The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-10-02

between $50 and Z. She always went
straight upstairs into the sewing room
and commenced work at once. She was
a tall, spare woman, while her eye
broWs were so long and bushy that
they looked like mustaches over her
, eyes.
She limped in walking, but not in the
same way as an ordinary cripple. She
was more like a boat at anchor, for
when her long, bony body was resting
on her sound leg she looked as though
she were just about to make a plunge,
in order to reach the top of some huge
wave, and then suddenly she would de-
Scend as though an abyss had opened
under her feet. She always reminded
me of storm at sea when she walk
ed as she seemed to rock about, and
the strings of her big white cap would
float about with every movement she
made
I simply adored Mere Clochette, and
as soon as I was dressed in the morn
ing l always went straight up to the
sewing room, where 1 found her busy
at work comfortably installed with a
foot-warmer She would make me sit
down on the footwarmer, so that
i should not take cold in the large room.
as it was just under the roof and very
chilly in winter.
| She used to tell me stories while she
|
! fingers, which moved so quickly back
ward and forward Her eyes, which
7 only saw through her big spectacles,
| seemed to me to be enormous, and
| they always looked so deep and full
of expression. From what I can re
| member of the things she used to tell
me- and which interested me SO much
| at the time, she must have been a
! simple minded, kind-hearted woman.
| She would tell me all the events Of
the village; the story of cow which
had got out of it's shed and which had
| front of Prosper Malets windmill
watching the sails going round. Then
I remember a story she told me about
| a hens egg which had been found in
the church steeple, and no one had
| ever discovered what hen could have
got up there. Then there was the his
tory Of the faithful dog owned by Jean
Pilas. His masters trousers had been
stolen, and the dog had traced the thief
and brought back the trousers, which
the guilty man had hung onto the han
die Of his door to dry during the night,
after having been caught in a thun-
derstorm.
She told me these absurd stories in
such an impressive way that they fixed
themselves on my memory like veri-
ia bic dramas and mysterious poems
The clever stories invented by celebra-
ted authors which my mother used to
tell me in the evenings did not seem
to me anything like so thrilling and
wonderful as those related by the poor
peasant woman
One Tuesday, after spending all the
morning listening to Mere Clochettes
tales, / had been with one of the
servants to the woods just near the
Moirpre farm We had been gathering
nuts. and | can remember everything
as clearly as though 1t had all hap
pened yesterday
AS soon as l reached home I ran up-
stairs to the sewing room, and to my
horror, on opening the door, / saw
poor old Mere Clochette lying full
iength on the floor, her face down
ward her arms stretched out holding
her needle clenched between the fingers
or one hand and a little garment OF
mine in the other I can remember
now noticing her blue stockings and
ner spectacies which had rolled against
the wall as she fell
l rushed downstairs, shriekinr Az
went, and my mother and the servants
were sooE with my poor old friend
| Presently 1 heard them saving that
| she was dead, and I shall never forget
me terrible. heartrending grief 1 felt:
emo though | was ran away. quiet
! ~, INTO the big drawing room, and hid
ing In dark corner I knelt down bv a.
low armchair, and, burying my head
| In cushion. cried bitterly. until 7 was
tired out with my emotion must have
been there long time, for it began
to get quite dark.
Presently the door opened and some
one came In with lamp and Just after
my father and mother entered the
room with the doctor They did not
see ME, and so continued their CONVEX
sation. He was explaining to my par
ents what had caused the poor old
woman's death. I did not understand
anything about it, but 1 listened to His
worcs, all the same. Some refresh
ments were brought in, and the doctor