Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1893-12-08
] sultable provision % me and I In

have broken them; you arc laying up
+ wrath for yourself in days TO come An
offended God viii surely call you to
/ account, and you viii remember my
/ words"
Often have l remembered them
/ Emile has been exquisitelv avenged
Conrad accompanied her to New Or
leans, but before the packet sailed he
returned home. l received him with
! surprise and displeasure, for had felt
/ immeasurably relieved when Emile
/ proposed that he should live with her.
I've thought the thing all over,
! governor" said this boy of fifteen,
''and | concluded to come back You
! see I've nothing to do with the old
woman's quarrels; and as you've got
/ the money. and I'm getting on where
/ | shall want lots of it, / reckon I'll
stick TO you"
Within one week from the departure
of my wife vou were born, Cory, your
I mother dying in the same hour.
The love that Emile should have
was given to your poor mother, child.
| / was nearly distracted at her loss. In
my frenzy itseemed to me the first full
fillment of Emilie's prediction.
/ Soon my affections and hopes were
/ transferred to Louise's child Then
the crushing thought came that this
4 child was a slave, born of a slave
mother, and that to manumit her would
be to publish the fact to the world.
! could not bear the alternative. To
save it, resolved on a course which
/ TIL ahO,,11 h,, 81
me against. would break up my
home here, lease the plantation, go
four hundred miles up the river, and,
in a locality where no stories would
| be likely to come from La Fourche, /
would bring up this child OF my affec-
ton. No one there should know of
/ the taint in her origin; no one should
ever guess that she was born in bond
age.
This plan put in execution immedi-
ately 1t promised to succeed. I'm
fortunately, l had not taken into ac-
count the precocity and wickedness of
that boy. He instantly OWNED the
truth, and began to hold the lznowl-
edge of it over me like rod. For five
years he kept me in constant terror,
| not so much by his evil courses as by
| the constant threat of betraying my
secret. The amount of money that /
| have paid him for his silence would
represent fortune. At last, in his
twenty-first year, he agreed to leave
! home and never return, and to keep
! his knowledge to himself. ! was to
pay him large quarterly allowance,
which has, in fact, been almost dou-
| bled. I have relied on his love of
| money to keep him from betraying
me; and my purse alone has closed his
mouth. Where the great sums that ]
| have given him have gone, the gam
blers Of the river can tell.
look back to the time between 1916,
when got rid of this unnatural son,
and 1853, when the tragedy occurred
which win be briefly noticed, as the
happiest of my life. The disagreeable
part was all behind me; conscience, as
well as the fear of exposure, so tortur-
! ing in these later years, did not trouble
me; you were growing up, Cory, to be
| Just what wished you; charming ac-
| quaintances, valued friends were all
about me; my success in growing cot
ton was adding enormously to my
wealth. All this was rudely troubled
by the appearance of Napoleon Castex
/ had heard little Of this man since
my successful rivalry for the hand of
Emile ma ie him my enemy. After
my purchase Of Louise ! learned incl
dentally that he had once visited New
Orleans, and il was told me that he
made particular inquiries about me.
There were none but unpleasant recol-
lections connected with him, and /
| hoped that ! should never meet him
again.
Suddenly, twelve years after my re-
moval from La Fourche, hc presented
! himself 20 me. / had no previous
knowledge that he was in the neigh
| borhood, and the sight Of him discon-
| certcd me- IL was at gentleman's
/ dinner party at my own house, and he
came with one Of the guests, whom he
! was visiting. | knew that the man
/ was reyengcful and good hater, and
/ began 20 trcmble for the consequences
/ OF such visit. | conjeetured that II
I he he'd not learned the true cause of
( Emilic's alienation from me, hc would
be likely TO guess IL II he happened TO
/ see you, Cory; for you were then about
I the age OF your mother when he last
saw her, and very closely resembled
/ her. And what he should discover /
| knew that his hatred OF me would
prompt him TO spread broadcast in the
neighborhood.
Before ! could form any plan to
check such catastrophe, dinner was
al va mat rpgfnI when
you, Cory, came 20 the door and
looked In, prompted, ] suppose, by
childish curiosity. Castcx saw you,
recognized your face, and asked me in
French II that was my daughter. re-
piled that she was; and then
The man Is dead; ! must soon follow
him. / would like 10 speak 10 him now
without bitterness or passion; yet i
should not speak the whole truth If
did not say that his face was shining
with savage JOY as he gave me the
brutal rcioinder in French that as
surcd me that his discovery would be
published far and near. He said:
"Ah, monsieur! Five or six years
hence, when the charming daughter OF
Louise Bonfant shall come TO the same
auction block In New Orleans where
you purchased the mother, then think
the spirit Of your wrongcd wife will
feel avenged"
/ saw that he had deliberately
planned 10 force quarrel on me. j
knew that there could be no safety for
my secret while he lived. A duel fol-
lowed, and ! killed him. The wound
that / received at the same time from
his hand laid me up for weeks, and
nearly brought me 10 the grave.
My misery dates from that hour. IT.
is not u comfortable reflection 20 carry
around with you night and day that
you have slain fellow creature,
though n bad one, and the thought has
troubled me; but much more torment
ing than this was the fear that Castex
had In some way left his discovery TO
be rcvcnlcd after his death. grew
suspicious Of everybody; ! abandoned
old friends; while they never suspect
ed the reason, was continually fear
full that the truth would be known and
made public. Then the thought oc-
Cured 90 me that all this torment
might be ended by returning To La
Fourchc. came back 90 this place as
suddenly ab had left ~. We had been
absent fifteen years, and there bad