THE OMINECA HERALD, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 194

Cs ood

)NE: of the finest stories from

the pen of an author excep-
tionally gifted in dep picting

~‘yomance and reality i in the Cana-

_ dian north. It concerns mainly
“three ‘people and the incidents

“occur in one of th se quaint vil-

| Jages far bac’ in Quebec where the

Highteenth century is almost as

muchin evidenceas the Twentieth, ©

a

i . : . or 1 mee, 1 !
mi . L, ay oe . Seowe toward tire
: ‘Tha’ human element of’ thie story je:

TET ee

“Arcile.
No ona has written more or better

; “Cerriidd .by a study in. haritage— | gtories about-the regions he loved than
; rosaulogy, Noble blood of two Taces.| Gurwond. ,New editions of his works -
at nited, In one case, primitive and sav- | make. thelr appearance’ with seven

greater regularity than did new nov-
ela‘from his pan: during. life,. One of
his-last books was "The Crippled Lady
of Peribonka,”. a tale that will be read
and read’ again for many years. ‘

#

CHAPTER [-

i but none the leas royal; in the
. where ‘alvillzed and cultured to ths
: > Wwhest--degres, . Thin phase la baged. |
! om, the historloal union, some century
_rud a Half agone, between the Indlan
nin iden known a8 Molly Brant, sister
ci! ‘Puayendanega that greatest of- _Mio-
- biwk: chtefa, and Sir William John-
oF Ue rapresentative of .King. George Wi
ip ihe colonies: ;
'  TDuwn ‘through-the years’ to.8 des
‘-spendant, to- a Molly Brant: of the pres-
. ent, time, cinarrled to. a Croesus and
living {n a palace in ‘the city of New:
York,’ Thrdugd her son,‘a throw-back :|
to type, the blood of the orlginal Mol;
» ly Brant comes .into {te own. . Thik
" blending of. the primitive and the mod:
i; ern Ia one of the greatest fasclnations
ao of, the story. .,It is glven.an,eppropri-
. i: ale. sottingIn. # village: ‘far’ back: In
Quebec wharé. ‘ie: Bighteonth oentary
‘touches elbows with tha. “Twentleth,
The :Amerioan malting. pot’ in. -ayinbol-
ized: in the Crippled Lady. hareelf, : :
. The late James Diver Curwood was

_ This story Is going to start ike a
lesson in geography.
it Is lurgely a:‘chrenicle of real events
Pin human lives. History, whether of
things or people, ‘rests upon the basle
“necessity of possessing certain aspects
of altuation-whith-we encompass with-
tn the terms’ ‘of: ‘latitude and longitude.
The: tdllowing | “narrative . ‘would quite
| profoundlysmisa\, site: real : drama. if it
‘ware to; ignore: ithe - -points; ‘of the ,com-
pags, atid. the. manner . in which -Fate

a writer of sdventare. storian:who ‘bad | pla with, them. to. bring, about: an
; ‘ms mont ‘wosdertul faculty for catohing. |. ,

the spirit sad, translating ‘the’ satahton | “an ual com lon. of ‘ends,

of, 8 chowen ‘locallty, It was’ singu- We will begin with Peribohka, Pert

bonka is a :quaint: little French-Cana-
dian village which neatles’ on the shore
of the Blorious Peribonka river, four

TR Ee Rae Tere

* larly fortunate that’ his affections cee

_ tered about the north country; Pipers
the. Habitant sections of Queb

_ those farther reaches of forests sepa

‘

' nelghbors

WN U. Service F

| Deauty,

This {s because -

‘Tailes above Lac, St. Jeans. ‘Ln'the prov:
dnee. of Quebec. Tt is made: “up almost
entirely of a single row of thirty or
forty houses, all of which face the
river. Should one adventure a little
farther into.the wilderness..after hav- |
ing made the wonderful Saguenay ‘trip
up from Quebec to- Ha’ Ha bay“ or
Chicoutimi and come to know. .Pert-
bonka for himself, he will understand
why the houses are situated with no
or obstructions between
them and the river, For.the river faa
living, breathing, God-sent thing to the
French-speaking people of the place,
about whose drowsy lives there still
remains, like a. sweet-scented . veil of
old lavender lace, the picturesque sim-
plicity of thelr ereat-great-grandfath-
ers of a hundred and fifty years ago.

