LOUIS VERNON

Tuapeka Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1142, 6 May 1885, Page 4

LOUIS VERNON

(A TALE OP THE FIRST EMPIRE.) 1 $V !F. A." J. DE CONDB.

Chapter I. — (Changing Scenes. < The long, penfcupf discontent of the French had burst forth in.all its fury, Srtd^the, terrible EAoliition had swept over France in orte crimson wave of her noblest blood. Names among the most honored she owned were stamped out for ever by the sharp-edged guillotine, and one fearful groan arose to heaven from thousands of bleeding hearts, whose every earthly hope had vanished and left them utterly desolate. Leagued against her in hostile array i?ere the principal Powers of Europe, and to free herself from the impending danger France had called forth her sons. Again and again the terrible conscription was levied, till the flower and youth of the land was drained. Nobly she held her own against her leagued foes, till at length the surpassing genius of the immortal Corsican soldier triumphed over every obstacle,andplaeed her in a position which the proudest nation in Europe had never held before. But in the noonday of her proud triumph she received a mortal blow, from which she has never fully recovered. The terrible and disastrous campaign into Russia sent a thrill of horror through her veins, .which froze her life--blood, and crushed her triumphant spirit beneath an overwhelming weight of woe. The proud-spirited Emperor of the French was forced to abdicate the throne, and retire into private life.

A short reign of peace dawned on bleeding France once more, but it was short-lived ; for suddenly the whole of Europe was alarmed by the news that the prisoner of Elba had escaped. jtfever,perhaps,before had the escape of onesolitary prisoner caused such alarm; and never before had the uncertain movements of one man caused such a general call to arms of the allied nations of Europe. No sooner had the exile landed on the soil of France than the brave veterans who had been led to victory again and again by him rallied around him, and he marched in triumph to the palace which he had been forced to resign scarce a year before to the ancient princes of France. But his reign was equally short-lived with the peace of France which he so suddenly disturbed. Europe was determined, and concentrated her forces around him, till the invincible sword of the noble Iron Duke thrust the despot to the very vitals, and crushed him to earth never to rise again. Worn out and utterly exhausted, France, almost drained of her life-blood, hailed peace once more, and men left the horrors of war to, engage in the arts of peace and industry. It was when the flag of peace waved again over the sunny fields of France that the ship La Blanche set out on a whaling cruise for the South Seas,commanded by Captain Pierre Moreau, and manned by a crew of twenty-five men. One of the crew, Louis Vernon by name, had at one time been a midshipman on board a French frigate. He had been taken prisoner at the battle of Trafalgar, but succeeded in making his escape and returning to France. He was only sixteen years of age when taken prisoner by the British, but his indomitable courage and unyielding determination were the means of his effecting his escape from the durance of the vigilant British. He was a very high-spirited youth, and one of whom his captain was justly proud. He was by birth a nobleman, but his father had perished in the bloody turmoil of the Eevolution, and he was left to inherit his father's name, but not his father's property. Born and reared in stormy times, Louis was eminently .fitted to become a soldier. The blooct of generations of distinguished warriors flowed in his veins, and the haughty spirit of his warlike ancestors burned with redoubled ardor in our young j hero He was a tall and manly youth, with keen, flashing, dark eyes, which seemed to pierce into your inmost soul as he gazed upon you. The proudly curved upper lip betrayed the haughty spirit which burned within, despite the winning ways and polite manner which characterised him, Early left an orphan, he was dependent upon the charity of friends for his education. But friends were never wanting for young' Louis. Many who had benefited by the bounty of his father, and who had seen his faithful young mother sink into the grave broken-hearted, were only too glad of the opportunity of befriending him. Consequently, he received a liberal education, and "as he early evinced a desire to become a sollier, he was sent to a naval trainingship, where he displayed so much in< telligence and perseverance, that he was soon enabled to get a berth on board a frigate as a midshipman, that being the first opening which presented itself.

Being a Norman by birth, the untamed blood of the fiery Norsemen still coursed in his veins, burned on his cheek, and shone in his eyes. He was loved and respected by all with whom he came in contact. His generous nature and ever - obliging manner, accompanied by a sense of honor, won the esteem of all. He was not long on board the frigate Before he completely won the hearts of his shipmates. Baring and bold as his ruthless ancestors who landed in tho north of France centuries ago, he burned to win glory on fields of fame. In the hour of danger, cool and collected, he stood on the deck of the ship, chafing with impatience to join in the fight. And when his countrynwn lay dead in heaps around him, and the frigate's gun silent and her flag lowered, he inwardly condemned

the captain for not fighting till she sank beneath his feet. } . . Louis had been in the hottest fire of the action on that eventful day, but j passed through it unharmed. Arid! when the Bhip was taken. in tow by a British man-of-war, and her crew ordered on , board to be placed under; guard, he refused to leave her deck-; j and it was only when his own captain I commanded him to obey, that he yielded. He was too well disciplined, J and too proud of his honor, to refuse j to obey the captain whom he had sworn to obey. But the extreme hauteur with which he replied to the British, and the defiant look which shone in his eye, showed plainly that if they did not keep a close watch over their prisoner, Messieurs L'Anglaise would not have him long. And neither did they ; for scarcely had j the rejoicings over the great victory won died away, before Louis Vernon had. returned to his native shores.

