Middletown transcript., 1912-07-06

ready conquered, twice in twentyfour
hours rose to beat heavily on this
dark promontory, and, in the angry
hiss Of the waters, was a reminder OF
a persistent purpose. Here and there,
through the ages, had the shore-iine
OF the bay, as well as the heighbor-
ing curVatuFes Of the coast, yielded
to the assaults Of the sea; the Mount
alone, solidly Indifferent to blandish-
ment or attack, maintained an un-
varying aspect.
For centuries a monastery and fort
ress of the monks, at the time OF
Louis XVI. the Mount had become
stronghold Of the government, strong
ly ruled by one OF its most inexoFable
mobiles. Since his appointment many
years before to the post, my lord, the.
governor Of the rock, had ever been
regarded as man who conceded
nothing to the people and pursued
only the set tenure OF his way. Dur
ing the long period Of his reign he
committed but one indiscretion; gen.
orally regarded as a man confirmed
in apathy for the gentler sex, he sud-
denly, when already past middle age,
welded. Speculation concerning \
step 30 unlocked for was naturally
rife.
In hovel and hut was 1t whispered
the bride Claire, only daughter OF the
Comtesse de la Mart, had wept at the
altar, but that her mother had ap-
peared complacent, as well she might;
for the Governor of the Mount and
the surrounding country was both rich
and powerful; his ships swept far and
wide, even to the Orient, while the
number Of metayers, or petty farmers
that paid him tribute. constituted q
large community. Other gossips, bend
ing over peat fires within mud walls,
amrmed-Deneath their breath, lest
the spies Of the well-hated lord OF
the North might hear them!-that the
more popular, though impoverished
Seigneur Desaurac had been the
favored suitor with the young woman
herself, but that the family OF the
bride had found him undesirable. The
Desaurac fortune, once large, had SO
waned that little remained save the
rich, though heavily encumbered lands
and, In the heart Of the forest, a time
worn, crumbling castle.
Thus 1t came to pass the marriage
of the lady to the Governor was cele-
brated in the jeweled Gothic church
crowning a medley Of palaces, chapels
and monastery on the Mount; that the
rejected Seigneur Desaurac, gazing
across the strip Of water-for the tide
was at its full-separating the rocky
fortress from the land, shrugged his
shoulders angrily and contemptuous-
ly, and that not many moons later,
as II to show disdain Of position and
title, took to his home an orphaned
peasant lass. That a simple church
ceremony had preceded this step was
both affirmed and denied; hearsay de-
scribed a marriage at a neighboring
village; more malicious gossip dis
credited 1t. A man of rank! A wom-
an Of the soil! FeudaI custom for
bade belief that the proper sort OF
nuptial knot had been tied.
Be this as it may, for q time the
sturdy, dark brown young woman pre-
sided over the Seigneur's fortunes
with exemplary care and patience,
She found them in q chaotic condi4
ton; lands had either been allowed
to run to waste, or were cultivated BY
peasants that so long had forgotten
to pay the metayage, or owners due,
they had come to regard the acres as
their own-a delusion this practical,
helpmate would speedily have dis
PEELED. save that the Seigneur him
self pleaded for them and would not
permit Of the poor people" being
disturbed. Whereupon she made the
best of an anomalous situation, and
all concerned might have continued,
to live satisfactorily enough unto
themselves, when unfortunately an
abrupt break occurred in the chain
of circumstances. In presenting the
Seigneur with child, half-peasant,
half-lord, the mother gave up her own
life for his posterity.
At first, thereafter, the Siegneur re-
mained a recluse; when, however, q
year or two had gone by, the peas
ants-who had settled in greater num-
bers thereabouts, even to the verge