The times., 1899-03-19


from Berrien. bringing his fiddle with
him. He was fat. thirsty old man. who
could never get anything to eat sufficient
ly raw for his taste "A fried egg" he
would cry, and not too much fried mad
anne, implore you;'' or" "Sapristi, What
Is this? Take it away, mademoiselie; /
asked for an underdone cutlet"-and so
on. with Struggling of shoulders and up
lifted hands. but the point of Monsieur
Pol was that he played the fiddle with
taste and energy and that he also did it
for nothing. Sometimes he would pay for
whole evening IL he had been soothed at
starting by piece Of raw beefsteak or
coaxed by a lightly boiled egg. He wore
his best clothes. the suit reserved for
christening and funerals and weddings.
the only difference being in the tie; for
christenngs and weddings it was red
cord with tassels; for funerals it was a
purple cord with tassels tied with long
loops; his shoes we're very shiny and
black with thick wooden soles and they
were only about one size too big for him.
II one had met him on the road in or
dinary circumstances one would have been
struck by the difference in the size of his
feet. as his workday sabots were large
enough to contain both feet in one. and al
though they were stuffed with hay they
looked quite the most uncomfortable things
anyone COulu nave CHOSEN 10 Wdih H.
The room soon filled with farmers stout
wives and their daughters of much the
same make on a smaller scale They all
arrived hungry and in great good humor.
although they had walked, or jolted IN
springless carts, for miles to be present at
this entertainment, and everyone began
the evening with boiled beef. and cider.
| and thick slices OF sour brown household
| bread.
Ip11 .xt,-
himself the trouble Of taking seat in the
chimney, which he did, accompanied by mis-
! fiddle. and then the fun began. The young
men and maidens danced. while their
| mothers grieved over the fall in cheese.
| and the short summer night wore on. and
old women sat in the yard among the
wagons and carts with baskets full of
sweet pastry to sell and gingerbread made
in the shape of dogs and rabbits; and they
did such a thriving business at the end of
each dance that everyone was thirsty. and
the bough swinging over the door. thought
that if this was an earnest of things TO
come they would soon make their fortune.
All it had been wedding and no mistake;
it was long talked of in the countryside,
and the memory of it now warmed Nine.
Pouiard's heart, as she rose stifIly from
her chair. and came back across the years
to her fallen fortunes and discomfort, and
ering light looked for the children and
that Joseph, already curled up in a warm
little yelping dream. 1t gave her strength
to turn to those tiresome children with
their wants, and their going to bed, and
getting up, and their rice cake, and torn
pinafores, and puppies, and disturbings.
She tried on something soft in her
search, and found Reine's stocking lying
on the floor, a mass of coarse blue tangled
nd
diyine!" she muttered, more work for her
in the morning; but for that matter it was
all the same; If it wasn't a stocking 1t was
something else. Damei how different she
had meant the ending to be- after the hope
and the forethought and the daughter. and
the sheets and the underclothing of her
own spinning and marking. and the son-in-
law and the basketshop in Morlaix. She
could close her eyes and see it all plainly;
the Grand Rue with quaint old houses al
most touching having carved doors and
beautiful winding oak stairs with figures
of saints, here and there, to keep the in
mates from evil-some, she had been told,
had watched there for four hundred years.
But all this was by the way; one room in
particular interested her. not because it
was there they had brought the frightened
little Princess Mary Stuart, TO rest after her
tossing on the sea and her long journey
from Scotland to marry the French Kings
son; little fve-year-old princes5es didn
interest her. though they were on we'd
ding journey. ma fol, non, She had quite
enough to think OF in her own family. and
the room would do admirably for her own
occupation should the bon Dieu see fit TO
take Poulard to Himself One must bow
TO the will of Providence, making ones own
arrangements at the same time. and Pou
lard was far from strong, and, alas, the
same remark applied to her daughter Rein>.
Who in all the countryside would take a
thin wife. one with neither ambition nor
a strong back, who would see no jokes on
market DAYS, and didn't care to walk out
on Sundays who. in short, seemed only
made for religion?
But if Refine Poulard had no back and no
mind she had mother who combined both
in rich abundance, TO whom the thoughts OF
a spinster daughter and old age in the
country were bitter particularly with a
CHEEKY little gossiping town only thirty
kilometres away and a thriving basket
business and a son-in-law, comfortable
room for herself in his house, and neigh
bors-above all neighbors-who would come
in and admire her oak cupboard. and be
made to understand that ii was only bit
of her many possessions, lust souvenir
she couldn't bear to leave behind; she had
sold the rest rather than have the bother
of bringing it. All you find 1t pretty,
madame? It's not amiss, but nothing TO
the rest, believe me-
Above all she remembered the sign: ''Y.
NJ Poence. basket factory; baskets for but
ter and meat; repairs of every kind" Po-
ence was doing a good business. and could
keep a servant; and to look pleasant and
coax the farmers wives on market days.
so that they went home with an egg bas- |
ket or a butter basket more than they |
started with. surely required no great
strength. What a calamity it was to have
such a delicate child, How she had strug- |
gled to make her as other peoples daugh- |
tiers, and gone to every pardon for miles !
round TO entreat the saints on her behalf |
At the pardon in her own village of |
Huelgoat she had been the first to carry !
flowers to decorate the shrine; she had |
even taken her 10 St Pol de Leon and put
Refine under the great bell that its chimes |
might charm away the headaches that !
Nine Poulard foresaw would interfere with |
her matrimonial projects, and thus indi-
rectly with the comfort of her own deelin- |
ing wears. II was TO this end also that |
madame made tisanes from the garden !
herbs and hung round Reine's neck a small |
ivory hand. yellow with age, with the |
thumb and two middle fingers closed and !
the first and little fingers extended. This |
precious charm had been brought from |
Italy by Reines grandfather, and |
was confidently believed in the family TO |
insure the wearer against every i'll; ii had |
formed part of Nine. Poulard's dowry. be- |
ing thought worthy to travel to Huelgoat |
in the oak cupboard. with the chemises. |
But still Refine had headaches, and looked /
pale. and took no interest in her cap, not
caring whether il was lined with pink cali
co or not lined at all, and Nine. PouIard |
was in despair And finally Poence was
carried off by Noemie Renard from Berren