The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-07-24

Suddenly Jan gave a slight shudder.
| He opened his eyes and gazed vague
| ~ through the open window on the
| seething river beyond. His lips moved
| feebly. la mer m'attend-" and he
! slipped his anchor.
! Quickly MigOnne pressed her lips
| to his pour recueillir son anne" then
| quietly closed the eyelids then folded
| his hands over the little crucifix
which she placed on his breast
! Not for a moment had she doubted
! her fate. Death to her was a familiar
! friend whom she had met at many a
| fireside. When he had entered one
| Of the cottages on the plantation, and
! even others miles away. always there
was 'Ma'am MignOnne" stealing be-
| hind like a sunbeam. to relieve the
| gloom and help carry ia piene du
| Voisin." She spoke few words: it was
| not polite: it disturbed the angels
! who always lowered over a good
! Christians soul, ready to bear it aloft
J on their wings. when its earthly tene-
ment was borne out by loving hands
/ Jan even had a little theory of his
| own-that there were angels delegated
| to escort -warm-nay, even bad
| CHRISTIANS, perhaps not the most aristo-
cratic hierarchy, but a sort of lay an
gel, so to speak.
! MignOnne conscientiously repeated
| the customary prayers, stopping a mo-
| ment after each one that Ian might
| say Amen" Then she remembered
gave tremulous sigh and continued
When she had finished she set about
| doing all that was to be done. quick
| ~ deftly and nOiselessly When she
| had lit the blessed candles she stole
| outside and gathering the low-hanging
| moss from the big oak near the house.
she climbed on a chair to deck the
| DOrfT1if which
] she noticed, with a neat housekeeper's
instinct, that her feet had left a moist
| track on the seat of the chair and
! concluded it. must be late as the dew
had fallen. She drew a little medal
| lion from the bureau drawer and gazed
from II TO the features of the hand
some sailor lad over the mantel This
latter had been drawn from the little
medallion; it had been a surprise for
Jan on their last wedding anniversary.
| She mad tried many Wiles to persuade
MN TO have his photograph taken. but
Jan thought it a foolish waste. So
she mad surreptitiously given the me-
udliloh TO the travelling picture en-
larger and saved up her butter and
egg money to pay for the beautiful
crayon portrait, which in due time ar
rived. Jan failed to recognize his
lneaments when his eyes fell on the
portrait, but tactfully refrained from
any comment. He gave his wife a
nearly kiss, or, rather, two hearty
Kisses one on each cheek. which was
safe thing to do under any circum-
stances MignOnne then launched
lorth Volubly explaining what rusa
ana diplomacy she had used to obtain
ment.
L can look UP now any moment and
see thee as thou vert, when 1 was
Jeuhe ct Sentille." Jan thought to
himself it could have been ACCOMPLISH
ed Just as well without risking the loss
or the medallion, as the artist had seen
nj TO improve" on the original, so
mat, although, perhaps, quite as hand
some 1t was not n good likeness.
Mlgnanne was very tired. She sat
down in the big armchair before re-
placing the medallion in the drawer.
Dlmly she recollected that NJ. CASTOR
was to return that evening, but Jan
could not leave. Jan had left-no, he
was still there, though so silent. Her
eyes dropped to the little picture which
I she held listlessly in her hand. Jan
| had had it painted by the local artist
| in their native village in Brittany be-
| fore sailing on the first and last voy-
| age he had taken without her. 1t was
then he had told her what they both
knew long before, but what no we'll
I
at until the lad has spoken plainly.
She would have liked to give him hers
in exchange when they had had an
understanding" but Mignonne was an
orphan raised by a kind but impecu-
NOUS aunt, who had no money to spend
on such luXuries.
Jan had guessed her. wish and, with
many roundabout phrases, had init
mated that he would esteem it a privi-
lege to compensate the artist for de-
plotting his little sweethearts features,
but Tante Mathlde had set her "halO!"
''They had not yet stood before the
priest-One does not know what may
happen; Jan would see the world; there
were pretty faces everywhere, ETC."
III.
Jan sailed away forlornly, and for
six long months saw his Mignonne
only in dreams, while she made her
daily prisons before the little medal
| lion which represented to her all that
was in the world. When Jan returned
he found such a very much diminished
'Mignonne" that there was hardly
enough for a good hug in his two long
arms. He decided to accept Uncle
Johns invitation to join in the fabu-
| lous "Etats-Unis d'Amerique," and
take his Mignonne with him. They
stood before the priest" so Tante
| Mathilde could raise no valid objec-
! lions to his carrying away his own
| little love, instead of a dead picture
| Mignonne passed quickly over those
| dreadful six months when life was
so gray. Only at long intervals had
| come a ray of light, when, after
watching daily for the postman's APP
pearance down the dusty road, she
would at last spy a letter held aloft
| like a white flag of truce to her mis-
| cry.
| She wandered in memory, far, far
| back to the very first days she could
| recall, when she was gathering fag-
| OTIS in the woods. Jan was always
| there, to carry both his bundle and
! hers. 1t always happened that he
made a mistake in depositing the fag-
| OTIS at Tante Mathide's. He left his
| larger pack and walked off briskly
| with Mignonnes little pickings, be-
| fore she could recall him.
| Together they had strolled on the
heath and listened to the rumble of
the sea. They had gone to and from
| school, Jan carrying her bag, care
fully pushing the stones aside from
| her pathway. Then had come "le
catechisme." Jan had almost failed
in his eXamination. He was gazing
at pair of brown eyes across the
| aisle when he finally awoke to Father
Jonan's thrice-repeated question,
| What must we do to be saved?"
He stammered, I'VE must vorsbin
Mignonne.' he caught his breath. as
a roar Of laughter went up from his
companions. and Mignonne, the only