl<s. She knows no
one, and talks to no one, except the
good CID negro woman who cooks her
meals and consoles her when she is sad.
". "HdG h OcduLl1ul AAIc Sic lAVeu
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
Of womanhood first kissed her checks.
"You jes been hearing of Miss Marie"
said the kind old colored face, as met
her at Ste. Genevieve. ''Shc's mighty
poorly now, and b'lieve 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 marryin'
de widder, an when ebery body ought
tubbe sleep an de whipperwills too.
dats de time She cries n means. l 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' er wastin'
body and min till she ain much lnore'n
skeleton. "raint 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 dats heaby laden come ter
Him en- he'll give 'em resp Yes, chile,
1Ac ssdlO tudt, CdtlS -'liSS -hdtlc uuh ISsiu
it 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 to
'er to make 'er sad, does you? Hits n
long story an happen" way fore de
wah. Miss Marie went down Z New
| Orleans on one de big steamboats, wild
Ter sweetheart, monstus' fine genner.
nhan he was. Dey stop at de st. Charles
hotel an went to dc opera putty nigh
evry night and saw the Molly Graw
and went to de big balls. Course
went down VIA ell. oaus~ r1t." Hf~. f.
ain' gone no whar since she was born
'cepting l went, too. Her NANNY toll
me on her defbed to take care Of her
| chile and toll her Use gwineter do it
longs I live, and I aim broke dat
| promis' and Gawd willin' I ain
never gwineter break it. De
night de Molly Graw ball Miss
| Marie dress ft ter kill. 1 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
| NV! my. but she shore did look putty,
'en when she turned from de glass
whar she'd bin 'Inirin' herset, I said
Miss Marie, dc gemmen Swine ter Git
dcy heads turned dis night cause dey
amt nobody in dis town nigh as purity
as YOU an she laffed an sed: DO yor
think SOP an told her certainly did
How remembers dat night! 1 sits W
waitin' to undress her n twas nigi
onter daylight when she Gums in an say
she jes' had lfghtful time, she did, an
den she's sleep fore could say Jacl
Rabbit
'Dat day kard wild er mighty curl
Gus name han'ed Miss Marie an hel
face blush an she toll dc boy to tell de-
gemmen she be down presently. N der
she primp and dress up and ] doan set
her no more fore midnight. When she
came in jcs toll 'er what 'er sweet'art
say n how mad he look when he calrt
for 'er n she dun gon', n he say he
,oan like dat way fer sweetheart e
his ter act. Mex day Miss Marie wer
'er riding wild der same genmen, I
when she cum hom' her sweetheart me
her on dc big stairway and dey qnarrel'
SO loud dat dey woke up dc people Di
was on er Friday. Monday mornin' d
papers had or big count about a due
dat had bin fo't at sundown under d.
big oaks at Chaimette on er Sunday
an dat bo'f Nv de men killed each nd
der. Miss Marie read de paper an gi'
er scream. n faint away, r de docto
cum an tended on her fer a month
n when she got we'll we TUX de boa
fer home, n here we's been ebber since
She ain bin ter see none er de ladies
n when dey uscter call she wudden Sc
'em.'
WAS that her sweetheart that wa
kiiled?''
Course itwus, n she ain had 'er righ
min since. She jes calls his name al
de time, she does, and sings dem sam
songs which she use ter sing when dc
was 'er courtin' togedder II useter 81
on top err de big hill over yawnder i
de ebenings and watch de stars. al
dem silber shadders whut de moo
| makes on de waters.