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tioeserted farm a tragic btoby introduction it was my regular habit while i resided in montreal canada eist to spend six or eight weeks if every summer in travelling in canada or in the united states i had in this way visited the greater portion of the upper province niagara falls sara toga springs the city of new york pnila delpnia and the capital of washington and no one occasion had penetrated into the far west until f reached kansas one rammer i resolved to change my rout and instead of going westward i de termined to make a tour through the eastern- dutriotsof lower canada where the french cwadian inhabitants still retain the peculiar characteristics of their norman ancestors with this object in view i travelled along the southern snore of the st lawrence nntll i reached the little village of st claude whereat i resolved to sojourn for nree or four weeks st claude consists of one long street of wooden cottages there is the usual wheel wrights a blwiamiths and carpenters shop and a general ttore a short distance from the main street stands the little toylike whitewashed redroofed roman catholio churoh near which is the residence of mon sieur le cure the largest and neatest cot tage in the village the residents of st claude like those of lower canada generally are certainly a primitive people with the exception of m le cure scarcely a dozen among them and they number some four hundred have ever journeyed fifty miles from their homes i it was surrounded blocked np the parlour doom on either side and i saw that the staircase was broken and the stairs were in such a rotten condi tion that they were unsafeif not impaisable the walls like the outside of the house were over grown with fungi and pools of water wbih had dripped from the broken roof were visible on the floor a sikly mouldy deathlike smell prevaded the pace and i was glad to turn away and breathe the fresh air after having stood in the pas sage for half a minute as i passed the open apertures which had once been win dows i looked in through one of them and saw that the room was large and that the walb and ceilings were ina similar condition to those of the passage what however struck me with amazement was the discov ery that the abundant and apparently once handsome and costly furniture of the apart ment still remained within it the chairs and tables the large mirror over the mantel piece the sideboard loaded with china orna ments and the pictures in gilded frames on the wall rare things to be met with even at the present day in this remote portion of the province remained as they had been placed when the house was tenanted but were cov ered with dust and dirt and blackened by damp and ago on my return through the front garden i remarked with surprise a large almost circular spot in tho cenfre which was per fectly denuded of grass or vegetation of any description tho soil having apparently been calcined by the action of fire and which pre sented a strange and startling contrast to the luxuriant though rank vegetation by which the villagers all dress alike in the ancient costume of normandy the young women and pirls however displayed their abund ant ebony tresses uncovered by oap or bon net and being very neatly arranged chey present a very attractive appearance asa rula these people are in a btato of perfect ignorance not one in fifty being able to read or write or caring to acquire on again consulting my watoh i found that i should barely have time to retrace my my steps to my lodgings before the dinner hour and to tell the truth i was not sorry to get away from the singular spot into which i had psnetrated i hastened therefore to climb the steep hill which led to the sum mit of the cliff and the road to st claude as i passed through tho valley on my re the knowledge they are in fact well turn i could not help remarking the strange satisfied to follow in the footsteps of their forefathers chiefly to make their own gar ments to cultivate their small tenures in the oldfashioned style and to live and die in their native village i did not find it an easy matter to procure lodgings in st claude there is no hotel and most of the cottages contain but two rooms however after much difficulty i obtained apartments at a farm house of the superior olass oconpied by one pierre junot his wife and family on the fourth day of my sojourn at the farmhouse i ttcolled away towards cape st anne and having olambered to the summit of the lofty oliff whioh overhangs the river stood a long while gszing around me at the fine and majestic scenery i was enabled to burey from the eminence i had gained long 1 stood watching the effeots of light and shadow upon the water where not a yea- eel could be seen save perchance some ice bound wreok upon the rocky shore and where the country in the rear now green and fertile and rejoicing in the beauty of summer would be shrouded beneath a pall of glittering snow from amidst which the trees denuded of their now brilliant foliage would rise like so many speotrol objeota scattered over the drear landboape at length i turned aside when my atten