The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1902-11-08
Mool1 face.

man. You know the kind. high cheek
bones wide apart, chin and forehead
melting into the checks to complete
the perfect round. and the nose, broad
sanl pudgy. sequidistart from the cir
i&rfhserence. flattencd against the very
D1te1tyc Of the face like a dough-ball
upon the ceiling. Perhaps that is
q Why l hated him. for truly hc had be
come an offense to my eyes. and be-
lieyed the earth to be numbered with
his presence. Perhaps my mother
may have been superstitious of the
|iss moon and looked upon 1t over the
wrong shoulder at the wrong time.
But be that as it may, hated John
I ClAve,house Not that he had done
ne what society would consider a
wrong or an ILL turn. Far from it. In
any SUCH sense. The evil was of a
deeper. subtler sort; SO elusive. so in
tangible, as to defy clear. definite an
alysis In words. We all experience
ouch things at some period in our
AAves. For the first time we see q
certain Individual, one whom the very
iAstant before we did not dream ex-
u xIhted;; and yet, at the first moment Of
lUccting, we say: Il do not like that
man, Why do we not like him? All.
~ w6 DO not know why; VIC only know
tthaE We do not. We have taken a dis
xfVkG thet is oil. And SO l with John
RNpverhouse.
4Nhnt right had such man to be
happy? Yet he was an optimist. He
!. was always gleeful and laughing. All
(I 3fs were always all right, curse
L guhf!f Ali how 1t grated on my soul
tlAt he should be so happy! Other
men could hugh, and it did not bother
me. even used to laugh myself-be-
/ fore !, met John Claycrhouse.
But his laugh! It irritated me. mad
dened me. as nothing else under the
glg(p could irritate or madden me. 1t
h4dnted me, gripped hold of me, and
I would, not let me 60. 1t was huge.
.Cargantuan laugh. Waking or sleep
Ing It was always with me, whirring
r.sand~ PAIRING across my ~heart-striIgs
vXd2the very fibres OF my being like
an enormous rasp. At break of day
IT came whooping across the fields to
cpoil my pleasant morning reverie.
Under the aching monday glare,
when the green things dropped and
tt birds ,withdrew to the depths Of
III brest. and Ill nature drowsed his
gfeat, "Ha! ha!" and "Ho! ho!" rose
up to the sky and challenged the sun.
Apd at black midnight, from the lone
lys ceoeSrsnd 2 where he turned from
VU%N INTO MIS- own place, came his
plnguy cachinnatiors to rouse ms, from
rny sleep AAd make me toss about and
clench my nails irto ing palms.
went forth privily in the nighttime
and turnod his cattle into his fields,
did n thu morning heard his whoop-
Ing laugh al he drove them out again.
/ It is nothing he said; "the poor.
dumb beasties are not to be blamed
for straying into fattcr pastures"
- He had, a. dog he called Mars"
s4did brute. part hound
ntslDol.hound, and resembling
U6th. Mars was great delight to
him, and they were always together.
~us uHuyuE Ay INV, anu Onc udy,
when op60rtuniy vas ripe, lured the
animal away and settled for him with
arsenic and becfsteak. It made posi-
lively no impression on John Claver-
h4 1Asslahgh was as hearty and
frequent as ever, and HIS face as much
like the full moon as 1t always had
bcen. vwGe %
Then set fire to hts hay-stacks and
his barn. But the next morning, being
Sunday. he went forth blithe and
cheerful. @~ s.
Where are you going?" l asked
him. q he went by the crossroads.
.U1@t 4 he Eaitl. and his face
bcamed like full moon. Il just dote
on trout, you know"
sWA4 tliefe ever such an impossible
nanY His whole harvest had gone up
IA his hay-stacks and barn. It was
uninsured. knew. And yet, in the !
hf4 of sfamine and the rigorous win.
tey, he went out gayly in quest OF
eAe front, foraooth. because be
S1s06 on them: Had gloom but
5esesdi 10 matter how l!sntly, On his