PICARDY.
"Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but, weep sore for him
that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native
country". The prophet, who wrote these words, well knew the exile's
grief. He was himself an exile. He thought of Jerusalem, the city of
his home, his love, and his heart was near to breaking. He hung his
harp upon the willow; he sat down by the streams of Babylon and wept.
The terrible malady of homesickness,--it has eaten out the vigor and
beauty of many a life. The soul, alien to all around, forlorn amid the
most enchanting scenes, filled with ceaseless longing for a renewal of
past delights, can never find a remedy, until it is transplanted back
to its native clime.
Nor was the prophet singular in his experience of the woes of exile.
We have heard of the lofty-spirited Dante, wandering from city to
city, carrying with him, in banishment, irrepressible and unsatisfied
yearnings for his beloved Florence; we have seen the Greek Islander,
borne a captive from home, sighing, in vain, for the dash and roar of
his familiar seas; we have seen the Switzer, transplanted to milder
climes and more radiant sides, yet longing for the stern mountain
forms, the breezes and echoes of his native land. Ah! who does not
remember, with a shudder, the despairing thoughts, choking tears, and
days of silent misery that clouded his own boyhood, and perhaps even
some days of his early manhood?
_Oublier je ne puis_. Poor lady! she had been homesick twenty years.
On the afternoon following the conversation recorded in the last
chapter, Mrs. Dubois was ready to unfold to Adèle the story of her
past life. They were sitting in the parlor. The golden glory of the
September sun gave an intense hue to the crimson furniture, lighted up
the face of the Madonna with a new radiance, and touched the ivory
keys of the piano with a fresh polish. Adèle's eyes were fixed with
eager expectation upon her mother.
"You know, _ma chère_", Mrs. Dubois began, "we once lived in France.
But you cannot know, I trust you never may, what it cost us to leave
our beautiful Picardy,--what we have suffered in remaining here,
exiled in this rude country. Yet then it seemed our best course.
Indeed, we thought there was no other path for us so good as this. We
were young, and did not enough consider, perhaps, what such a change
in our life involved. I must tell you, my Adèle, how it came about.
"In the province of Picardy not many miles from the city of Amiens,
there was a fine, but not large estate, bordering on the River Somme.
A long avenue of poplars led from the main road up a gentle slope
until it opened upon a broad, green plateau of grass, studded with
giant trees, the growth of centuries. Here and there were trim little
flower-beds, laid out in a variety of fantastic shapes, with stiff,
glossy, green, closely-clipped borders of box. And, what was my
childish admiration and delight, there was a fountain that poured
itself out in oozing, dripping drops from the flowing hair and finger
tips of a marble Venus, just rising in the immense basin and wringing
out her locks. Then the park,--there was none more beautiful, more
stately, extending far back to the banks of the Somme, where birds sat
on every bough and the nightingale seemed to pour its very heart away,
singing so thrillingly and so long. I hear the liquid notes now, my
Adèle, so tender, so sweet! At the end of the avenue of poplars of
which I spoke stood the chateau, with the trim flower-beds in front.
It was built of brown stone, not much ornamented externally, with four
round towers, one in each corner. Though not as old as some of those
castles, it had been reared several centuries before, by a Count de
Rossillon, who owned the estate and lived on it.
"In that chateau, I first saw the light of day, and there I spent my
happy childhood and youth.
"The estate of Rossillon had been bequeathed by the will of my
grandfather, to his two sons. The elder, the present Count de
Rossillon, inherited the larger portion; my father, the younger son,
the smaller share.
"My father was a Bonapartist, and at the time of his marriage held a
high rank in the army. During his absence from the country, my mother
resided at the chateau with her brother-in-law, the Count.
"One day in June, news arrived of the sudden death of my father. It was
communicated to my mother, by the messenger who brought it, without
precaution. That night, one hour after, I was ushered into an orphaned
existence and my mother took her departure from the world. Think of
me, Adèle, thus thrown a waif upon the shore of life. Yet, though born
in the shadow of a great sorrow, sunlight struck across my path.
"The faithful _bonne_, who had taken care of my mother in her infancy
and had never left her, now took charge of me. She watched over me
faithfully and filled up my childhood with affectionate attention and
innocent pastime. My uncle, the Count, who had never been married,
loved, petted, and indulged me in every wish. When I grew old enough,
he secured a governess well qualified to teach and discipline me.
