Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-11-10
ALICE ef OLD
VINCENNES
CHATTER 1.
By MAURICE THOMPSON


*G,l.t i $sa<ss
CHATTER 1.
| UNDER THB CHERRY TREE.
n Up to the days Of Indiana's early
| statehood, probably as late as
| 1925, there stood, in what is
now tue beautiful little city
Of Vincennes on the Wabash, the de-
| caying remnant Of an old and curiously
| gnarled cherry tree known as the
| RouSsillon tree, le cerisier de Monsieur
Roussillon, as the French inhabitants
called 1t, which as long as it lived bore
fruit remarkable for richness of flavor
and peculiar dark ruby depth of color.
The exact spot where this noble old
Seeding from la belle France flourished,
declined and died cannot be certainly
pointed out. for in the rapid and happy
growth of Vincennes many landmarks
once notable, among them lie cerisier
de Monsieur Roussillon. have been de-
stroyed and the spots where they stood,
once familiar to every eye in cd Vim
cennes. are now lost in the pleasant
confusion Of the new town.
The old, twisted, gum embossed
cherry tree survived every other dis
tinguishing feature Of what was once
the most picturesque aud romantic
place i'm Nincenncs. Just north of 1t
stood. In the early French days. low,
rambling cabin surrounded by rude
verandas overgrown with grapcy.nes.
This was the Roussillon place, the most
pretentious home in all the Wabash
country Its owner was Gaspard i'ous'
sillon, Il successful trader with the In
dians. He was rich. for the time and
the place. influential to degree.
man of some education, who had
brought with him to the wilderness
bundle of books and taste for read
ing.
1t is not known just when Nincennes
was first founded, but most historians
make the probable date very early in
the eighteenth century, somewhere be-
tween ITO and 1870. In 1910 the
Roussillon cherry tree was thought by
distinguished botanical letter writer
to be ut least fifty years old. Which
would make the date of its planting
about 1T60 Certainly, as shown by the
time stained family records upon which
this story of ours is based. 1t was Il
flourishing and wide topped tree In
the early summer of 1IIS, its branches
loaded to dropping with luscious fruit.
SO low did the dark red clusters hang
ut one point that tall young girl
standing OH tie ground easily reached
the best ones ami made her lips purple
with their juice while she ate them.
That was long ago, measured by
what has come to pass on the gentle
swell OF rich country from which Vim
cennes overlooks the WaJaSh. The
new town dourishcs Notably ana its
appearance marks the latest llnit OF
progress. Electric cars i'll its streets.
electric lights in its beautiful homes.
the roar of railway trains coming ana
going in all directions, bicycles wlirl-
ing hither and thither, the most fash
ionabe styles of equ!pages from
brougham 10 pony phaeton. make the
days OF tlintock guns and buckskln
trousers seem ages down the past, and
vet we are looking back over but
little more than l20 years to see Alice
RoussillJn standing ua>.cr chcery
tree and holding high tempting Gus
ter of fruit. while short humpbacked
youth looks up with longing eyes anu
vainly reaches for it. The tableau is
not merely rustic; it is primitive.
Jump" the girl is saying in French.
Jump. Jean; jump hiGh"'
"Yes, that was very long ago, in the
DAYS when women lightly braved what
the strongest men would shrink from
now.
Alice Roussilon was tall, 1.-THE,
strongly knit. with an almost perfect
figure. judging by what the master
sculptors carved for the form of Venus,
and her face was c"nely and winning,
II not absolutely beautiful; but the
time and place were vigorously indi-
Gated by her dress, which was OF
coarse stuff and simply designed.
Plainly she was child of the Amer
lean wilderness, u daughter of old Vim
cennes on the Wabash in the time that
tried mems souls,
Jump, Jeanw she cried, her face
laughing with show Of check dim
pies, an arching Of finely sketched
brows and the twinkling of large blue
gray eyes.
Jump high and get them"
While she waved her sun Drowned
hand holding the cherries aloft, the
breeze blowing fresh from the south
west tossed her hair so that some loose
strands shone like rimpled flames.
The sturdy little hunchback did leap
with surprising activity. but the
treacherous brown hand went higher,
so high that the combined altitude OF
his Jump and the reach Of his unnat-
urally long arms was overcome. Again
and again he sprang vainly into the
air comically. like a long legged. squat
bodied frog.
"And you brag of your agility and
strength, Jean," she laughingly re-
marked. "but you can't take cherries
when they are offered to you. What
clumsy bungler you are"
81 can climb and get some" he said,
with q hideously happy grin, and i'm
mediately embraced the bole Of the
tree. up which he began scrambling al
most as fast as squirrel.
When he had mounted high enough
to be extending hand for hold on a
crotch Alice grasped his leg near the
foot and pulled him down. despite his
cnnging and struggling, until his hands
clawed in the soft earth at the trees
root. while she held his captive leg al
most vertically erect.
1t was show Of great strength, but
Alice looked quite unconscious OF 1t,
laughing merrily, the dimples deepen
ing in her plump checks, her forearm,
now barred to the elbow, cleaning white
and shapely. while its muscles rippled
ON account Of the jerking and kicking
Ahoek;or, Droy,onf0d