tion was arrested by what appeared to me to be a ruined and deserted farmhouse of a de scription very far snperior to any at present existing in this part of the provinoe it stood in a deep valley a mile or more distant several outhouses were seemingly attached to it and it was surrounded by largei fields and pasturegrounds but so far as i could perceive the place presented a singular aspeot of gloom not a human being nor oven a solitary animal of any de- criptim was to be discerned from the emi nence upon which i stood and which com manded a perfect viow of the entire estate altogether the placo presented a strange and startling contrast to the generally bright and smiling summer landscape suoh a sight would have been remarkable in any part of tho world but it was especially sin gular iu a comparatively new country in whioh ruins do not form one of the attrac tions in the eyes of travellers aud strangers and in which as yet nothing has beon left to deoay i looked at my watch it was yet early in the day and i resolved to descend into the valley aud discover whether the farm was iu reality the desolate spot it appear ed to be viewed from a distance as i drew near the houeo the absence of any trodden pthway seomed to confirm tho opinion 1 had formed while gazing upon the spot from tho tummit of the cliff evident ly there had once existed a tolerably broad road leading apparently from the valley to the village and several wide footpaths crossed and recrossed each other but all had been long disused i turned the anelo of a copse the troes of which wore surrounded with undergrowth and entwined by parasites and came into full view of the house it was a large roomy atruomre which might have served in the earlier days of the province for the country sat of a nobleman vestiges of carving and other ornamentstion were still visible over the door and windows the palings sur rounding the garden had mated and fallen the paths aud flower bods were overgrown with grass and weods the roof of the house and tho chimneys had fallen in the win dow frames and glass wero shivered to atoms sot a single eutiro pane of glass re maining the whole front of the house was blackened by age and overrun with fungi and every surrounding object presented a sad aspeot of ruin and desolation the out houses barns c were in a similar state ot dilapidation the large kitchou garden and orchard in tho rear of tho dwelling and the largo fields and pastnre grounds had evidently been uncultivated for many years and had become a mazy wilderness oven the neighbouring words appeared as though they had long been left to solitude shunned both by man and beast my curiosity induced mo to enter tho parden the gate of which lay deeply em bedded in tho soil and peer into the house through the windows or the doorway tho door iteell hanging half open on ono rusty hinge 1 would indeed have entered tho house but tho passago was strewn with tho debris that had fallen from- too ceiling and had absence of animal lite not a hare rabbit squirrel or weasel thiugh these creatures abounded in tho neighborhood crossed my path i did not hear the song or chirrup of a bird not even the buzz of an insect the only audible sound was the whispering of the lofty pines and cedars and to my excited fancy there was something unearthly in the sound heard amid the strange solitudo as though evil spirits were whispering in the upper air the utter loneliness in which i found my self weighed upon myspiritsand itwaswith a feeling of positive relief that i wa once more cleir of the valley and on the summit of the cape then turning about and gazing again for a minute at the deserted farm i made the best of my way homewards on ray arrival there i found that i was late and that old junot and his wife and elder children were with the french can adian politeness waiting dinner although the younger children were already seated at their own little table busily oconpied in discussing their pottage i apologized for my tardiness and express ed my regret that they had waited for me and in five minutes we wero all seated around the table which was spread with an abundant and wholesome though humble meal msieur must be fatigued he has walk ed far said the motherly madame junot yes madame i replied i rambled a considerable distance beyond the cape nevertheless the day is fine the walk was pleasant and i am not at all fatigued and then being ourious to learn the history ofthe deserted farm i related my adventure glad a bombshell fallen through the roof of the peaceful cottage the listeners could scarcoly have appeared more disconcerted pierre junot and his wife dropped their knives and forks and raised their oyes as if in appeal to heaven the elder son and daughter almost started from their chairs and even the younger children bokedamsz- ed at length madame found utterance you navo truly then visited the acurs- ed farm the exclaimed yet what mer- oy that ynu have roturned safe never should i have pardoned myself had any evil befallen you it would have been my fault i should havo warned you i should have warned you i should havo told you to avoid the much dreaded spot