Under her care, with the aid of masters in Latin, music, and drawing,
from Amiens, I went through the course of instruction considered
necessary for young ladies at that time.
"I was at your age my Adèle when I first met your father. He was not
the bronzed and careworn man you see him now. Ah! no. He was young and
gay, with a falcon glance and, black wreathing locks hanging over his
white, smooth brow. His father was of noble blood, and sympathized
warmly with the dethroned Bourbons. He was no lover of the great
Consul. The political troubles in France had operated in ways greatly
to impoverish his house.
"He owned and occupied only the remnant of what had been a large
estate, adjoining that of the Count de Ros.
"While acquiring his education, your father, except at occasional
intervals, was six years from home, and it so happened that I never
met him in my childhood. Indeed, the families were not on terms of
intimacy. On his return from the University, I first saw him. _Eh!
bien!_ It is the same old story that you have heard and read of, in
your books, my Adèle. We became acquainted, I will not stop now, to
tell you how, and soon learned to love each other. Time passed on, and
at last your father sought the consent of my uncle, to our marriage.
But he put aside the proposition with anger and scorn. He thought that
Claude Dubois was neither distinguished nor rich enough to match his
niece. In his heart, he had reserved me for some conspicuous position
in the great circle at Paris, while I had given myself to an obscure
youth in Picardy.
"Your father was too honorable to ask me to marry him without the
consent of the Count, and too proud to take me in his poverty. So one
day, after his stormy interview with my uncle, he came to me and said
he was going away to endeavor to get fame, or wealth, to bestow upon
me and make himself more worthy in the eyes of the Count de Rossillon.
Yet he wished to release me from any feeling of obligation to him, as,
he said, I was too young and had too little acquaintance with life and
society to know fully my own heart. It would not be right, he thought,
to bind me to himself by any promise. I told him my affection for him
would never change, but acquiesced in his arrangements with a sad and
foreboding heart. In a few weeks, he embarked for India.
"Then my uncle roused himself from the inertia of his quiet habits and
made arrangements for a journey through France and Italy, which he
said I was to take with him.
"I received the announcement with indifference, being wholly occupied
with grief at the bitter separation from your father. The change
however proved salutary, and, in a week after our departure, I felt
hope once more dawning in my heart.
"The country through which we travelled was sunny and beautiful, veined
with sparkling streams, shadowed by forests, studded with the olive
and mulberry, and with vines bearing the luscious grape for the
vintage. The constant change of scene and the daily renewal of objects
of interest and novelty, combined with the elasticity of youth,
brought back some degree of my former buoyancy and gayety. My uncle
was so evidently delighted with the return of my old cheerfulness, and
exerted himself so much to heighten it in every way, that I knew he
sincerely loved me, and was doing what he really thought would in the
end contribute to my happiness. He judged that my affection for your
father was a transient, youthful dream, and would soon be forgotten;
he fancied, no doubt, I was even then beginning to wake up from it. He
wished to prevent me from forming an early and what he considered an
imprudent marriage, which I might one day regret, unavailingly.
"And it proved to be all right, my Adèle. Your father and I were both
young, and the course the Count de Rossillon took with us, was a good
though severe test of our affection. In the meanwhile, I was secretly
sustained by the hope that your father's efforts would be crowned with
success, and that, after a few years, he would return and my uncle,
having found, that nothing could draw me from my attachment to him,
would out of his own love for me and consideration for my happiness,
at last consent to our union.
"We crossed the Alps and went into Italy. Here a new world was opened
to me,--a world of beauty and art. It bestowed upon me many hours of
exquisite enjoyment. The Count travelled with his own carriage and
servants, and we lingered wherever I felt a desire to prolong my
observations. He purchased a collection of pictures, statues, and
other gems and curiosities of art. Among the rest, the Madonna there,
my Adèle, which he presented to me, because I so much liked it. But I
must not linger now. On our return to France, we spent a month at
Paris, and there, though too young to be introduced into society, I
met in private many distinguished and fashionable people, who were
friends of the Count.
"We were absent from the chateau one year. It was pleasant to get back
to the dear old place, where I had spent such a happy childhood, the
scene too of so many precious interviews with your beloved father. We
returned again to our former life of quiet ease, enlivened at frequent
intervals by the visits of guests from abroad and by those of friends
and acquaintances among the neighboring nobility. Though I received no
tidings from your father, a secret hope still sustained me. A few
times only, during the first three years of his absence, did I lose
my cheerfulness. Those were, when some lover pressed his suit and I
knew that in repelling it, I was upsetting some cherished scheme of my
uncle. But I will do him the justice to say that he bore it patiently,
and, only at long intervals, gave vent to his vexation and
disappointment.
