The Washington weekly post., 1900-05-08
BETROTHAL OF BELLE MARIE
BY H. S. CANFIELD.

! Belle Marie, with the e ace Of tie fawy
! IN her slender form and the foxer.n1
! spring of youth in her soft brown yss
stood before the cheap na.f-.engJh miro.
! IN her little room that overlooked tee
/ sluggish current Of Bayou Robert. and
| her red lips parted in a smile. She y.ds
beautiful, was Belle Marie but q was no;
| Tor mat she smiled. She had dressed FOR
! the dance at Alphonse de Ma~.scais and
| AchlHe Arcnlnard, was 10 drive her tlich
/ Ct IN ms new buggy, which he hal bought
! the other day In New Or.eans.
/ Ihey had been children together. and
! mad watched the rabbits p,ay.n- uyon the
vide Attakapas prairie. had at upon th.
same bench in the little parish school
/ mad walked arm IN arm aWed in silence.
/ as they passed through III v.Uag grave
/ yard, and spelled out the naIaes upon
/ The white and black crosses 1T the heid
| 0I each mound. had been $ 5pLruted fCr
awhile Whe! Achliie entered AZ student
al Baton Rouge, and she had been sea- 10
/ the Convent of the Sacred Heart, had
met as youth and maiden. 1t the door
/ OF the small parish church. whose bell
| tink!ed so family upon the heavy Louisi-
ana air of Sunday mornings. had learnel I
! together that they had alwavs loved each
| other, and tonight, in the wide-v.ran-
| dahed home of her uncle, there MS a
| dance in her honor and formal arnollca-
ment or her beTOthal was to be made. Ia
d few days the gray-hairei priest. VINO
had christened them both, would cali the
bannS and after that
blush rose TO her cheek. she saw il In
the dim glass, and she pDut "a IT herself
| The blush became a warmer crimson as
She heard the roll OF wheels upon III
hard-baked road outside 4 strong 81 D
sounded upon the balcony. and q high
pitched voice called t. the old GO WON
an, comfortably doing IN jhe ha!:
"Bonne maman, is Marie rea-y?'
She answered the call in person by tin
toeing softly down the stair and stand n.
before the young Arcadiau. clad an in
white and soft white wrap about her
black hair. Achille took her hand light
ly, printed a kiss upon its back wiil all
the cOurtliness Of a cavalier. and said:
You We're always prompt, as well as
dear, Belle Marie"
tie was handsome young fellow slan-
der and pale, With a slight. dark nous
tache, and the clear olive skin Of his
cOuntrymen. He was a raiser OF stock
and Creole ponies" and was well 10 do.
His rancho" was only a half-Gozen miles
further down the bayou. Everybody in
the Moreauviile neighbOrhoOd said that il
Was fitting match, but Jhe old folks re-
GREETED it, because IL ended = long 70
nance. As the TWO drove Slowly 10 Nd
riscarS. Achille told her Of the furniture
he had bought and OF The new carpets
that were coming from the city" and
of the servant he had hired, and OF how
promising his business was and of how
the old aunt who kept his home for him
had said only that morning that Belle
Marie was the only girl in the parish she
would be willing 10 see him bring 10 his
house. And. as they were 10 be married
so soon. Belle Marie permitted him 10 kiss
her lightly on the cheek.
The large frame house of Nrsieu
AlphOnse de Mariscal glowed with light as
they drew near. AS ii was In late sum
mer. all OF the windows were thrown
wide and not q door was closed. They
could hear the hum OF the voices, the
shufiiing beat OF the feet Of the dancers,
catch occasional bursts of laughter, and
high over all sounded the shrill joyous
ness OF the single fiddle played by old
Pierre B0nsaTt. BUggies. many Of them.
were lined along the fence which border
ed the road and the single horse in each
was hitched TO the palings- Though it
was only O'Clock the dance had been
in swing for an hour.
As they entered, Msieu Alphonse de Ma
riscal. uncle OF the bride-tO-be, called
loudly:
"Hola, Hola! Here they are! 'Tis my
niece, Belle Marie. and her brave boy,
Achille Friends, relations, guests, listen
10 ne! They are 10 be married so soon as
may be in the will Of the good God. Old
Pierre. play faster"
A shrewd man would have surmised
that Msieu Alphonse had been drinking.
Indeed. though the hour was early, there
was a strong smell Of liquor in the air
The men danced with an enthusiasm TO,
warranted by the August heat. From an
inner room came the CliBk Of glasses ana
some melodious but excited song. Belle
Marie was gathered .nto the arms OF her
fat aunt, but before she Went 10 have her
wrap removed and 10 be subjected 10 a
few last loving touches ere taking her
place in the dance she glanced backward
over her shoulder at her lover, sud rails
ing a linger in mock warning, said:
You promise me p
Achille bowed graYely, sense OF
Weighty responsibility upon him. and said. /.
Il promise"
Il takes d young girl some time In which /
10 get ready 10 make her appearance he /
fore a company upon her betrothal night /
even though she has goWEed herself care
fully al home 50 81 gas quite half an 1
hour before Belle Marie returned 10 be !ed /
through the cotillioH Of honor by her 4
lover She found him leaning quiet and |
reserved, against the wall close by the 4
io0g through which she Was 10 enter, but