Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-11-09
ON GOOD FRIDAY.

"Beckson, pray you, tell mamma the
story of your able this evening, as we are
alone. But do not skip any OF 1t. Tell 1t
all"
And after obeying 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, he commenced
after your war with the Prussians
was in Paris and remained there all
through the commune, from tho first gun
shots to the devastation and ruin of the
end. And this is how it came to pass: My
father, anxious that 1 should become q
good French scholar, had placed me, as q
boarder, just after the signing of peace at
an institution presided over by priests, the
Bourdaloue school in the Rue d 'Assas,
near the Luxembourg gardens. Then he
started for California, to be gone for sew
eral months, all his business interests be-
ing conferred there. Ny companions called
me the American There wero only 20
!, of us, all nearly the same age. A few of us
the larger boys-were about ~ or 10.
ITO tell the truth, we were not killed
with overwork. There were no tasks to
DO studied after school or boys kept in for
imperfect lessons. The days passed in rec
Teation, broken into by desultory studies
of half an hours duration, during which
we could read or draw maps with colored
pencils. My great forte was shading
mountains At mealtime we were allowed
to talk in q low voice. and the kitchen was
not bad. In company with one of my lit
tie friends we managed to escape the to-
dunn Of the schoolroom very frequently,
and we reveled in the pleasures of the in
Urinary, which was presided over by Sister
Gracieuse, who fed us on cough drops.
What games of hide and seek and football
we had in those daysl The 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 the least shame. We
laughed heartily at them. There was ono
among them, Abbe Fontaine, whom we
never could catch. All, those were indeed
good old timesl
but one day scholar was withdrawn
from school without warning. Five left
the next day, IL the day after. 1t was in
reality q case of protect yourself as best
you could. At the end of a week only two
remained--myself and the son Of a ship
ping merchant. Then one afternoon he,
like the others, was called to the parlor
and taken away by gentleman, who
looked at his watch every five minutes, as
though fearful of missing the last train.
A baggage laden carriage waited at the
gate for them. They hurried into it, and
was left alone. Pardon me if 1 linger
over these trivial remembrances, but these
imperishable utilities have remained so
vivid in my mind, so interviewer in this
story, that could not pass them by in ST.
lence. A profound melancholy enveloped
the empty school and the silent corridors.
In the study hall the ground glass win
doWs were streaked with the marks of pa
per balls and the dust whitened desks dis
figured with penknife scratches.
1.-THE large buildings, which had echoed
with shouts Of laughter few days before,
resembled a war depopulated fortress.
can still see the great oaken beams, from
which the knotted ropes, shrunken by
rain, hung motionless, side by side with
the melancholy looking trapezes in the
playground. Since the dormitories had
been locked up had slept in little closet
opening off Able Blau's bedchamber.
One after another the priests, carrying
small hand satchels, had deserted us
monsieur the superior, the first project,
the librarian and the stewaYd-every one,
in fact. No one was left in charge of the
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 md in his jolly voice cry
out:
Dec Gratiasl Get up, lazy bonesP
"He had not delayed changing his cas-
sock for civil garments, which he wore
without the slightest awkwardness. A
dark brown suit, a large brimmed, soft
felt hat and dark blue cravat were his
daily costume. And to see him in the full