you aro a stiangor and providence his protected you say then you will not go thither again i nesitated to make any promise howe er aud requested my worthy hostess to give me the history of the firm and its former inhabitant and to oxplain to mo by what mews it became forsaken and reduced to its present ruinous and desolate condition pierre and his wifo and his son and daughter however alike hesitated to grati fy my curiosity iu fact to a certain do- greo they professed ignorance chore are many stories said madame we do not speak of it it is regarded as unlucky to allude to the subject we avoid tho spot which has for many years been accursed yot stay she added if msieur is really curious to learn the history of the odious place the cure will no doubt be willing to gratify his desire he is se- ours from the machinations of evil spirits with this i was content since a subsequ ent endeavour to obtain the information i sought from the eldest son of my host and hostess proved to bo a complete fail ure the young man evidently did not like to talk on the subject v my curiosity was all the more excited in consequenco of this atrahgo reticohco on the part of my host and his family and i resolv ed if possiblo to solve tho mystery from tho lips of the euro whoso acquaintance how ever i had not yet made monsieur dubois cure of the parish of st claude was a short stout freshcoloured man of about sixty yoarsof age fortwonty- fivo years ho had officiated as cure of tho parish ho was a cheerful kindhearted charitable man indefatigable in the perform ance of what he considered to be his duty and bolovod as well as revered by the simple- minded honest pcoplo with whom his lot was cast who looked up to him not only as their spiritual pastor but also as their advis er in all temporal difficulties hitherto i had moroly bowed in return to m duboiss polite salutation as he pasted the houso at which 1 lodged one morning whilo i was strolling in tho garden i made little parish church the next sabbath think ing that the most likely way to secure the friendship of the good father and perhaps procure an invitation to visit his cottage especially a i had been informrd that he was always glad to receive the visits of the few stringers who cime to st claude and to hear the new from the outer world from which he good man had been so long seclud ed the next sunday accordingly i mode appearance in the cburcb and was politely accommodated with a seat sear the altar although the edifice was thronged to such a degree that many of the worshipoers could cot find standing room and were compelled to wait outside the church doors after service and when the good priest had heaped blessings on the children of his parishioners he perceived me and step ping forward cordially welcomed me to st claude we seldom see strangers said he a strange is a rarity in oar remote village and therefore we ought to welcome them all the more gladly when they do us the honour of visiting us does monsieur intend tc remain long at st claude j three or four weeks i replied then said he we must become friends i shall be happy to see you at my humble dwelling aud as your time is limited the sooner we become friends the better will you do me the honour to dine with me tomorrow this was just the sort of invitation i had hoped for and of course i gladly accepted it i shall regard it as an honour on my part to make acquaintance of monsieur le cure said i and with this we wished eaoh other good day the next day at four oclock in the after noon i tapped at the door of the cures cot tage and was admitted by his housekeeper who conduotod me to the diningroom where i found the good father apparently anxiously awaiting my appearance chapter 1 betrothal and the etopement m duboiss household consisted of him self an aged female his housokeeper and a little girl of ten years of age the former the widow and tho latter the orphan daughter of a fisherman of the village who had per ished in the exercise of their perilous occu pation to whom the good priest had given a comfortable and happy home we sat down together to a plain but ap petising repast after whioh wo adjourned to a little summerhouse in the garden whither the housekeeper brought a bottle of excellent wine come fill your glass you will find the wine of the best quality though i never in dulge in it save when i have visitors after a brief conversation on various top ics i ventured to introduce the subject whioh chiefly occupied my thoughts ah i the accursed farm i exclaimed my host so then you have already visited the spot you would learn its history ab my friend i tis a sad and painful story still if you oare to listen i will relate it to you come let us go indoors it is grow ing dark and the air is always chilly after sunsot at st claude we shall find a fire in my study gertrude will bring na another bottle of wine and i will tell the story in the course of a iew minutes we were seated by the fire in the good cures cosy little study we both replenished our glassei and m le cure having settled him self comfortably in hit easy chair proceed ed with the narrative of the accursed farm neatly