The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1899-11-02
Marie -

in his garden. Now
he would pick a
bunch of grapes;
now he would eat a big pear under the
%trellis; now he would draw all sorts of
fancies on the path with the end Of
his cane; now he would go down and
watch the river running endlessly past
the timber la~nding-place at which he
moored his boat. There was no time,
he used to say, for making theories like
the early morning. Il rise earlier than
any n else In the village" he nce
boasted. 1T is a fair consequence that
/ know more and wish to do less with
my knowledge"
The doctor was a connoisseur of sun
rises, and loved a good theatrical effect
to usher in the day. He had a theory
OF dew, by which he could predict the
weather. Indeed, most things served
him to that end; the sound of the bells
from all the neighboring villages, the
smell of b forest, the visits and the
behavior of both birds and fishes, the
look OF the plants in his garden, the
disposition of cloud, the color of the
ASAB 0AA A0oLs 0klAOuSu uOl tSdSI, Lu6
arsenal OF meteorological instruments
in a louvre-boarded hutch upon the
lawn. Ever since he had settled at
Gretz, he had been growing more and
more into the local m~eteorologist, the
unpaid champion of the local climate.
lie thought at first there was no place
so healthful In the ACCOMPLISHMENT. BY
the end OF the second year, he pro-
tested there was nom so wholesome in
the whole department And for some
time before he met Jean-Marie he had
been prepared to challenge all France
and the better part of Europe for a
rival to his chosen spot.
Doctor" he would say" doctor is
a foul word. 1t should not be used to
ladies. 1t implies disease. / remark
1t, as a flaw in our civilization that we
have not the proper horror of disease.
NOW l, for my part, have washed my
hands OF it; / have renounced my laur-
cation; l am no doctor; I am only a
Worshtper OF the true goddess Hygeia.
All, believe me, it is she who has the
cesius. And here, in this exiguous
hamlet, has she placed her shrine: here
she dwells and lavishes her gifts; here
L walk with her in the early morning,
and b shows me how strong she has
made the peasants, how fruitful she
has made the fields, how the trees grow
up tall n comely under her eyes, and
the fishes in the river become clean
and agile at her presence.-Rheuma-
tism!' he would cry, on some malapert
interruption. 20, yes. I believe we do
have a little rheumatism. That could
hardly be avoided, you know, on a
river. And OF our the place stands
a little low; and the meadows are
marshy, there's no doubt. But my
dear sir, look at Bourbon! Bourron
stands high. Bourron is close to the
forest; plenty Of ozone there, you would
say. Well, compared with Gretz, Bour-
ron Is a perfect chambles."
The morning after he had been sum
moned to the dying m~ountebank, the
Doctor visited the wharf at the tail o.
his garden, and had a long look at the
running water. This he called prayer
but whether his alterations were ad.
dressed to the goddess Hygeia or som
| more orthodox deity, lever plainly ap
peared. For he had uttered doubtful
= oracles, sometimes declaring that &
. river was a type Of bodily health
sometimes extolling 1t as a great mora
preacher, continually preaching peace
continuity, and diligence to mans tor
. mented spirits. After he had watched
a mile or SO Of the clear water runnina
by before his eyes, seen a fish or two
come to the surface with a CLEAN o
silver, and sufficiently admired the long
shadows of the trees falling half across
the river from the opposite bank will
l patches Of moving sunlight in between
he strolled once more up the garden
and through his house into the street
feeling cool and renovated.
/ (To BE coNTINUED.b