The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-02-08
THE WIDOW

This brilliant young man. the eldest
son OF the family whose name he bore,
died from the effects of hunting ac-
cidrnt ut IS years of age, and ON the
eve OF Il marriage ar,lently desired by all
conctrne,l and ono that seemed 10 COM
blne al the conditions of happiness
Marianne sank down in IL state of ex-
halstlon on a sofa in the drawing room
Her strength was exhausted So many
"'eiWhcimlns emotions has completely
pr"Stratcd her and she tainted away.
Inc careful attention of loving hands
brought her back to consciousness and
she opened her eyes. Her father and
mother were bending over her and two
| Younger sisters knelt with anxious faces
beside the sofa.
These dear faces showed such deep
anguish arg and betrayed such keen anxiety
that the young widow felt almost
ashamed of herself for being the cause
OF so much sorrow and she recovered
the use of her will and self-control
She even attempted to smile through
| i'rI tears as she said:
DO not be afraid, my loved ones;
| deep as the wound is, it will heal some
| day: | have made up my mind that #
S ;,1 heal and l will console myself.
| take me to my room, mother; l should
| like to be alone and rest
n burst of tears choked her voice, but
she swallowed them down in order to
spare the feelings of those who stood
around her AS soon as she was alone,
however, she allowed full rein to her
| overmasterins grief, and she found relief
III the torrent of tears that poured from
Der eyes. Then she knelt down and
| prayed.
| Her prayer was long and her mcdita-
ton after it still longer When she rose
! from her knees there Shone on her young
81 Il FIJI %1,o
! llght OF a great sacrifice. She had just
! sworn TO God to bury her twenty years
| III the sorrows of a voluntary widoWhOod
ana III the solemn duties of eternal fidel-
lty to the memory of the past The res
! olution that Mile dc Courvoy had formed
and had communicated to her family did
not take long to make itself known gen
orally to the world
Among people who did not know her
wed she found only unbelievers. Her
| father and mother alone believed in her
resolution for they knew her firm will
and the energy and singleness of her
| soul. They were convinced that as the
widow of Jean de Themines she would
| wear her widows weeds forever: SO
much convinced indeed. that they made
no effort to combat her resolution.
During the year that followed the deaf
| of her betrothed, Marianne received two
proposals of marriage. She refused them
| ccived the same treatment. Her sisters
married and their marriage furnished an
opportunity to test somewhat the strength
ans depth of the young widows rrsou
ton: But she remained unchanged.
II am widow she said. land a
months she spent few weeks with jeans
mother. who lived since his death in
retirement in the Chateau of Themines.
! When she returned to her parents after
| these periodical absences she showed the
! same disposition to remain single, and by
| degrees the conviction at which the world
had laughed was accepted as serious and
| final.
1t was believed that Mile. de Courvoy
would never marry again
Nine. de Themines had second SON.
Pierre de Themines. He was younger
than Jean. and was now at the age at
! which his brother had met death in the
| hunting field
Marianne did not know him. At the
| time when she was betrothed to Jean he
was away i'll Asia OH a voyage of ex-
| poration. and although, after his broth
| er's death, he had signiied his intention
of coming home, for two years he had
| been detained by the delays of a long and
difficult journey. His mother was still
waiting for his return
! She awaited his arrival with impatience
| IHhL vas LlOIe Keen because. she uiu
| rot been able to console herself for the
death of her eldest son or to fill the void
| caused by that loss. Her grief was only
partially alievlatcd when she was able to
talk of Pierre, her second son, in whom
all her hopes were now centered. She
hoped that soon after his return home he
would marry and by his marriage bring
back to her hearth and home some of the
JOY and light that Pierre's death had over
| Swallowed.
! Marianne was almost the only person
to whom the old lady had conlitled this
hope. She was, the person to whom. in
preference to all others. she spoke of the
absent one. She would praise his excel
lent qualities Of heart, his personal ap-
pearance and his character.
| ''Hc is the exact image Of his BROTHER
she would often say.
| Marianne heard so much about Pierre,
read so many of his letters, saw his
and 50 loudly sung that she began to
feel an interest in him, although she had
never seen him. She began to form in
| her mind a picture of what he ought to
be if his character and appearance had
been truly drawn.
But in this interest she felt for the alb
| sent Pierre was no trace of the love she
had conceived for Jean. She merely
protested for Pierre, without knowing
him, the affection that she was bound
| to feel for everybody who had loved or
known Jean. She looked upon herself
in some sense as his sister, and she
would have. protested strongly against
any suggestion that the character Of her
affection for this unknown brother could
change into love.
One evening while she was staying at
| the chateau q letter came announcing the
arrival of Pierre in the county. 1t was
followed two hours later by Pierre him
self.
"You will see him and you will love
him. said Nine. dc Themines to Mari
| anne
She attached to these words no special
meaning, but when he came into the
room she was overwhelmed. Nine. de
| IheHlnes had not exaggerated when she
said that Pierre was the image of Jean.
Marianne thought that she saw before
her the old lover alive from the dead.
The same face the same hair, the same
frame and build and the same manners.
She listened for his voice. 1t was the
voice of the dead man, and in the accent
and turn he gave to them it was as if
she were actually in the presence of the
dead Jean and listening to his words
from the grave. This interview resulted
in an attack of prostration.
On the following day she made hurried
preparations to go away, as If some dan.
ger threatened her But Nine: de The.
mines would not allow her to depart.
IF you 60 away now she said, you
will throw a shadow over the joy l feel
at the return of my son. ,..4s . g2.~-s.
So Marianne did not go away. In