a century has elapsed com menced m le cure though already the province has passed from the possession of franco to that of great britain since an- toine desjarniers and his wife lisette im migrated into canada from their native nor mandy antoino desj arniers was ot a class snper ior to the ordinary emigrants from france ho was in fact a small landowner and when he had sold his farm and stook in normandy bo found himself in possession of a considerable capital wherewith to commence operations in tho new country of his adoption this gave him a vast advantage over his fellow immigrants he not only purchased a much larger tract of land than they with their more limited means wero able to seonre to themselves and supplied himself abun dantly with cattle and sheep and every var- ietyof necessary agricultural implements but he waslikewise looked up to with respect by his less fortunate countrymen and well accordibg to all accounts was ho worthy of tho respect and regard voluntarily accorded to him ho and his fair young wife to whom be had been wedded only a fewweeks before he qaittod france wero kind and generous to tho siok and aged wero always ready to extend a helping hand to the poor and needy and were prepared at all times to take tho lead iu every movement that seemed calculated to tend to tho welfare and happiness of tho little community they prospered as the kind and good deserve to prosper and within ten yeara from the date of hissettlement at st claude antoine desjorniors oreated a large and commodious dwelling with barns and out- houaea adjoining and imported furniture and pictures and various costly ornaments from france which caused his house to he regarded as tho wonder of the surrounding country and as a fitting residence for the proudest and wealthiest seigneur in the province alaa 1 house and furniture outhouses and farm havo been alike for many many years neglected and deserted and left to ruin and decay about twelve montha after tho arrival of antonio and his wife in their adopted country thoir mutual happiness was in creased by the birth of a son and heir who was named felix after his maternal grand father felix grew up to become a fine hondsomo boy alike the delight and pride of doting parents who now only craved for a daughter to crown their felicity this craving howover providence doubtless for wise reasons saw fit not to gratify at length thoy resolved if possiblo to adopt a littlo girl as their own hut this they found no suoh easy matter as they had anticipated although the community consisted chiefly of poor formers and fishermen thero was not one father or mother among them who was willing to part with any one of their own littlo daughters even in favour of the desjarniera much as they wero loved and respected there were none so poor as to find thecost of supporting a family a burden to them on the contrary in that young np my mind however to attend mass at the i and thriving community children wero re garded as a source of wealth and the larger a mans family the greater he accounted bis riches tee poor fisherman and farmers feared lest a daughter adopted by the weal thy detjiraiers should become proud and forgetful or negleotful of the authors of her there was one sweet little girl who bade fair to grow up the belle of the village upon whom especially madame dsjarniers looked with a feeling of envy that she could not claim the child a her own this girls name was touise lsgria she was the only child of a widower fierre lgris who was one of the poorest fishermen in st claude but not for ten times the wealth of the des- jirniers twice told would he have parted with his little eweiamb his only earthly treasure for whose sake he toiled night and day and often went forth to tea in times of storm and danger that kept his brother fish ermen at home in their auug cabins that he might increase hia store and provide a dowry for his darling against the time when she would arrive at a marriageable age alaa 1 poor pierre legria dared the ele ments once too often his little bark was caught in a heavy gale in the estuary of the st lawrence and neither he nor his little vessel were seen or heard of more poor little louise was left an orphan at nine years of age an orphan without near re lations but not friendless for there was not a family in the village or parish of st claude that would not have gladly sheltered the poor little child and adopted her as one of their own now however there was no obstacle in the way of the gratification ot midame des- jarniers desire willing as they were to adopt the little orphan themselves the fathers and mothers of the village perceived that they would be standing in the way of the childs best interests should they put in a claim in opposition to the wishes of their wealthier and kindhearted neighbor most of them already had daughters of their own mtdame desj arniera had none and there fore with the general approbation of the community the little louise legria became the adopted daughter of the wealthy farmer and his wife felix desjarniers had at this period just completed his twelfth year he was a noble manly boy with dark