Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1893-12-07
MADAME'S STORY.

now? | remember there was some ex.
citement."
Madame sighed. at is a very long
story"
Tell me, madame" begged. Igive
the story in her own words. Iwould
that could give her accent. Her Eng.
lish was almost perfect, though rather
studied and occasionally confused as tC
lenses. But her singularly pure, clear
voice and a faint foreign softening OF
each syllable made her charming to lis.
| ten to.
"Well, as think 1 told you long ago,
Marie went away from me for one long
year. When she was very little, l send
her to convent in Toronto, and l dc
not see her very often. She grow up SO
pretty, so spirituelle, the pale pink face
and big eyes, black eyes and long, long
lashes-oh, she is beautiful! She sway
like rose. in the morning, quite slender,
and her small feet do not hurt the fow-
ers. She is a flower herself, charming.
She come home, and the lads in the vii
iage are distracted, and l am too.
"It is very hard to watch Marie. She
is 30 quick and so beautiful. She laugh
in my face and say: DO not fear, my
mother. always stay with you. AS for
the men, hate em all Then she dance
away with the pale pink ribbons flying
from the pink robe, and the lads follow
her everywhere. She read love stories
novel, she call them, and they put strange
things in her head.
'EShe will not marry the lads in the
village, she say, but some rich man will
come from the city and take her away,
and l, her mother, will have plenty OF
beautiful dresses and maid to wait up
on me. Then l scold her and say that
/ do not want those things, and she
must marry lad that / shall choose fol
her. Then she dance away, throwing
the roses at me, and the ribbons futter-
ing everywhere, always ribbons and
flowers with my Marie, and when she
pass, the curling hair all tumbling
around her, there is always sweet per
fnme in the air. You remember her
when she came from the conventP
nod. Who wouldn't remember that
wild rose of a girl. with the daintiest
foot poet ever raved over, with slen-
der, 1.-THE, ever dancing, little figure,
with her pretty gowns following every
movement, with her glorious merry
black eyes and the seashell pink on her
cheeks. Remember Marie? l, who had
followed her floating ribbons, had picked
up the roses she let fall, had been as
crazy about her as ever was village ladl
Remember her? Yes, as one remembers
sprite, a fairy, a delicious dream. !
sigh as one sighs for departing youth.
Those mad, happy days have nothing
to do with me now. A moment ago-a
day ago-I was bored. cynical, blase, and
now would give my life to be dancing
once more through the woods after
Marie-after flowers and streamers and
floating gown catching on the wild
rose bushes-after Mariel If once more
the woods could seem as green, the sky
as blue, a girl as fair as Marie!
$50 she will not marry, and by and by
girl from the convent write Marie to
visit with her at her home, and am
tired, and let Marie go. She stay one
whole year, and weary for her, and she
come back. When see her, the tears
come in my eyes. She is pale and thin
and 80 quiet. | feel dreadful. ask her
what the matter is, and she say, Moth
ing at ALL But l, her mother, know
better, and l watch and wait.
"One day letter come for her, and it
is mans handwriting on the envelope.
Marie take it and say nothing at ALL
Then l feel bad, very bad that my little
girl have lover, and that l, her mother,
know not of it. After long time she
tell me his name. 1t is Jean Lefroy, and
she knew him at the house of her friend,
and he tell her he love her, and l ask her
if she love although think it not
right that do not choose for her-and
she say she do not know. But one day
Mons-Mr Lefroy come and say:
"'Why you not write me, Marie?" and
she say to him that am her mother, and
he bow very low to me and say:
MADAME, love your daughter, and
write and ask her when may come
and tell her mother that wish to marry
her, and she do not answer me at all, at
ALL and he stride very fierce about the
room, and Marie put her head on my
shoulder and say that she love me, her
mother, only. And he ask very quick:
"'Why you say you love me? and
Maria will not answer. She just put
her hands to her ears and will not listen
to him. think she must be crazy and
speak hard to her, but she just run out
of the room. Then he go away and say
he will come back again that evening.
Then | speak to Marie, and she say there
is another man, too, and she do not know
which she like better-that when one of
them is there that she like the other
one better-and it is making her pale
and thin. Then am very severe with
her and tell her it is very wrong; that
she cannot love either of them, or she
would know. But she say she think she
will marry one OF tilefE, and tell her
that Mr. LEROY is coming tonight and
she must say either yes or no to him, and
she say that will break her heart.
"Well, in the evening strange gen
tleman come-a very fair gentleman,
with pretty curly hair-and he ask to
see my Marie. She look over the stair,
and she say to me:
at is the other one.'
"Then l am nearly crazy, but Marie
say she will not go to see him till Mr..
LEROY come. Perhaps can tell she
say, when see them both together
"When Mr.. Lefroy come, we go down
the stair and there they are, both to-
gether, and they look hard at each 9th
er. We talk little while, and then ]
say, Gentlemen, what Is it that you
.