El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-14
THIRTY-THIRD YEAR o. PUBLICATION
The Hermit
a short story.

! IN a lonely house. which stood in the
/ midst of a beautiful and wellkept
I = garden, not far from the Bots OAR
tots hunting reservation there lived a
man known as father Matthew. His no
bic bearing was in strong contrast to
the peasant attire which he wore He
would sit for hours reading books and
medltating on their contents, and al
though he greeted his neIghbors. when
he met them. the hermit seldom held
a conversation with anyone. This
I served to arouse curiosity.
one day as l. was hurrying through
: the woods 10 join my friends. I met
father Matthew / passed a few casual
remarks TO MIN a bout hunting, and was
surprised 10 find how freely he re-
spOnded about the sport 1 suggested
that he should join US, out he refused
with thanks, saying that he seldom
hunted of late though he had formerly
, been passionate game seeker.
Some time afterWard father Matthew
. invited me to call on him. 1 did so and
We soon became good friends. I never
succeeded in persuading him to Join a
hunting party and dared not ask the
reason why.
/, The following year. Immediately af-
: ter my arrival. / received an invitation
TO take supper with MatthiCu-
The dining room was plain, but dec
grated IN excellent taste On the walls
were hung all kinds OF weapons. These
opened an opportunity for me TO speak
Of hunting. I found my host a very
( interested listener. After a while ne
told me some hunting stories of his
own experience and it was then that
( took courage to ask him The great
. qCesIon-"W ny do you live as her
mit2'
He hesitated moment. and said:
1t IS very sad story, which I have
never told to anyone, for I had strong
reasons to keep il secret. Nothing ties
ny tongue any longer. though, for the
person for whose sake 1 have remained
silent is dead. / do not hunt any more
because / have seen a terrible disaster.
so full Of horror that I took an oath
never to touch gun again For p
years i have kept my oath.
Did you ever hear Of marquis de
LonSepierre2 He lived close to this
place on Chateau de FOrcey. he was
the most charming host imaginable,
and during the hunting season gay
and merry crowd Of hunting eEtEusi-
asts gathered there The marquis and
ms daughter, Diane, were the life and
soul Of every hunt for miles around
Dnaue was beWitching crea taTe,
with big, soulful eyes and smiling lips
She was fun Of life and spirit and en-
thusiasticaily fond Of hunting. Size was
an excellent shot, too.
zone morning we left the chateau at
sunrise and Diane was posted At the
edge of wood with a guide She COM
manded place where she might shoot
direction they ran Her father stood
about 80 yards away.
The countryside was full Of deer.
and from the very first the certai-tfv
Of a heavy bag made he hunter w,1d
with excitement Diane alone seemed
30 be in bad luck Only a few hares
that nobody would think of shooting
mad come within range OF her gun
At last a buck leaped out in trent
OF her she fired ana the deer. 4 rec
ord specimen, dropped dead She had
hardly time 70 reload her gun when a
Whole flock or deer came up They
broke through the space aet5vfs.1 The
marquis ana Diane l saw her Tdlss
her gun and take aim shouted 10
her not to shoot, but it was TOO sLte-
Two shots rang out. followed D. a
cry OF pain The marquis ran forward.
threw his arms in the air and dropped
his heart
Il cannot describe the scene which
followed. We all ran up and did what
we could TO console Diane and get her
away from her fathers body, fearing
that she was about to go insane
suddenly she arose Her face was
ShaslIy pale, but her voice was firm,
and she cried out: Who did thar
NO answer came, but as she repeated
ner question in a voice that showed
Jhat she was on the verge Of a break
down, her guide stepped forward and
declared himself guilty
Diane did not say word With
flaming eyes she raised her hand
against the guide and then turned
away with an expression of contempt. !
The guilty man retired from the
world altogether. He was an officer
in the army, but he gave up his prom
lSing career and took another name. .
lie could not bear to hear people say
whenever they heard his IA NJ: 'ghst
IS the man who shot marquis de LonEe-
pierre
Many years have passed since thea.
he knows nobody any more and nObcdy
cares Tor him Near the place where
the accident happened he lives his sad
lonely life. always thinking Of 5he mast,
nuI Tree from any DanEs OF coincidence, /
for he was innocent.
Nile Diane. who later married baron
de Fandreuil. died some time ago. Now
] may tell the truth-she shot her
father herself
Her guide did not fire at all but in
that dreadful moment he realized that
the beautiful girls life would be ruined
II she knew the truth, so he preferred
to sacrifice himself and he has never
7 egretted it"
did not doubt for moment that my
most himself was the martyr and finally
asked what caused him TO take the ter
rible guilt upon himself Then his
brown cheek blushed slightly and he
said softly:
Il loved Diane de LOngepierre Her
peace Of mind and happiness were more
TO me than INV life or career"