Connecticut western news., 1901-07-04
CANAAN, CONN. THURSDAY.

, sense. But it was not nonsense, and so they went on talking among them selves, and they would take their own children out of the way when Seraphitn was old enough to play about.
 50 she grew up all alone except for her father and her nurse aud the priest who went to live in the house. which showed that the church thought tbere was something in il. else why should d priest go and live in the house?
 "One day when Seraphita was out walking she came across some little boys who were stoning a black kitten to kill it. for everybody knows that black cats belong to the devil. And Seraphita ran right in among the flying stones, and Rot one of them hit her, for the devil held his hand between her and the stones and she caught up the devils kitten and hugged 1t tight, while the stones fell at her feet, and the boys cried out: Devils brat! Devils catr"
 "Pepita," said I, "she seemed to me to have been a very nice, soft hearted little girl"
  see, black cats belong to the devil, and if she had had any soul she couldn't have taken one in her arms.
 "She carried 1t home. and she used to feed 1t, and she had to hide 1t away, be- cause, of course, nobody wanted to have a devils cat around. and the cat would run and jump Into Seraphita' s u-h hp would fly like mad and it's hair would all stand on end when any one else came around. which shows. does 1t not, that something was wrong? And an other thing showed that all was not right with Seraphita; the priest began to teach, and she learned faster than any child should. There was an evil spirit that whispered the words into her ear, so that she did not have to study.
 "She had power over horses, too, and if she just put her lips to a horses ear he would turn and rub his nose on her face. You see, horses have no soul, and they knew that Seraphita hadn't any.
 And, besides that, she always looked very old and grave when anybody was near, but. when she was alone In the fields or In the woods she would laugh out loud, and they could hear her talk with the birds, for she knew bird lan- guage, and she would lean over the wa ter and talk to herself or to the fishes. Oh, 1t was true, she had no soul!"
 "Wcll, what became of her?' 1 asked as Pepita paused to emphasize her statement.
 "She grew up so beautiful that stran- gers would stop in the street and look at her as she passed, but of course ev- erybody soon found out all about her, and then they would not look at her-at least they would not look her In the eye unless they had q charm on."
 Do you mean that she had the evil eyeT" .
 "Oh, yes! Why, she could make any one have bad luck just by looking at them. and she could make flowers grow and blossom and be more colors than any other flowers. She knew she had the evil eye for she never went any though she had plenty of money. She used to send the priest with food or clothes. You see, she knew"
 And what became of poor little Ser aphita?'
 "Why, you see, when she was about 20 years old she was very i'll again, and she lay in trance for three days. The doctors wouldn't go near her, and her own old nurse had died, and they couldn't get any one to take care of her till finally the priest sent tot the convent for one of the sisters. She was a very good woman, and she went to the house. and, creeping on her hands and knees so that the devil could not get hold of her, she went right into the room and prayed all night. Her pray CTS went straight up to heaven, and she prayed that Seraphita might die and that before she died her soul should be given back to her.
 And, Sonora Maria Madalena, Just as the sky began to grow pink in the east and the white mist blew across the vega and the birds began to cal what do you think happened?
 "A beautiful white dove flew into the window and alighted on Seraphita's breast, and, laying it's bill close to hel mouth, it breathed soul into her, and then the dove just vanished, and Sera phita was dead
 ''Then, because God had been good tC him and had given Seraphita sou again, her father built an orphan asy | lum and called it after her, The Sc raphita,' and you can see 1t over there with the sun shining on 1t. It looks likt gold"
 Tt is pretty story, Pepita, but dc you believe she had no soul?"
 "The senora knows 1 am English or my fathers side, but my mother was Spanish"
 'So you are half Spanish and half be lieve it. Is that so, Pepita?"
 "Yes, senora."