He went back to the kind friends who still cherished the memory of his father. Heart-sick and chagrined at the sudden overthrow of all his high aspirations, he resolved to settle down for a short time into quiet rural life. He went to work on a farm with one of the neighbors who had befriended him in youth, and labored contentedly for a while. Contentedly, not because the fiery martial spirit had been quenched, but because he had entwined his heart around a fair young maiden, and lived in sunshine beneath her smile, and only waited till favoring circumstances should come in his way to declare to her his affection.

Catherine Marie Annie Dubois was the daughter of Jacques Dubois, on whose farm Louis labored. They had known each other since memory's earliest time, and even in childhood had shown great affection for each other. That friendship, formed in playful childhood, had never been forgotten, and when they were thrown together again- after a few years of separation, it deepened into something more than mere friendship. Catherine i was a merry, laughing, lovely, blueeyed maiden of sweet sixteen, when Louis returned to Valencois, the home j of his fathers. She was a little coy on the first renewal of their friendship, but the feeling soon wore off on further intercourse. Catherine was not very I tall, but was nevertheless of a very compact form, and decidedly pretty. She had always been used to a fair share of hard labor, which had developed the muscles of her wellformed arms, and chest, and shoulders, till she might almost vie with some of the young men of the village in i strength. But at the same time there was an element of refinement in her nature, which completely won her from anything akin to vulgarity. It had been her lot in early life to face hard labor and many trials, but later, years had placed her in better circumstances, and consequently enabled her .to devote some of her time to refinement. She was bright. and intelligent, and an apt pupil in everything requiring taste and neatness- . - Eew of the aristocratic, young ladies in the district could excel her in needlework and embroidery, or any kindred art requiring patience and skill. Her ever-winning smile and merry laugh lightened up the home of Jacques Dubois with the eternal sunshine of spring; and her never- varying affection for him and her mother, and her dutiful obedience, endeared his only child to him. She moved about the house merry and joyous, and filled it with a wholesome air of happiness which was entirely wanting when she was absent. Her early training had given her a healthy constitution, and supplied her with physical endurance seldom acquired by the daughters of wealth. The rosy glow of health illuminating her cheek imparted a deeper shade of beauty to her countenance. Sitting round the cheerful fire, that night on which he entered the house of Dubois after his long absence, Louis could not keep his eyes off the pretty, unassuming face of Catherine, who sat opposite to him knitting. Radiant and blushing like the sweet unfolding rose, with cherry lips apart, and with sparkling eyes of entrancing lustre, she, unconsciously, kindled into a flame the lingering spark which had long smouldered in Louis' breast ; and before many mouths had passed away he resolved to abandon his intention of joining the army, and remain among his friends, near the idol he now began to worship. Louis engaged himself to Jacques Dubois, and laboured happily, with Catherine's smile to cheer him if he did return at night tired., He was never certain whether Catherine returned his love or not, but he knew at least that she accepted it willingly, which almost amounted to the same thing. •; So thus encouraged by her kindness to him and willingness to receive his i advances, he lived in hope that the day would come on which he would claim, her for his bride. Encouraged by a delusive hope, Louis lived on in contented happiness in the home of his childhood. But ever and anon, as the stirring news came of brilliant victories gained by his countrymen, and of the glorious career of the rising star of the IVenchmen's.hope, as it rapidly left the horizon and ascended, by giant strides, the " gilded pathway of fame's burning ecliptic," all the fiery ardor of his restless, untamed spirit returned, and chfaed and galled Jrini bitterly. But a glance from the beaming eye of Catherine stilled the, tempest in his breast, and trampled on the proud martial spirit that threatened to master him. He pictured to himself the field of battle and' its bloody horrors; he thought of Catherine weeping disconsolate, and his grave. in a foreign laud; and the more lie thought of it,

the more it haunted him, till at last he resolutely turned his back on the army ', and' decided to abandon it; for ever.' Fondly he told Catherine his resolve, and he ' thought that she eviriced pleasure at, the good news; and so shej jdid, for she was glad to hear it. ' x Calmly and .happily, days and weeks and, months and years flew on, almost 'uncounted as they passed, and Louis Vernon was among the happiest of the ydiing 'villagers of Valencois. Catherine trusted him implicitly, and never refused to go with him to join in the merriments of social parties, or fora walk in the fields, or a ramble on the . sea-shore. She experienced a decided pleasure in his company, and always endeavored to prove a pleasant companion to him ; she never slighted him on any occasion, and never left his company for that of another when once she had agreed to be his companion in any of his visits ; aiid she showed plainly by her acts that she accepted him as her lover. Catherine's heart was his, and she had given him, a free offering, the unreserved devotion of her pure young heart's first, and last, and only love. But, alas! her father had already given her hand to another. Catherine kept this a secret from Louis, and hoped prayerfully that the tide of events would change its apparent course, and also her father's will.. Louis never dreamed for a moment that he had a rival ; he thought that Catherine was indisputably his own. He had never heard of her caring for any one else, and he believed that he had won her first love — that love which alone is pure. He was now no longer a boy, and the virgin love of manhood he had cast in tribute at her feet ; and he honestly thought that he had hers in return. He saw that she thrust aside every attempt at love-making advanced to her by the beaux of the village, contrary to his experience of other women. Thus Louis lived happily, basking in the sunshine of Catherine's love, unconscious that that fair young heart . ever had one pang of sorrow. Little did he ! know that those merry laughing eyes were often dimmed with weeping, and that those luxuriant tresses were often damp with tears. Catherine was strong minded, and had learned to restrain her passions, and subdue her feelings.' Consequently she always presented a joyous appearance in the presence of others, in spite of the canker-worm at her heart.