Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1913-12-24

lar, m'sieur, and it is because of this
that l believe our Blessed Lady gives
me courage to tell it to you, for this
man, like you, left a wife and two
children when he came into the north.
M'sieur, l pray the great God to for
give him, for he left a third child
unborn"
Jan leaned upon his hand so that it
shaded his face.
''It is not so much Of that as of
what followed that l am going to tell
you, m'sieur." he went on. 1T was a
beautiful love on the woman's part,
and it would have been a beautiful
love on the mans part if it had been
pure. For her he gave up everything,
even his God, as you would give up
everything and your God for this girl
at Oxford House. Msieur. l will
speak mostly of the woman now. She
was beautiful. She was one Of the
three most beautiful things that God
ever placed in our world, and she
loved this man. She married him, be-
lieved in him, was ready to die for
him, to follow him to the ends of the
earth, as our women will do for the
men they love. God in heaven! Can
you not guess what happened. m'sieur?
A child was born"
! So ferceIy did Jan cry out the
words that Thornton ierked back as
though a blow had been struck at him
from out of the gloom
child xu,oC borO ronoofo1 Ton
and Thornton heard his nails digging
in the table. THAT was the first
curse of Coda child! Carton. beasts
of carrion, that is what we call them
beasts of carrion and carrion eaters,
breeders of devils and sin. My God!
That is what happened. A child was
born with the curse of God upon himv
ian stopped, his nails digging deep
er, his breath escaping from him as
though be had been running
Down in your world he would have
grown up Ii.~A. he continued, speak
ing more calmly II have heard that
since. But here II is different The
curse never dies. 1t follows, day after
day, year after year. And this child,
was born one of them If the winds
had whispered the secret nothing
would have come near him. The In
dian women would sooner have touch
ed the plague. He would have been
an outcast. deSpiSed as he grew older,
pointed at and tainted, called names
which are worse than those called to
the lowest and meanest dogs. That is
what it means to be born under that
curSe-up here"
He waited for Thornton to speak. but
the other sat silent and moveless across
the table
THE curse worked swiftly, m'sieur.
1t came frst-in remorse-to the man.
1t gnawed at his soul, ate him alive
and drove him from place to place
with the woman and the child. The
purity and love of the woman added to
his suffering, and at last he came to
know that the hand of God had fallen
upon his head. The !. oman saw bis
grief, but did no. " the reason for
it. And so the Jirst came to her.
They went north ,ar north, above the
Barren Lands, and the curse followed
there. 1t gnawed at his life until-he
died. That was seven years after the
child was born"
The oil lamp sputtered and began to
smoke, and with a quick movement
Jan turned the wick down until they
were left in darkness
'M'sieur, it was then that the curse
began to fall upon the woman and the
child. Do you not believe that about
the sins of the fathers falling upon
others? 1t is 50, it is so. 1t came in
many small ways, and then the curse
it came suddenly-like this" JAMS
voice came in Kissing whisper now.
Thornton could feel his hot breath as
he leaned over the table, and in the
darkness JAMS eyes shone like two
Goals of fire. 1T came like thisw pant
ed Jan. There was a new missioner
at the post-a-a Christian from the
south. and he was a great friend to the
woman and preached God. and she be-
lieved him. The boy was very young
and saw things, but did not under
stand at first. He knew afterward
that the missioner loved his mothers
beauty and that he tried hard to win
it-and failed. for the woman until
death would love only the one to whom
she had given herself first Great God.
it happened then-One night when
every soul was about the big fires at
the caribou roast and there was no one
near the lonely little cabin where the
boy and his mother lived. The boy
was at the feast, but he ran home with
a bit of dripping meat as gift for his
mother, and he heard her cries and ran
in, to be struck down by the missioner.
Tt happened then, and even the boy
knew and followed the man, shrieking
that he had killed his mother" There
was a terrible calmness now in JAMS
voice "Msieur, it was true. She
wasted away like flower after that
night. She died and left the boy alone
with the curse. And that boy, m'sieur,
was Jan Thoreau. The woman was