The herald., 1894-12-15
ON GOOD FRIDAY.

s'Bcckson, l pray you, tell mamma tho
story Of your able this evening, rs we are
Mono. But do not skip any of it, Tell 1t
all"
And after oboying mammals motion TO
sit nearer her armchair, as she was begin
ming to be little hard of hearing though
she was loath to admit it, bo commenced:
After your war with tho Pr,lssians l
was in Paris an1 remained there all
through the commune, from tho first gun
shots to the devastation and ruin OF the
end And this is how it camc topass; My
father, anxious that l should become u
good French scholar, had placed me, as O
boartier, Just after the signing Of peace mt
an institution presided over by priests, the
Bourlalouo school in tho Rlo d'Assas,
near the Luxembourg gardens. Then ho
started for California, IL DC gone for sev-
oral months, all his business interests be-
ing centcred there. My companions called
me tho American. There wcrc only 20
Of us, all nearly tho same age. A few of us
tho larger boys--woro about II or 3.
To tell the truth, wo were net killed
with ovcrwork. There were no tasks 10
bo studied after school or boys kept in Tor
imperfect lessons. The days passed in rec
reation, broken into by desultory studies
of half an hours duration, during which
VIC could road or draw maps with colorcd
pencils. My great forte was shading
mountains. At mcaltiinc VIC were allowed
to talk in low voice, and tho kitchen was
not bad. In company with ono of my lit
tie friends we managed to escape the to-
dunn of the schoolroom very frequently
and we rcvclod in the pleasures OF the in
frmary, which was presided over by Sister
IT, f,.l tcrf,
What games OF hide and seek and football
VIC had in those days! Tho professors were
not strict with us, and in order to be able
to run with more freedom, as they joined
us in our games, they tucked up their long
black skirts and disclosed their black cot
ton hose without tho least shame. We
laughed heartily at them. There was ono
among them, Able Fontainc, whom we
never could catch. Ah those were indeed
good old times!
But one day q scholar was withdrawn
from school without warning. Five lcfa
the next day, 12 the day after. 1t was III
reality q case of protect yourself as best
you could. AT the end of week only two
remained-mysclf and the son OF ship
ping merchant Then ono afternoon he,
like the others, was called to the parlor
and taken away by gentleman, who
looked at his watch eyory five minutes, as
though fearful of missing tho last train.
A baggage laden carriage waited at tho
gate for them. They hurried into it, and
was left alone. Pardon me If l linger
over these trivial rcmembranccs, but these
imperishablo futilities have remained so
vivid in my mind, SO interviewer in this
story that could not pass them by i'll 81
lcnce. A profound melancholy enveloped
the empty school and tho silent corridors.
In the study hall the ground glass win
dows were streaked with the marks of pa
per balls and tho dust whitened desks dis
figured with penknifc scratches
THE large buildings, which had echoed
with shouts of laughter n few days before,
rescmbled war depopulatcd fortress l
can still see the great oakcn beams, from
which tho knotted ropes, shrunken by
rain, hung motionlcss, side by site With
the melancholy looking trapezes in tho
playground. Since the dormitorics had
been locked up had slept in little closet
opening off Abbc Blau's bcdchGmber.
Ono after another tho priests, carrying
small hand satchcls, had deserted U.s.
monsieur the superior, tho first prefoct,
the librarian and tho stewarti-every one,
in fact No one was lcit in charge of tho
boarding school but Able Blau, director
of studies. After letting me sleep until 6
o'clock every morning he would come to
the side of my cot pull off the covers, toss
up my bolster and in hts jolly voice cry
out:
"'Deo Gratias! Get up, lazy boncsr
''He had not delayed changing his cas-
sock for civil garments, which he wore
without tho slightest awkwarness. A
1or lorevp hrim1npl soft
felt hat and dark blue cravat wero his
daily costume. And to SEQ him in the full
vigor of his 80 years, his short niustache
and his hair worn quite long under his
hct, you would have sworn he was sumo
gay young rake, down from tho heights of
Vaugirad, seeking to make an impression
on susceptible hearts Wo were out all
day, strolling along, trying to accustom
ourselves to tho strange sights in the
streets.
cat every step we jostlcd against un-
kempt soldiers with comfortcrs around
their necks and boards which had not
known the barbers care for weeks, no
buttons on their coats, and taken alto
gether, "a very distressed looking lot Or
else we met Vengeurs NerInillon, Fan
cheurs Noirs, light infantrymcn, with
cocks plumes in their hats; enfnnts du
despair, zouaves of tho armce d Antique
dos carrieres--a dissolutc duplication of a
crawling, howling, patriotic drama Of the
Boulevard du Crime. We frequently en-
countered national guard funerals which
surpassed any Mi-Careme fantasy.
Following rude hearse, draped in red
flags, which tapped mournfully in tho
wind, hurried in pellmcll confusion gen
erals who We're literally covered with gold
braid, wearing high Hessian boots and
accompanied by women, whose heads were
swathed in Madras handkcrchicfts, astride
heavy cavalry horses, which they beat and
spurred incessantly, while 15-year-old
trumpetcrs with checks puffcd out to
bursting, essayed playing the Marseil-
laise
The crowd bowed abjectly to the gor
geous pageant. Tho abbc, with his back to
tho wall, in order to hide tho Slight rem-
nants of his tonsurc, doffed his felt and
my cap We were rewarded for our cour-
tesy by the many sympathetic glances cast
upon US.
1.-THE first days rolled by without giving
the abbe any cause for uneasiness. He
mad prudently taken the precaution of pro-
viding himself with false papers, and his
position could in case of necessity be re-
dnced to the following: A teacher at 40
sous pcr day; he had been left in this large
boarding school in charge of tho only re-
naming scholar, whose parents had been
unable to remove him; ho was caring for
tho littlo fellow, looking to the aid and the
protection of tho commune, positive that
it would shield and save a son Of irco
Amorican Besides his imperturbable sang
IT. mn In q