The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1893-04-20
L.I.A.N.E

the opportunity with delight. begged
to accompany them. So ut daybreak
the next morning we set off ON our
artistic pilgrimage.
The old priory OF st. ATnould lies mt
the foot of a picturesque hill on the
other side of the Tongues. History has
little to say of Arnould d'Iveline. ex-
cept that he was canonized in the six
teenth century and that the priory was
probably built upon what had been q
simple Merovingian hermitage. The
nave and square of the chapel belonged
to the Neustrian period, and the side
chapel, which was battered into ruins
during the Revolution, was added dur
ing the fifteenth century.
Healthy Norman vegetation seems to
have takel upon itself the task IF re-
pairing the insult offered the saint by
his fellow men. Nothing more charm
ing or picturesque can be conceived
than the mingling of Roman and Goth
ic ruins with the fantastic exuberance
of this Norman vegetation. Magnifi-
cent ash trees rise in the center of the
roofless church and cover it with
dome of foliage. Ivy climbs the broken
columns, throws its hardy garlands
across the shattered arches and COM
pletely covers the old towers. Shrubs
and friendly plants grow amid the
cracked marbles of the pavement,
young elm thrives upon a broken cap
ital, lilybells' jangle upon carvings of
the Ogives, and a wall-fower sheds its
sweet breath from a niche once Occu-
pied by the statue of a saint.
A little way from the chapel are two
fountains. One in the form of bath
is that referred to by Athime; the
other, dedicated to st. Claire, is
thought to be effectuaI in diseases of
the eye. Twice a year this place is
thrOnged with pilgrims who kneel un-
der the shadow of the crnmbling
arches, but the rest of the twelvemonth
it is the most silent and solitary spot
in the neighborhood of Trouville.
The first rays of the sun were glim-
mering through the dense foliage
gently stirred by faint breeze, as we
reached our hating place The dew
still lay upon grass and herb, while
here and there a dim wreath of mist
floated over the greensward. After
enjoying these beauties of nature for a
time, Alice commenced her work,
Lame took out her embroidery, while
wandered idly about gathering wild
flowers for my companions, or seated
on the grass read the fragments from
JOcelyn. Alice applauded the poet en-
Enthusiastically, but Lame, who said
nothing, ended by weeping. This story
of fraterna- sacrifice, was it not, alas!
her own history?
When the hour for luncheon arrived,
our napkins were spread on Il messy
stone and we did honor to the pro-
visions with which we were furnished
at common expense. Then, while the
sisters resumed their occupations. I
assembled the hill to the isle of the eel
ebrated Chateau of Lassay, around
which cluster memories of the Grande
Mademoiselle and Madame de Pompa-
dour, and whose only remaining vestige
is small pavilion on a naked hill, used
as landmark for sailors.
On my return Lame said, 1--WE have
been hearing footsteps in the chapel
Il hardly think it possible, unless
some one has passed by here"
1--WE have seen no one"
Il will go and See."
A few steps behind the ruins in a
cottage lost among the trees, dwells
a lonely woman, guardian of the keys.
When l asked for them she appeared
strangely embarrassed, but finally said,
'"The rear door is open" Through this
door the chapel could be entered with
out our seeing or suspecting it. Push
ing gently against the half-open door,
entered quietly. The silence was pro-
found, but in the deep embrasure of
the eastern Ogive there was the figure
of a man kneeling in an angle which
sheltered him completely from outside
OH Arn4I
jean!
He was watching the sisters, and so
absorbed was he that he neither saw
me nor heard my approach. When j
touched him lightly on the shoulder, he
aWoke as from dream, and stood
mute and mOtiOnleSs before me- 1t
gave me time to observe how much he
was changed. His face, once so ruddy
and gay, was cOlorleSs and melancholy;
his eyes, which he had forgotten to
wipe, were trimming with tears So
touched was / with this singular sad
ness, that l did not utter a word of re-
prOach, except the question, "Why do
you spy upon them thus?"
DO not tell them I was here" he
urged with a supplicating gesture 81
am going away now" 1 made a sign
fellow disappeared. To doubt was no
longer possible; he loved one of the sis
tiers, but which? To tell the truth,
was pleased with my discovery The
ladies Thevenot were poor; he was rich.
He was good and generous, l felt sure,
and if unspoken love could effect SO
great change in so brief time, what
metamorphosis might not be wrought
by fulfilled longing. Turning over
these thoughts in my mind, returned
slowly to my companions.
"WellT" they asked, in one breath.
"There is no one there
VII.
Gomez" said Alice, 'let us 60"
Already reproachfully exclaimed
LANE
Have you forgotten that my lessons
were postponed till this evening? What
time is it, Monsieur
"Half-past twor'
"Delightfulr' said Alice. 1--WE can go
home the longest way. Conner
We had barely emerged from the
green thicket which shuts in St Arnold's
before / said: Take care, Alice That
dark cloud foretells nothing good"
"Bah!' she rejoined, your dark cloud
MuSL Keep QuleI uuUl we reach nome. ."
We pursued our way along the wide
path which formed a girdle about the
meadow, but my predictions were
speedily realized. The sky, which, all
the morning, had been SO purely blue.
became a somber gray. The west wind
blew violently, rolling up the regions of
clouds from the horizon. The heat was
intense, and that strange hush rested
over nature which Is certain precur-
sor of tempest. 'e'
A few large drops fell-then a fash of
lightning crash of thunder. and the
storm burst, true Norman downpour.
The largest trees afforded no shelter.
and not house was in sight. To our
right was woody declivity, to our left
an ocean of green.
Alice walked bIithely along, laughing
In the face Of the storm. Lame &C.
cepted her drenching with silent
patience. The squat, however grew
more and more violent, and such tor
rents of water beat against us that |
felt really uneasy.
Suddenly, at turning in the road, I
saw smoke rising above the trees. We
hurried our steps, and soon reached a
hndon hnvond which yuara Soma x>11