The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1893-01-14
OLD ESON.

tl9A1SC =. ~ -Sst'-. tiiV i1AftA W tIcI-
i'll hi> extremity | clothed and fed.
| remember wei! the time Of his cenl
ing. for ii Happened at the end OF i've
DAYS and nights during which the yeal
passed from strength 70 a9a: III the in
terval between the swallow, departure
ana the re:iwia2's coming: When fht
tortoise l. my garden cr+pt lHfp His win
ter quarters aud the equinox WIS 81 lis
with an east wind That p4rcLed the
blood III the trees, 50 chat tileir Leaves
for once Aa4w 10 GT&aatioIa ii rel aIG
yellow. bur Turned ut a stroke u brown
and cracked like tin foil.
All > o'clock Ill the morning. OF tho
sixth iay | looked OIL. The wind still
whisiled across The SKY. bHt nnw with
Il the obstruction ~ any cloud. Full
i'll FROM oI my window sirius flushed
with Il whifs,less THAT pierced the eye.
A little 10 the right the wlo!e coa,tella
ton of orion Was suspended clear over
a welgei!le -4,3 II TIE cast. wherein
the sea could he -7,-s,ud rather thar
seen. and travelling vet farther the eyt
fell on two brilliant lights, the one sci
high above the other: the one steady anG
a fiery red. the osiler yellow and blaziro
Internationally: the one A~ldebaran. the
other revolving Oh the lighthouse top.
fifteen miles away.
Half way up the east, the moon, now
in her last quarter ami decrepit. climbed
with the dawn close at her heels. At thi.
hour they brought III the stranger. ask
ing if my pleasure were to give hin
clothing ana hospitality.
Nobody knew whence he came. excepi
that it was from the wind and the night
seeing that he spoke in a strange ong
moaning and making a sound like the
twittering of bir.s IL 4 chimney. Blu,
his journey must have been long and
painful, for his legs bent under him, and
he could not stand when they lifted him
So, finding it useless to question hin
for the time, | learned from the servants
all they had TO te~ll-namely. that tnpy
had come upon him but ii few minutes
before. lying on his face within my
grounds without staff or scrip. bare
headed, spent and crying feebly for sue.
cor In his foreign tongue. ana in pity
they had carried him in md brought
him to me.
Now for the look of this man. He
seemed a century old. being bald, ex.
tremely wrinkled. with wide hollows
where the teeth should be. and the fiesl
hanging loose and haccid Oh his cheek
bones; and what color lie had could have
come only from exposure to that bite,
night. But his eyes chiefly spoke of his
extreme age. They We're blue and deep
and filled with the wisdom Of years. anG
when he turned them in my direction
they appeared to lock through me, be-
yond me and back upon centuries Of sor-
row and the slow endurance of man. a.
II his immediate mlsfurInnes We're but
an lnconsiderable item IL Il long list.
They frightened me. Pariaps they
conveyed Il warning Of that which was
to endure at their owner hands. From
compassion | ordered the servants Il
take him to my wife. with word tina !
wished her TO set food before linn anu
see that it passed his lips.
So much | did for this stranger. Now
learn how he rewarded me.
He has taken my youth from ne, and
the most Of my substance. and the love
of my wife.
From the hour when he tasted food in
my house he sat there without hint Of
going. Whether from design, or be-
cause age and his sufferings had really
palsied him. he came back ted;ously IA
life and warmth, nor for many DAYS
prcfessed himself able To stand ererr
Meanwhile he lived on the best of ON
hospitality. My wife tended him. and
my servants ran at his bidding, for he
managed early to make them under
stand scraps of his language. though
slow III acquiring hours-I believe out of
calculation. lest some one should inquire
his business (which was a mvsterv) or
mint at his departure.
myself often visited the room he hat
appropriated. and would sit for an hon1
watching those fathomless ewes while |
tried to make head Or tail of his dis
course. When We We're alone my wife
and used TO speculate at times on his
probable profession. Was he a merchant.
an aged mariner. tinker, tailor. beg
garman, thief: We could never decide.
and he never disclosed.
Then the awakening came. | sat one
day III the chair beside his, wondering a.
usual. lhal felt heavy Of late with a
soreness ana languor in my bones, as if
dead weight hung continually on my
shoulders and another rested OH nv
heart.
Awarmer color in the strangers cheek
caught my attention, and l bent for
ward, peering under the pendulous lids.
His eyes Were l~ivelier and less profound.
The melancholy was passing from them