"It was when my hope concerning your father's return began to fail, and
anxiety respecting his fate began to be indulged in its stead, that my
spirits gave way. At the close of the fourth year of his absence, my
peace was wholly gone and my days were spent in the restless agony of
suspense. My health was rapidly failing, and my uncle who knew the
cause of my prostration, instead of consulting a physician, in the
kindness of his heart, took me to Paris. But the gayeties to which I
was there introduced were distasteful to me. I grew every moment more
sad. Just when my uncle was in despair, I was introduced accidentally
to the Countess de Morny, a lovely lady, who had lost her husband and
three children, and had passed through much sorrow.
"Gradually, she drew me to her heart and I told her all my grief. She
dealt very tenderly with me, my Adèle. She did not seek to cheer me by
inspiring fresh hopes of your father's return. No. She told me, I
might never be Claude Dubois's happy bride, but that I might be the
blessed bride of Jesus. In short, she led me gently into the
consolations of our Holy Church. Under her influence and guidance I
came into a state of sweet resignation to the divine will,--a peaceful
rest indeed, after the terrible alternations of suspense and despair
I had suffered. But, my Adèle, it was only by constant prayers to the
blessed _Marie_ that my soul was kept from lapsing into its former
state of dreadful unrest. _Ma chère_ Adèle, you know not what you do,
when you speak slightingly of our Holy Church. I should then have
died, had I not found rest in my prayers to the blessed mother. Now,
you are young and gay, but the world is full of sorrow. It may
overtake you as it did me. Then you will need a hope, a consolation, a
refuge. There is no peace like that found at the foot of the cross,
imploring the intercession of the compassionate, loving _Marie_. Do
not wander away from the sweet eyes of the mother of Christ, _ma
fille_".
Here Mrs. Dubois ceased speaking, and turned a tearful, affectionate
gaze upon her daughter. Adèle's eyes, that had been fixed upon her
mother with earnest, absorbed attention, filled with tears, instantly.
"_Ma chère mère_, I would not make you unhappy. I will try not to give
you pain. Please go on and tell me all".
"_Eh! bien! ma chère_, my uncle was pleased to see me becoming more
peaceful. Finding I was not attracted by the pleasures of the gay
city, he proposed our return to the chateau, and begged the Countess
de Morny to accompany us. At my urgent request, she consented.
"On the day of our arrival, the Countess weary with the journey, having
gone to her own apartments, I went to stroll in the beautiful, beloved
park. It was June,--that month so full of leaves, flowers, birds, and
balmy summer winds. I sat at the foot of an old beech-tree, leaning
my head against its huge trunk, listening to the flow of the river,
indulging in dangerous reverie,--dangerous certainly to my peace of
mind. Suddenly, I was startled by the sound of footsteps. Before I
could collect my scattered senses, your father stood before me.
'_Marie_,' he said, '_Marie_.'
"For one moment, I met his earnest, questioning gaze, and then rushed
into his open arms. In short, he had come back from India, not a rich
man, but with a competence, and when he found I had not forgotten him,
but had clung to him still, through those weary years of absence, he
resolved to see the Count de Rossillon and renew the request he had
made four years previous.
"My uncle, though much surprised at his sudden appearance, received him
politely, if not cordially. When your father had laid before him a
simple statement of our case, he replied frankly."
"I am convinced", he said, "by what I have observed during your
absence, M. Dubois, that the arrangement you propose, is the only one,
which will secure Marie's happiness. I will say, however, honestly,
that it is far enough from what I designed for her. But the manliness
and honorable feeling you have manifested in the affair, make me more
willing to resign her to you than I should otherwise have been, as I
cannot but hope that, although deprived of the advantages of wealth
and station, she will yet have the faithful affection of a true and
noble heart". This was enough for us both and more than we expected".
"But a new difficulty arose. Upon observing the troubled and uncertain
state of affairs in France, your father became convinced that his
chances to secure the ends he had in view, would be greater in the new
world. After a brief period of deliberation, he fixed upon a plan of
going to British America, and purchasing there a large tract of land,
thus founding an estate, the value of which he anticipated would
increase with the growth of the country".
