St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-03-18
HER STORY.

Rising abruptly ont of the vast bosom
| of the Southern Indian ocean like a
huge uncut emerald reposing on the
surface of a sea uf sapphlres is the
| quaint little island of Mauritius, so
| called i'll honor of the good Prince
! Maurice. but originally known as the
Isle d'France.
Mauritius is tiny world far away
| from the great cities of all other lands,
a romantic dot, Speck in the waters of
| the Southern hemisphere beyond the
reach of Geographic cables, and visited
only by a French mail steamer that ar
| rIves anddeparts with the regularity of
| clockwork once every four weeks. This
| island is the one port of shelter in that
section for the venturous mariner who
braves the dangers of the hurricane
season 10 double the Cape of Good
Hope, and who not infrequentiy is 81 ad
to reach the shelter afforded by the one
harDor OF Importance the island pos
SesseS, in Il dismaSted and almost to-
tally disabled condition.
This island was, according to the good
old priest who gave the reading world
that classic paul and Virginia." one
of the choicest bits of legendary lore
known to the English language, the
home of the two central figures of his
charm ing narrative, and their grave is
often pointed out to the traveller. and
many embellishments given the orig
inal story by the log uacious guides.
The one city of MauritiuS is Port Louis,
quaint, old-fashioIed town. nestled in
the only valley OF Importance, between
two of the highest mountains on the
island, at the head of the only consider
able {, harbOI to be found ON its coast.
Heresiiyes the English governor, for this
is now an English colony, although IN
everything but government it is as
French as France herself, even the
official language being French.
The population of the island
may be described as pyramid,
composed of various straias or
layers of different nationalities.
forming strange mixture of Euro
pean, Indian. Malay and negro inhabl-
tants, who seem to have been imported
solely for the purpose of filling a certain
groove in the economy of the island.
in which they are all evidently quite
eontented to move without aspiring to
reach higher layer. The foundation,
or largest block, is formed by the ma
tives of the Maabar Qndlam coast. The
next smaller layer is of Malays, topped
by still smaller stratum of negroes, who
are in turn SurmOunted by the French
population, the capStone of the pyra-
mid being composed of a handful of
English. representing the crown of old
Albion, the party in power. in fact the
government. The wealth of the island
is in the hands of its French population.
The sugar planter and broker, and the
tobacco growe< and merchant, many of
whom were members of the Oldest q nd
proudest families of France, who, drv-
en- from their native lana by political
differences or falling fortunes, came
here while it was French island and
amassed interests too important to he
sold or abandoned when the fortunes of
war gave this pearl of the Indian ocean
to England in settlement of an early
war claim, it was thus they became
English subjects, but they are and ever
will be French men and women at
heart.
Among the early emigrants TO this
tropical Eden was Col. Montgomery.
who might have been marshal of
France had he only remained ON the
right side of the political fence. but who
was glad to escape from his native land
with the remnant of a once fine fortune
and his only child. lovely little daugh-
ter, to this island haven, where he en-
gagged in sugar planting, and in course
of time became very wealthy. His child
grew and ripened into beautiful young
woman well versed in ordinary matters,
she having been instructed in music.
history, literature and art by good old
French priest, who murmured the con-
ISOLATION of the church in her dying
mothers ears and then followed her
father to his new home to look after the
spiritual and mental welfare of his
daughter.
Blanche Montgomery was the belle of
the island, the heireSs to the largest
fortune in the colony and as good as
she was beautiful. She had many suit
ors, and was loved and admired by both
Young and old from one end of the land
TO the other. The favored sutton was
young Henri De Muir, the only son of a
wealthy sugar planter at the extreme
end of the island. In the course OF time
the young couple became betrOthed anu
the day of the wedding ceremony an
nounced. The whole country expect
antly awaited the festivities, and unan-
imously wished the young people all
the happiness possible. Everything
went we'll until the change of the sea-
son, when one of those fearful storms
that not infreQuently occur in the trop-
ical islands, almost without warning,
swept over the land, spreading death
and destruction in its path, sweeping
buildings. uprooting sturdy old mon
archs of the forest, laying waste and ruin
ing whole districts and destroying the
entire sugar and tobacco crop OF the
island, storm remembered and fire.
quently spoken of even now, although it
occurred years ago. Now, Blanche had
been accustomed to climb the mountains
back of her fathers great roomy
bungaloo and spend the hot sultry after
moons seated on great rock that jutted
out from the mountainside quite near
n