The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-07-13

priest and the maiden as they walked
arm in arm to that squat little veran-
dat The picture today would be worth
its weight in a first-water diamond. II
would include the cabin, the cherry
tree, a glimpse of the raw, wild back
ground and a sharp portrait group Of
Pere Beret, Alice, and Jean the hunch-
back. To compare il with a photo
graph Of the same spot now would give
a perfect impression of the historic at
nlosphere, color and conditions which
cannot be set in words But We must
not belittle the power of verbal de-
scription. What if a thoroughly trained
newspaper reporter had been given the
freedom of old Yincennes on the Wa
bash during the first week of June, 177S.
and we now had his. printed story,
What a supplement TO the photograph
,er'S pictures, Well, We have neither
photographs nor graphic report; yet
there they are before US, the gOwned
and str1w-capped priest, the fresh
faced, eoarSely-clad and vigorous girl,
the grotesque little hunchback. all just
as real as life itself Each of US can
see them, even with closed eyes. Led
by that wonderful guide, Imagination,
we step back a century and more TO
look over a scene at once strangely at
tractiVe and unspeakably fOrlOrn-
w nat d. II lAAdl G4CN pCOpkC away
| from the old countries, from the cities,
the villages and the vineyards of beau
tifui France, for example, to dwell in
! the wilderness, amid wild beasts and
wilder savage Indians. with a rude cab
/ III for a home and the exposures and
! hardships of pioneer life for their daily
experience
Men like Gaspard RoussilIon are of
distinct stamp Take him as he was.
Born In France on the banks Of the
/ Rhone near -AYignon, he came as a
/ youth 10 Canada, whence he drifted on
/ the tide Of adventure this way and
/ that. until at last he found himself
with a wife, at Post Vincennes, that
I lonely picket of religion and trade,
which was to become the center of
ciyilizing energy for the great North
western Territory. NJ. Roussillon had
no children of his own: so his kind
/ heart opened freely to two fatherleSs
and motherless waits. These were
| Alice. now called Alice Roussillon, and
/ the hunchback. Jean. The former was
| L years old, when be adopted her, a
child of Protestant parents, while Jean
| had been taken, when a mere babe,
after his parents had been killed and
scalped by Indians. Madame Roussil-
/ lon, a professed invalid, whose appetite
never failed and whose motherly kind
ness expressed itself most often
through strains of monotonous falsetto
| scoIding was a woman of little edu-
cation and ne refinement; while her
husband chung tenaciously to his love
of books. especially to the romances
most in vogue when he took leave of
France.
NJ Roussillon had been. in a way,
Alice's teacher, though not greatly in
clined to abet Father Beret in his kind
| ly efforts TO make a Catholic of the
IL ed
toward the good priest in the matter
of his well-meant attempts to prevent
her from reading and re-reading the
aforesaid romances. But for many
weeks past Gaspard Roussillon had
been absent from home, looking after
his trading schemes with the Indians;
and Pere Beret, acting on the sugges-
ton of the proverh about the absens
cat ard the piayfrg mouse. had formed
an alliance offensivefand defensive with
Madame Roussiiions in which il was
strictly stipulated that all novels ard
ronlances were TO be IorciDly tsksn ard
securely hidden away from Mademoi-
selle Alice; which, to the best of Ma
dame Roussillon's ability, had accord
ingly been done.
Now, while the wind strengthened
and the softly booming summer
shower came on aDace, the heavy
cloud lifting as it advanced and show
ing under it the dark gray sheet of
the rain. Pere Beret and Alice sat I'M
der the clapboard roof behind the
vines of the veranda and discussed,
what was generally uppermost in the
priests mind upon such occasions, the
good of Alice's immortal soul-a sub
ject not Accordingly interesting to her
at any time
It was a standing grief TO the good
old priest. this strange perversity of
the girl In the matter of religious duty.
as he saw it. True she had a faithful
guardian in Gaspard Roussillon; but,
much as he had done to aid the
churchs work in general, for he was
always vigorous and liberal, he could
not be looked upon as a very good
Catholic; and of course his influence
was not effective in the right direc- |
ton. But then Pere Beret saw no
reason why, in due time and with pa
tient work, aided by Madame ROussiI-
Ion and notwithstanding Gaspard's
treachery, he might not safely lead |
Alice whom he loved as a dear child. !
into the arms of the holy church, TO |
serve which faithfully, at all hazards |
and in all places was his highest aim /
"Ah, my child" he was saying, you |
are sweet, good girl, after all much 1
better than you make yourself out to /
be. Your duty will control you; you |
viii do it nobly at last. my child"
True enough Father Beret true 4
enough" she responded, laughing, /
your perception is most excellent, /
which viii prove to you immedi- |
ately."