In contrast to the roaring, passion-
ate Mistasstni, fifteen miles away, the
Perlbonka is peculiarly like the men
and women and children who inhabit
a few acres of ita shores. It has, I
believe, given to them much of their
character, for of all the people in the
habitant country those of Perlbonka
are the gentlest and most lovable.
Even In the floodtimes of spring {t is
hot an angry or menacing river, and
In winter it Is so genially smooth ‘and
well frozen that the habitant' formers
use it for their horse-and-cutter races,
or as a trall: by which te come to’
town. In spite of its great size and
the vast forces behind it, the’ kind-
ness and gentleness of {ts mature must
have made tts people what they are.
The nien are truthful, thelr morals-are
right, they believe in God as well. as
In spirits, they are clean and cour-
teons and hospitable. The women are
bright eved, -elear skinned, unrouged,
inbebbed, pretty. These. peopie are
alwnys looking toward the river, in the
evening’ when they go to bed, in the

|; morning when they get up. They have

‘puilt'-thelr picturesque, Uttle church
‘facing It,. and the good Father. sleeps
with his. bedroom window opening
upon it. The local cemetery occupies
an acre of hallowed ground within a
hundred feet. of the water’s edge. A
venerable monastery is built. at the
mouth of it.

Untll quite recently - the two hap-
plest people in the village of . Perl-
bonka were Maria :Chapdelaine and
her husband Samuel... They are still
happy, although: Samuel ‘is-a bit over-
cast ‘at present because ‘of a financial
loss, which has ‘come to, him. -For
years ‘Samiiel: has ‘run hig’ ttle" store.
and Maria her kitchen, in which she
prepares ‘délectulile meals for the few
transients who come thelr way, and
until this recent time. to which I have

_referred; there {s- good reason ..to. be-

lieve she savas the happiest woman in
her little: world ’

Now there Is another, They call
her the Crippled Lady. Bhe ts often
‘seen sitting on the wide veranda of
@ quaint ttle home In.a garden of
flowers just this slde’ ofthe church.
“There ig a road which completely. en-
‘circles Lac St. Jean, connecting the
villages and farms in fits narrow rim
of etvilization, and during the tourist
seadon occaglonal autoinubiles pAss.
through Peribonka. Their occupants
always sture at the Crippled Lady if
she happens to-be on her porch, She

cannot easliy forget. Women talk
about her, and men silently bear away
a picture of her.in their hearts. Her
lf one .has ‘only a moment's
contemplation of ft, ‘strikes almost
with a shock, It is Slavic—thick,
dark, shining Lalr drawn amoothly
back, ‘a face clearly white as-a@ nun's,:
unforgettable eyes, a slim, beautiful
figure in a big chalr—and something
‘else, It fa that other thing. which
photographs ber so vividly and so per-:
manantly upon one’s consciousness.
Perhaps: it is some time before one
reallzea that what he hag- seen Is not
beauty alone but happiness, The
Orippled Lady, who cannot, walk, who,
cannot .stand. alone, Is happy, und she
covets nothing
already given. her. -
that. te : : oF

nine: ‘people “of Pertbonke: love this
charming’ forelgner, who ‘has made her
home “among. them. , he Wemen are
not, Jeniqus. of, her. She’, Takes the
algnificanca of + purity, and, beauty
nearer ‘and more... ‘comprehensive ‘for.
ithe-men, ‘The- -Ohureh prayed. for her:
‘when: she wag: very: eick;:.. She. is tof:

Her, voice: tells you

] “all ‘religions: ust: jJoving.God,; a0 that

even: ‘ the: -asternest: of the. monks in
the: grim: ‘white. walls’ down: near the
dake: spank. and ‘think. of ‘het!’ tenderly.
The children’ “worship. he and ‘the big,

Waly

is .a’ vision of loveliness. which -one |

which God has not.

