The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1893-03-11
THE THREE SONS.

The house was to all appearances I'M
tenanted. There was not a sign of life
visible from without, but in one of the
magnificent rooms overlooking the Rue
de VaenneS sat three men a~nxiously
awaiting the result CT the consultation
which was then taking place to know if
there was the slightest hope not for the
recovery, but for the prolongation Of the
suffer,ngs Of Gabrielle Anne Sophie.
dowaser Marquis de Guebrianges, their
mother.
The oldest gentleman, the marquis,
was tall AMI thin He might have been
80 years Old. but his age was difficult to
guess. his face being 80 utterly devoid Of
expression. His few remaining hairs
did their best to disguise their scarcity.
but in spite of their well meant efforts
it was distinctly visible that this glass
of fashion" was bald The marquis was
a cold, heartless man. in whom none
could feel the slightest confidence. lie
was egotistical to the last degree. with
no superior intelligence to palliate his
overwhelming s~elishness.
The second son. Count Rene, was uite
different. Full of life. with frank blue
eyes that locked a man full in the face
and a smile as winning and a nature as
expansive as the marquis was reserved
and repellent he seemed to be of Il diff
ferent race. and his restless energy and
keen intelligence had shocked the old
marchioness and driven the late Marquis
Hercule de Guerbrianges to the verge of
distraction. Rene Is quite unlike the
rest OF the family" he often said. with u
sigh. Il wonder from whom he inherits
his disposition. Perhaps from your side
of the house. marchioness; certainly not
from mine"
The youngest son. the vicomte. was
just 90. but his wrinkled face and bent
figure made him look much older. He
was n of those old young men whoar"
30 frequently met nowadays and 81
painful to see, who appear to be d
growth peculiar to this end of the cen,
fury.
At last the door opened. and the men
of science stepped softly across the
threshold. The famous specialists who
had been summoned at the last moment
began a long account of the case couched
in terms which. though doubtless intel
hg1ble to his colleagues. conveyed NJ
meaning at all to the young men. At
last he came to the point, and with
trembling voice and fearful eyes tGl,
them to prepare for the worst. The old
lady was sinking rapidly. Then the ply,
sicians withdrew, and the brothers heard
the old doctor invite his comrades to the
theater in a voice which did not tremble.
and. to judge by his cheerful tones. the
tears were very far from his eyes in.
deed.
"Old hypocriter thought Count Rene
The others thought nothing at all.
The three sons entered the darkeued
room and stood around the bedside of the
dying oma
The marquis asked her if she was SUI
fering. She shook her head. There she
lay. just alive, and nothing more. She
seemed to realize what a slender hold she
had upon life and to try and economize
her little remaining breath, for she did
not utter a word. and the blue eyes. so
like her second sons, gazed wistfully
upon her children. and two tears-tIle
last she would ever ~shed-rolled slowly
down her withered cheeks.
What a life hers had been! Full of
the pomps and v~anities If this world,
brilliant and enviable without, but in re-
atty one long martyrdom. She thought
OF all she had endured for her boys sake.
Of the insults, Of the neglect, ever bru-
tally of the husband of her youth, and
she wondered as she lay there gaspins
her life away if half her punishment for
her sins had not been meted out to her
on earth. lnstinctively, in this~suprernr
moment. she turned to Rene. for he ws+
the only n of her sons who had ever
shown her any real affection, and now
she remembered how she had alwavs
curbed his e4uberant nature and received
his caresses coldly enough and sent him
away many Il time with something very
like tears IL those bright blue eyes She
tried to extend her hand to him. but hi
strength failed her. and the hand fill
YEARLY to her side.
do you know us. mother" asked the
marquis.
A low kissing sound issued from her
lips, and the men leaned over her u
catch. if possible. the words she was trv
ing hard 10 frame.
The yicomte stified a cough with h5<
handkerchief. The marquis listened -
tentively, but IN these two faces t
was no sign of emotion. They migt.
have been Ill the bedside of the merest
acquaintance, while Rene, poor fL
y