The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1896-02-05

BnnQOW whlCl
hung over their house for nearly
hundred years, and to whose banefu
influence she must become habituated
when a member of the family.
When they first saw Clotilde, sh,
was so young and timid they made up
their minds to wait until Gaspard-him
self came, but one night as they sal
around the great hall-fire there was G
great jingle of sleighbells and tn,
sound of swift runners on the crisr
snow outside, and then that muica
clash at the door which announced
the stopping of the turnout, and the
arrival of guests.
Surely there was nothiE uncommon
in this, the coming of party of merry
people to a country house, and on 6
magnificent moonlight night when
the whole landscape was as light as
day Yet instead of looking pleased
or surprised, the ladies sank back in
their chairs, and covering their faces
with their hands, murmured q
prayer.
Clotilde. the little one, clapped her
hands, and asked earnestly:
might 1T be, my friends, that it il
Gaspard, who has come with a sur.
prise?"
mo, no, Olotilde, it will not be our
Gaspard. Mon Dieu, how then shall
we tell her? Child, go you not to the
door? Those sleighbells you hear are
not of the flesh and blood mean
the driver is not"
But the little Olotilde had run iov-
ously to the great hall door, and
though nc servant stood there to open
it, she swung it wide on its massive
hinges. A bitter blast of cold air
rushed in with a dreary, wailing
sound, and no sleigh stood outside,
but even as the startled girl watched,
a clash of musical bells and the swift
sound of the steel-shod runners filed
the area of snow. She turned winter
than lily in the somber moonlight,
and flung the door to, affrighted.
"Come to the fire, little one; you
have seen, then, our skeleton in the
closet?"
81 saw not any skeleton-nothing-
nothing, but / heard the bells -oh.
what does it mean?"
"You tell her, Agatha" said the
younger sister.
81 would greatly prefer that she
should hear it from your lips, Oecile, /"
answered the other w fE.,t
81 am not afraid" said the girl
proudly. The color was coming back
to her lips and cheeks, and her eyes
sparkled. 1t could not be worse than
the legends of the Loup. .Garou which
her uncle had told her since she was
child-not so very long ago that-but
now she was a woman and would not
show fear.
"You will now know why our Gas
pard has dark spells when not even his
sweetheart can comfort HIM, why the
shadow is never lifted from our lives,
and we cannot be quite like other peo.
pie. Perhaps you will not then like
to marry our brother. who is the best
and dearest in the world, but like us,
under the ban.
''It is the more would love him if
l might, when he has the trouble but
tell me, please, is it that some wicked
souls come back because that they can
not rest?"
"We know not, petite, but the story
is like this: So long ago, maybe, that
not our Oldest relation can remember,
there was another Gaspard de From
tenac, a brave, good man like this one,
but hot-headed and fiery. And you
know, the steep hills that shut us in
so, high with the big ravine--the
precipice on either side? And in the
winter there was always'snow, and the
people went coasting and sleigh-riding
with swift horses down. those long hills,
but never could two meet, for the
road was just the width for one sleigh.
and the people all knew this, and they
waited at the plateau on the top, and
each took his turn.
''lt was my great unele's pleasure to
take his young wife and go out on
these steep hills and drive her like the
wind with swift flying horse, an