Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1893-03-23


her. 1t was her very womanliness thai
set me wondering who she could have
been, and what had led her to shut her
self away from the world. There wa,
little TO do, lying there in, bed week
after week, and hundreds of times as
looked at that sweet woman moving
about the room, pictured her without
the Golf, and said to myself that IL she
were not then beloved wife, with 0
husbands protecting arm around her,
and children climbing about her knees,
1t was not because the love that should
have led to this had been wanting, bu,
certainly because some marring chance
had prevented the realization of
such happiness. II amused me to make
q pretty history 10 myself, with Sister
Gabrielle for the heroine. A woman
with voice like hers, and such smile,
was bound to have loved deeply. Some
times, when she was not speaking. her
eyes had a sad, PARKWAY look. / can
only compare it TO the look of an emf
grant who was toiling hot, dusty high
road to embark for new country, might
turn and give to the dear spot that he
had said a long goodbye to. But that
look never lasted more than minute on
Sister 0abrielle's face. 1t was as IL the
traveller settled his burden afresh on his
shoulders, and with fresh, vigorous reso-
luton. stepped on into the long expanse
of road that went stretching away to the
horizon.
Zone day. could not help it,
broke into one of those little reveries of
hers.
My sister, said, sweet and beau
tiful as you are, how is it that you never
married2'
with lifted finger, as one speaks to a
too daring child, she said only: 'Ssssh =
"Then with the movement OF the emf
grant readjusting his knapsack, she
added: Atoms half past tenl DR.. Ma
daud will be here before we are ready
for himl'
"From that day Sister Gabrielle avoid
ed sitting by my bedside She watched
over me just as tenderly as before; but
our talks were shorter, anu never ven
tured to repeat my question as you may
imagine. Nevertheless, lying there
through the long days. it was impossible
not 10 go .on~woDdering what had sent
this beautiful woman into the quiet life
where found her
Zone day discovered that DR.. Ma
daud came from the same town as her
self, and l fell at once I'D questioning
him about her. All that could elicit
from him was that her name in the
world had been Jeanne DAlcours, and
that she came Of u good old Norman
titled family. did not learn much by
that; 1t was not necessary to hear that she
was noble, for che had the stamp of no.
bility in every line and in every pose of
her body. For talkative fellow,
thought Nadaud had remarkably little to
say about his former townswoman; and,
after gently sounding him once OF twice
on the subject, i came to the conclusion
that it was useless to look to him for en-
lightenment, but also came to the con-
clusion that Sister Gabrielle had his
tory.
august came. / had been three
months in st. Malo Hospital, and now
the time for leaving had arrived.
1t was early morning. A facre stood
at the gate, with my luggage upon it,
and Sister Gabrielle had come to the
doorway which led into the courtyard to
sec me off. Early as it was, the sun was
already well on his days journey, and
perhaps it was the strong glare from the
white wall that made her shade her eyes
so persistently with her left hand while
S~e -ssAra- sayi-e5 AGeoa-byes.--rzxs for my
own eyes, there was something the mat
ter with them, too, for the landscape, or
so much of it as could see from the ST.
Malo hospital door way. had taken on a
strange, blurred look since saw it from
the window ten minutes before.
"'Adieu, mon lieutenant! Adicu. p
cried Sister Gabrielle, in a voic1 meant
to be very CHEEKY.
"'Adieu ma seurl May / come to see
you and the old place, if ever find my
self in these attitudes again2
Yes, yes, that is it; come back and
see who is in your little bed under the
window. Take care Of the armp touch
ing the sling that held it, Or, Nadaud
will expect letter from you in copper
plate style before another month is over.
Allons! We will say, Au revoir, then,
not Adieu. Bon voyage, mon 1ieuten-
ant, bon voyagep
Another handgrasp, and / made my
way to the cab, feeling a strange intoxi-
cated sensation at being once more on
my legs in the open air after such long
stretch between the blankets. Away we
attled down the steep stone paved street,
past the queer old high houses that, as
the window-shutters were swung back,
seemed to open their eyes and wake up
with q spirited relish for another days
hustle and work. Very different, my
dear. to the lazy drawing up of roller
blind in England is the swinging open of
a,pair OF French persiennes. Whiffs of
new bread and freshly ground coffee
floated out from the open doorways of
the baker, and the earliest risers of St.
Malo, and presently the pungent, invig-
Grating odor of the sea made itself smelt
in spite of the mixed odors of tho street
1t was new life to be out in the open air
again; and was going to see my moth
err But l could not forget Sister
Gabrielle"
Several years passed before my hus-
band saw again the old steep streets OF
St. Malo. These years brought great
changes TO him. His right arm being
no longer capable of using sword. he
retired from the army, took to journal
ism, and eventually accepted an engage
ment in London. In the English capital
he made his home. marrying and settling
down TO a quasi English life, which
possessed great interest for him from the
first.
One summer (six years after the war;
we began to make yearly journey to a
town on the'borders OF Brittany, and
always landed at St. Malo to take train
for our destination. Trims ran there