Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-14
cssr.sa. 1907. ., rAs~s. H. xex..

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entity around It among the sand dunes
OF the Jersey coast. Time, twenty-five
years, had brought changes, to the little
Romnn church. It's name, originally Notre Dame
Etoiie de Ia Mer, had been changed when the
Trenchmsn had been Joined by other fisher
mens--Irishmen, Portuguese and German Catholics.
Them out Of the side of the little village toward
the south. colony of summer cottagers, and
later Of italian and French and Spanish villas
sprang. Twenty-Five years great changes at
GaIee; but still the sturdy little church, with its
spire and belfry looked out gravely across the
black sea and its white-crested inrolling pillows
through the lonely winters, and smiled cheerily at
the smart traps and motor in summer as
they whrled by through the village to the station
and then back to the gorgeous villas toward the
south.
Only few changes materially affected Our
Lady Star Of the Sea. Once, after schooner had
stranded in foul weather on the sand-bar directly
on Shore and went to pieces the white beach,
the good fishermen of the congregation appro-
priated funds to install beaeon-ight in the bel
fry under the gold cross, which lighted and
volunteers Wnon
Again, since the Catholics of the summer colony
had joined the congregation and occasionally at
tended services changes found their way within
the walls of Our Lady Star of the Sea- Red-cush-
toned pews took the place of the old bare wood
benches The altar draped in red plush,
wrought with gilt Long brass chandeliers with
porcelain candles we're hung from the high-gabled
ceiling. Two solid silver reading-lamps on the
uulpit had been given in memory of young man
who had been drowned in the surf.
But the most incongruous of all to Our Lady
Star of the Sea was the modest little public house
across the way, just down the road. thrifty
Jerseyman, who had amassed little money ped
ding vegetables, set it up as road house."
There was no through trafac to support one; but
the bar conspicuously labeled "Cafe." warranted
the enterprise AS matter of form. there were
ten or a dozen sleepingrooms upstairs, always
scrupuiously clean and always unoccupied, except
ing those used by Croxon himself and his wife and
children. Summer and winter, the poor little
"road house" looked up respectfully at the church
across the way and Our Lady Star of the Sea al
ways had smile for her incongruous neighbor.
She smiled across the short stretch of her grave
yard with its straight little white tombstones,
many of which told the swift tragedy of the
And on the rare occasions when of the guest
rooms of the road house occupied, it was
usually the genial neighbor church which sent
them couple from the fsher-village whom she
had Just made man and wife; and this was their
honeymoon.
Most prominent among the summer congrega-
ton Of Our Lady Star Of the Sea a French
Capitalist OF the social SET Gaillard, the banker.
He had been of the first to build a villa at
Gallilee. Fashion had followed him. There he
had lived his proudly successful. prominent life,
until summer the gods envied him. Then it
was that his wife, vivacious French-woman.
whom he had brought from seas, ran on with
an inpressionable Irishman himself the head of
family and the owner of villa, next door to the
Gaiaards.
The Frenchman had left him single child,
Eugenie girl OF seventeen, just growing from the
ugly age into a most beautiful early womanhood.
Eugene resembled her mother strikingly even now.
She had the same full, solid build--the length OF
limb and breadth Of back rare in Frenchwomen;
the same very black rich hair. abundant and coiled
low on the white neck the same purity of white
skin, and the same gorgeous golden eyes that went
straight to your soul and told frankly whether she
loved or hated you
Gaard adored her the best of his broken
lifes and he guarded her a man does his last
remaining treasure Towards the rest of the world
he had become hard and bitter In business he was
merciless and exactinp He want M mora into