"To this arrangement, the Count was strenuously opposed. There was a
pretty embowered residence, a short distance from the chateau, on the
portion of the estate I had inherited from my father. There he wished
us to live. In short, he wished to retain us near himself. But your
father, with the enterprise and enthusiasm of youth, persisted in his
purpose. At last, my uncle gave a reluctant consent and purchased my
share of the estate of Rossillon".
"Not to my surprise, but to my great gratification, soon after this,
the gentle Countess de Morny consented to become the Countess de
Rossillon".
"Surrounded by a joyous group of friends, one bright September
morning, in the chapel of _St. Marie_, they were married, and then the
priest united me to your father. The sweet mother looked down from
above the altar and seemed to give us a smiling blessing. We were very
happy, my Adèle".
"In a few days we set sail for New Brunswick. We arrived at St. John in
October and there spent the following winter. In the spring, your
father explored this region and made a large purchase of land here. At
that time it seemed a desirable investment. But you see how it is, my
Adèle. All has resulted strangely different from what we anticipated.
And somehow it has always been difficult to change our home. From time
to time, we have thought of it,--obstacles have arisen and--we are
still here".
"But where is the Count de Rossillon, mother? It is twenty years, is
it not, since you left France? Does he yet live?"
"_Ah! ma chère_, we know not. After our departure from France we
received frequent letters from him and the dear Countess until five
years since, when the letters ceased. They constantly urged our return
to Rossillon. You remember well the thousand pretty toys and gifts
they showered upon your childhood?"
"Ah! yes, mother, I remember. And you have not heard a word from them
for five years!"
"Not a word".
"Do you wish to go back to France, mother?"
"It is the only wish of my heart that is unsatisfied. I am full of
ceaseless yearnings for the beautiful home of my youth. Would that we
could return there. But it may not be. France is in a state of
turmoil. I know not what fate has befallen either my uncle, or his
estate. He may be dead. Or, if living, he may no longer be the
proprietor of beautiful Rossillon. We cannot learn how it is".
"Cannot my father go to France and ascertain what has happened there?
Perhaps, mother, he might find a home for you once more in your dear
Picardy".
"He is thinking of it even now, _ma fille_".
"Is he, mother? Then be comforted. You will see that sweet home once
more, I feel assured".
She rose and flung her arms around Mrs. Dubois, exclaiming, "Dear,
beautiful mother!"
An hour later, Adèle might have been seen, wandering about in Micah's
grove, her mind and heart overflowing with new, strange thoughts and
emotions. She had just received the first full revelation of the early
life of her parents. Her knowledge of it before had been merely vague
and confused. Now a new world was opened for her active fancy to revel
in, and fresh fountains of sympathy to pour forth, for those whom she
so fondly loved. She sighed as she recalled that yearning, wistful
look upon her mother's face, in those hours when her thoughts seemed
far away from the present scene, and grieved that her gentle spirit
should so long have suffered the exile's woe.
For weeks after, she continually fell into reverie. In her day dreams
she wandered through the saloons and corridors of the old chateau,
where her mother had spent so many years, chequered with sunshine and
shade. She rambled over the park and cooled her fevered head and hands
in the water that dripped from the tresses of the marble Aphrodite.
Fancy took her over the route of foreign travel, her mother had
pursued with the Count de Rossillon. She longed herself to visit those
regions of classic and romantic interest. During the long, golden,
September afternoons, she spent hours, in the Madonna room,
questioning her mother anew respecting the scenes and events of her
past life, and listening eagerly to her replies. The young examine
distant objects as through a prism. Adèle's imagination invested these
scenes and events with rainbow splendors and revelled in the wealth
and beauty, she had herself partially created. The new world thus
opened to her was infinitely superior to the one in which she held her
commonplace, humdrum existence. She never wearied of her mother's
reminiscences of the past. Each fresh description, each recalled item
of that history, added to the extent and the charms of her new world.
Mrs. Dubois herself felt a degree of pleasure in thus living over
again her former life with one, who entered artlessly and
enthusiastically into its joys and sorrows. She also experienced an
infinite relief in pouring out to her sympathizing child the regrets
and longings which had, for so long a period, been closely pent in her
own breast. Mother and daughter were drawn nearer to each other day by
day, and those hours of sweet communion were among the purest, the
happiest of their lives.