eyes and hair and a fine open expression of countenance the little louise was just three years his junior a goldenhaired blueeyed child with pretty delicate features a graceful form and an expression of countenance in which tha archness of girlhood was mingled with a sweet pensiveness rarely seen in one so j outhf ul the good simple villagers used to de clare that she was the very image of tho madonna whioh stood in the niche about the church porch i can only say said the worthy prleat in parenthesis with a amile that the image of the madonna whiobthen adorned the village ohuroh must have been very much handsomer than the present one or the good folk must have sadly maligned the ohild it was moreover a common remark that no two children could have been found better suited to hold the relative positions of brother and sister than were felix ani louise who soon oame to love each other as dearly as a real brother and sister could have loved happy had it been had this brotherly and 8isterly love never been disturbed by a lovo more passionate and still more tender happy perhaps had it been if m and madame desj arniera had remained content with the one ohild whom heaven had be stowed upon them and not craved so long ingly after a daughter whom providenoe had seen fit to withhold from them often times alas i the boon whioh we poor short sighted mortals most earnestly crave proves to be the fertile source of our future great est affliction to proceed however with my story years passed away and felix arid louise who had assumed the surname of her foster parents were already on the verge of man and womanhood the one nineteen the other sixteen yeara of age and were universally acknowledged to be the hand somest youthful pair in the parish of st claude both had been well educated for this position felix at the college at quebec and louise at a sohool at trois rivieres and bota had returned home for good about a twelvemonth after their return a great ohange had taken place in their feelings to wards oach other thoy no longer appear ed as brother and sister but regarded eaeh other with a stronger and more tender affec tion in faot they had secretly become be trothed to each other and looked forward to tho day when they should become man and wife nor were monsieur and madame desj arniera blind to tho ohango that had taken place in their childrens sentiments aud though they were ignorant of the faot of their secret betrothal th6y wero far from being averse to their future union the fair louise had boon to them all that a daughter could possibly have been nor could they have loved a daughter of their own more dearly they rejoioed therefore at the thought that louiaea marriage would not separate them but that the youthful conple would still continue to live with them at the farmhouse until death should remove them to a happier world where they would await an eternal reunion with their beloved ohildren monsieur and madame desjarniers hod oontinued to pioaper and their wealth had increased to such a degree that there were few few in tho province who were possessed of greater riohes though m desjarniers assumed no upstart airs but still continued to live the simple quiet life of a humble f armor nothing meanwhile had occurred to disturb the even tenor of their way and and it appeared as if heaven had exempted them from the ordinary sorrows and troubles whioh afflict poor mortals in almost every condition of life it had been at length ar ranged that the marriage of felix and louise should take place when the former had com pleted his twentyfirst year and when louise would consequently be eighteen yeara of ape and a public betrothal followed by a grand yete given to all the villagers by m desjarniers soon afterwards took place felix would have been better pleased had the weddingday been fixed at an earlier period and perhaps louise was secrotly on her lovers side both however were con tent to abide by tho wishes of thoir parents everything infactseemed to go smooth ly utu the desjarniers aged and youthful yet a terrible calamity was swiftly approach ing which would shatter all their dearest hopes and blight their happiness for ever but i must not anticipate my story it lacked but five months to the day appointed for tho wedding of the youthful couplo when m dojarniors came back from nov scotia whither he had gone to purchase cattle he had made a largo purchase and having arranged for the reception of the cat tle on his form he was bout to retain to nova scotia in order to bring then home when felix who probably felt the time wearisome as the day of hi marriage drew near and wished the intervening space to pass over as speedily as possible expressed his earnest desire to proceed to nova scotia in hia fathers place it was expected that it would occupy four months to complete the journey to and fro and that would bring his wedding day close at hand to be costisced geronimo the train robber of all the emooth and slippery outlaws now loose and enjoying perfect freedom the smoothest aud slipperiest is gsronlmo the train robbsr of arizona and mexico said a- a herring the mining man of cistlo dome