The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-08-14

not concern him. She was a Protestant.
The chapel at the chateau would be
turned into Protestant meeting house,
and instead of the true faith being
preached some hereto would expound
the vagaries of Calvin or Luther.
Paul de Iavardens alone seemed in
good spirits. and as he drove the cure
home he tried to cheer him by telling of
the good qualities OF the heretics-for
there were two, Mrs. Scott and her
younger sister, Miss Bettina PercivaL
M. de Larnac had criticised them for
spending their money foolishly. 1t was
not foolish to spend money, said Paul:
that was what it was for. What was
foolish was to hoard 1t. AS they con-
tinued on their way they saw in the
distance a horseman, whom, on nearer
approach, they recognized as Jean Rey-
maud, son of the late DIR. Reynaud the
was a lieutenant in a regiment of artil-
lery In garrison at Souvigny. The cure
and Paul told him of the sale of the
Longueval estate. and Jean tried to cheer
the old mans spirits He said he had
been to the parsonage and given Pauline,
the abbe's housekeeper. notice that he
was to dine there the following evening.
As Paul and the cure continued their
drive the former called the attention of
the cleric to the way in which his mare
lifted her feet" but his thoughts were
in different channels.
Jean Reynaud was like a son to the
able. His father and grandfather had
been in turn the village physician, and
In every way upheld the high ethics of
their profession. Jeans father was killed
by the Prussans at the siege of viller-
sexel He was surgeon and the Able
Constantin chaplain of a volunteer regi-
ment which took part in that siege. The
news of the doctors death so Frustrated
his widow that in two weeks she sue
cumbed to a fever. Thus, some two
months later, when the doctors body
was brought home, there remained of this
family but one, Jean, now IA years old.
For century not one of that family but
had been honest and good. Thank God,
there are such families in France still
yes, many more than one dare say 1t
would be strange If France had not been
slandered in this respect. The history of
good people is not exciting reading. 1t
is either monotonous or sad, while the
history of Ananias and Judas is of peren-
NAL interest.
Jean startled his godfather on the night
of his fathers funeral by asking If his
father had not left him much money
The cure was grieved at this, but his
that Jean only wished to provide for a
widow and an orphan with whom as a
child he had played.
Nine. de Lavardens in order to stimu-
late her son, Paul, in the pursuit of his
studies, had had her son and Jean edu-
Gated together. The experiment was not
entirely successful. While Jean cele-
school of practice at Fontainebleau with
the first honors and by distributing annu-
tiles to the needy costing him 10000
francs, Paul celebrated his majority
after being rejected at st. Cyr-by spend
ing a like sum on Mile. Lise Bruyere of
the Palais Royal theatre.
In 1880 Jean Reynaud. lieutenant in the
Ninth regiment of artillery, was now sta
toned at Souvgny Thus he became
neighbor of his godfather and the pride
of the village. Such was the lieutenant
Who the day following the sale of Lon
gueval, dismounted at the parsonage
gate. He entered, followed by his horse
and found the busy Pauline preparing
the dinner. He proffered his assistance
| Pauline picked the young chicory, the
good able stood by lamenting the fact
| that Longueval was in the hands of a
| foreigner and hereto. carriage ap-
preached, drawn by two big white
horses, and stopped at the garden gate
| Inside the carriage were two young
women in travelling costume. The trav-
elers alighted and entered the gate The
elder introduced herself as Mrs. Scott
and her companion as Miss Bettina Per-
cival. Then she bethought her of two
little bags which she and her sister had
left in the carriage. Jean Immediately
dropped his salad bowl and with court
| ly bow FASTENED to the carriage. Mean
while the Able Constantn, very Ill at
ease, conducted the new mistress of Lon
gueval into the parsonage.
The Americans proceeded to make
themselves very much at home. They ex-
amined the dining room, and then, much
served as living room, and then, much
to Paulines establishment and disgust.
proceeded to Inspect the kitchen. Bettina
was much pleased with the latter and
congratulated Pauline on it's appearance
She was also glad that NJ. lie Cure was
not young and gloomy and severe, but
that he had white hairs and kindly
face, and hoped that he, too, was pleased
with his new parishioners.
MY parishioners!" exclaimed the dunn
founded cure. Pardon me, madame,
mademoiselle-I am overwhelmed. Can it
be that you are Catholic?'
why, yes, of course we are Catho-
lics." replied Mrs. Scott as she looked at
the pleased and astonished face of Pau
line and the cure. ''Our mother was a.
French Canadian and a Catholic. That
also accounts for the fact that sister and
I speak French, with an accent and a
least SO we can say almost anything we
WISH
At this stage Jean appeared with the
bags and the Americans at once opened
them and each deposited in the cures
hand a thousand francs ''for the poor"
dnd