Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1904-05-26

ily. oaa of tie Oldest and hest In Vir-
ginia'' He loo..ed at her ECw with
gaze OF concentrated inter St. under
which her eyes fell "Why. this is re-
mantle" be exclaimed. "ah ;olutely ro-
mantle. And you don't know how You
came by this locket? You don't know
who was your father, your mother"
Il do not know anything"
"And what does NJ. Roussillon known
Just as little"
"But how came he TO be taking you
and caring for you? He must know
how he got you, where he got you, of
whom he got you. Surely lie knows
''Oh, know all that. l was twelve
years old when Papa Roussillon took
me, eight years ago. had been hav-
ing a hard life, and but for him | must
have died. | was captive among the
Indians. He took me and has cared for
me and taught me. He has been very.
very good to me. l love him dearly"
And don't you remember anything
at all al,s-r when, where. how, the In
dams got you?"
No She shook her head and seem
ed to be trying to recollect something.
NO. just can't remember. And yet
there has always been something like a
dream in my mind which | could not
quite get hold of. | know that am
not Catholic. | vaguely remember a
sweet woman who taught me to pray
like this: Our Father who art in heav-
en-, hallowed be thy name
And Alice went on through the beau
tiful and perfect prayer, which she re-
peated in English with infinite sweet
ness and solemnity, her eyes uplifted.
her hands clasped before her. Bever-
ley could have sworn that she was a
shining saint and that he saw an au-
reole.
Il know" she continued, that some
time, somewhere, 10 a very dear per-
son, promised that | never. never. never
would pray any prayer tut that. and |
remember almost nothing else about
that other life which is far off back
yonder in the past. don't know where
sweet, peaceful. shadowy, Il dream
that have all but lost from my mind"
Beverley's sympathy was deeply
moved He sat for some minutes look
ing at her without speaking. Sho, too,
was pensive and silent. while the fire
sputteFed and sang, the great logs
slowly melting, the flames tossing
wisps Of smoke into the chimney still
booming TO the wind.
u know, too, that am not French"
In sshrrt I 1lnff
know just how | know it, My first
words must have been English. for |
have always dreamed of talking in that
language, and my dimmcst half reco!-
lections of the old days are OF Il large,
white house and a soE voiced blac--
woman, who sang to ME in that Ian
guage the very sweetest songs il tie
world"
Beverley listened rs one wko hears
clever reader intoning strange and
captivating poem. To his mind Il was
clear that she belonged 70 the Iarie-
ton family of Virginia. Youth always
concludes q matter at once. He knew
some of the Tarletons. But 1t was a
widely scattered family. its members
living in almost every colony in Amer
lea. The crest he recognized at
glance by the dragon on the helmet
with three stars. 1t was not foa yTo-
man to bear But doubaess-it lad
been enameIed on the locaet merely as
family mark, as was often done IL
America.
'The black woman was your nurse,
your nanny" he said. II know by
that and by your prayer In English as
well as by your locket that you are of
a good old family"
Like most southerners. he had strolg
faith in genealogy, and he he'll at his
tongues tip the names Of all tho OLD
families. The Carriers, tile Blairs, the
Fitzhugns, the Hansons, the Ran
dolphs, the Lees the Ludwells, the
Joneses, the Beverleys, the Tarletons-
a whole catalogue of them stretched
back in his memory. He knew the
coat of arms displayed by each house.
He could repeat their legends.
Il wish you could tell me more" he
went on. Cant you recollect any
thing further about your early child.
hood, your first impressions-the house,
the woman Whe taught you to pray,
the old black nanny? Any little thing
might be of priceless value as evil
dence."
''There is absolutely nothing mere TO
tell she said. ".All my life l have
tried to remember more, but it's i'm
possible; can't get any further back
or call up another thing. There's no
use trying. It's all like dream; prob.
ably it is one. do have such dreams,
In my sleep can lift myself into the
air just as easy and fly back to the
same big white house that l seem to
remember. When you told me about
your home it was like something that 1
had often seen before. | shall he
dreaming about it next"
Beverley eress questioned her from
every possible point of view. He wasa
fascinated with the mystery, but she
gave him nothing out of which the
least further light could be drawn. 4
half hrpeG woman, lt seemed, had been
her indian foster mother, a silent,
grave, watchful guardian from whom
not a hint of disclosure ever fell. She
was moreover a Christian woman who
had received her conversion from an
English speaking Protestant mission
AIRY. She prayed with Alice, thus keep
Ing in the child's mind a perfect men,
ory of the Lords prayer.
WELL" said Beverley al .ast, you
are more of mystery to me tho Ion
ger know you"
'FThen must grow every day more
dlstasteful to YOU
"No; love mystery"
He went away feeling q new. web of
interest binding him 70 this inserutahle
maiden whose life seemed TO him at
once so full of idyllie happiness and so
enshrouded in tantaliZing doubt. At
the first opportunity he frankly ques-
toned NJ. Roussillon, with no helpful
result. The big Frqnchman told the
same meager story. The woman was
dying in the time OF a great epidemic
which killed most of her tribe. She
gave Alice to NJ. Roussillon, but told
him not word about her ancestry or
previous life, Thas was all,
4 wise oid man when he finds him
self III q blind alley no sooner touches
the terminal wall than he faces about
and goes back the way he came. I'm
der like circumstances a young man
must needs try to batter the wall down
1, -. -,