ari i do not refer to the wilf apache obief who a ahort time ago led tb so many depredations on the frontier but to the white namesake of his who if any thing possesses more cuuniog not much seems to bo known of ger- ooimo in many paoifio coast states and territories outside of arizona and the mountainous region to the south he flies from one side of the mexican line to the other in a few hours and is as hsrd to get sight of as a will othewitp he goes into the most civilized towns of the frontier whenever he wants to and nobody seems to have the nerve to tackle him geronimo was conneoted with two or three of the heaviest robberies on tho atchi son topeka and sint fe road a year or so ago he lent a haud in the latest holdup on the southern pacific no detectives are after him or if they are they make no headway in capturing him he seems to have the right to go anywhere unmol- sited his finances ore considerably improved by his robberies of wells fargo co mine owners too oaught out with wellfilled pocket as well as numerous travellers have paid tribute to him mexican and american cattle and horse owners have suffered these depredations have been carried on for three and possibly for five years a very round sum must have gone into geronimos exchequer in consequencepeople most inti mate with the circumstances of his plunder ing figure his gains at from 100 000 to 200 000 perhaps not less than twenty men have been killed also yet he has been rercarded as a myth by many who have only heard about him in a enrsory way i assure you he is about the liveliest blood musole and bone myth however that there ib agoing there are no flies on him and evidently it ib a good man who will get him a second bob garland or somebody of that sort he knows the mountains as well as billy the kid evr did and better than any other outlaw now living he came to tombstone first about hree years ago and went under the name t f vhite he stayed for n shic time around the gambling houses he never was known to engage in honest labor he was a fair gambler though he never played for big stakes he seemed to play for pastime more than anything else in a short time he disappeared and went to clifton then he began hia open career of orime his last hauls were on the atchison and south ern pacific roada where it is believed he got not less than 20 000 eaoh time tuen he went to mexico and was captured by the regular troops while driving away some horses but too sanor jails were not strong enough to hold him and he is now back in arizona he often visits tombstone and a short time ago was seen playing billiards in the comet saloon there he has no headquarters and his devices to elude pursuers are always successful nothing is known of his presence till the day after he has left a puoe and there la no doubt that those who know where he is keep still about it for fear of death at his hands his companion is a renegade mexi can named foderico it has been said that geronimo is a mexican but this is a mistake he is white or very nearly so geronimo is a dead shot and offisers or anybody else are not iu a hurry to try their skill against him some stiff rewards have been offered by the railroad and express compantea for hin and private parties have also offered bonuses for him the governors of arizona and sonora have offered something like 3000 each there la money in his scalp if it can be got- dut to get it is tho troublj a bight kind of boy the young canadian who speaks of his ofllce as we dont laugh at the boy who magnifies his place you may see him coming from the post office a with big bundle of his employers letters which he displays with as much price as if they were his own but he ib proud of his place he is attending to business he likes to have the world know that ho is it work for a busy concern one of tho law- r6ncesofbostononcebaid i would not give nuoh for the boy that does not say we bt- fore he has been with us a fortnight the boy who says we identifiis bitmelf with the oonoero its interests iare hip he sticks up for its credit and reputation he takes pleasure in his work and hopes some time to say we in earnest the boy will reap what he sowa if he keepa his grit andsticka to his job you may take off your hat to him as one of the future solid men of the town lst his employer do the fair thing by him check him kindly if he shows signs of being too big for his place connsol him as to his habits and associates and occasionally ahow him a pleasant pros pect of advancement a little praise does an honest boy a heap of good good luok to the boy who says we two points of view whal a haughty dignified lady mrsdoo- llttle is i haughty 1 why the only time i ever saw her she was the picture of humility rsallyt when was that a week or two ago she was talking to her servant girl a dollar easily earned first tramp hello jerry come in and have a cocktail second tramp what i cocktail 1 you must be livin on esy street now first tramp yes i rather guess i am im gettin a dollar a day ter sottin in a show winder to advortise a new toilet soap second tramp rata 1 first tramp yes i am on tbo dead rquare i represent the before usinv