Ll avith , tresses fying before sir William

shrine for them..

spirits, both: good and bad, and.in the.
warled and frequent manifestations of
a divine interest and watchfulneas, So

In Ferlbonka. a youth ~
atill continues: vito grow up. into: man: a]
hood afd wontanhood believing’. with: i
great faith in the visible existence of |

the children have come to belleve that |...
it was a miracle which sent the Crip- |. tt

pled Lady through the doors of death
and then brought ‘her safely . back '
again, that. she might remain with
them -always.- Even the-mothers and
fathers :belleve this, Just as “surely. a3
they believe it is a sin to steal ‘from

one's nelghbor or speak - talsehood ||,
‘against him.

“Thus. works -the hand

of God,” the good Father has said. So
the Church belleves it, too --- +
They all know her story. ‘and that |.

story fs an epic which wit] ‘live for a
long time in the country about Lae St

Jean. © I doubt if it wili-dle until: the
§0- -called progress of industrially actlve
man thrusts up. Its grimy hand and’
inundates it, along with the: quaint-
ness and beauty’ mi satisfying near:
ness to God of living up there, :

It is. this story [ have set: out to
tell, with a bit of generanhy to begin
with—who the Crippled Lady is and
why she is there; ‘how she bravely
tried to, give np her ife for another
woman’s hushbiund. arid‘ why she Lives.
today 30 happily in Perlbonka.- |

CHAPTER II

Tt 19 unisual that an Indian should.
be born in.one of the wealthiest fam-
ies in New York. *

Yet sit happened.

A traveler to the ‘elty ‘of Prantford,
Ont. will find within a few miles: of
the town a little church bullt for the
Ind.ans by King George the: Third,
and. close about ft a:-old cemetery,
in which rests the dust of the tast
of the great Irequols warriors and
chiefs. In a tomb built of stone, which
1g green. with age and ‘moss, ‘Iles
Thayendanegea, greatest of all the Mo-
hawks, and more’ commonly known as
Joseph ‘Brant, “Renders -of the, ro-

mance, 1g well ag the fact of history, :

‘may recall the day when Sir William

Johnson, the king's right arm. in: the |

‘Colonies, first saw Tlinyendinegea’s
sister. He was attending. a: muster of |i
hig county -militla. when- an officer |
came galloping by with a . beautiful
Indian girl of sixteen riding laughing: |
behind him: .-Sir. Willlam,. whose ‘|:
wife had recently died, caught a.vision
‘of lovely: dark eyes and of flowing |’
black hair streaming In.a cloud be-
hind ‘a ‘form of rare symmetry. and
grace, and in that moment. the -heart
of the lonely. and guseeptible widower
was smitten so deeply that. evening
found Molly Brant !n Johnson castle,
where she remained, thenceforth its
mistress and the {dol of its proprictor. :
Geography and history skip a hun-
dred and thirty-five years after this’
event. until they arrive at the birth of
the Indinz boy on Fifth avenue.  —
When Jimes Kirke married Molly
Craddock neither thought very much

about the strain of indian ‘blood in |.

Molly's yelns, except “that Molly was
always seuretiy proud of it
war not the kind of man: to boast of
Ancestors, or even to think
them,
hition from the ‘beginning, and chat
Was ta pyramid his Inherited milions.|
Into) everinereasing financial power.
Ie hecnme so completely alsorhed fn
this tusk that after n-few years. Molly 7
Wis left very largely ta «whatever
drenms. she muy have bad of the plie-
‘thresque and: Yomantic past, and to an
nheorhing Jove for her young son, Paul
She told. him, many -of the, pretty:
stories and .some. of. ithe, tragie ones:
which, deeds -had: weltten “th the Lves
of ibetr ancestors, -and twice she went
with im (othe, anctent biivial place
near. Brant ford nnd. sat beside the
- tomb. of ‘Thayepdunegen, and trted to
Wike hin see ag-clearly ag ‘herself ‘the!
ooptlerhag days: when Molly ‘Bruit’ rate: |

‘Joitison,

“rom the tour Paul opened his ‘eyas
to the fight-of life ‘he had In him the
soul of-an.dndinn, After a hundred
and thirta-five- syenta the: -blood of ‘the,
lovely: Molly Brant hyd “come into its
own. Ofte would snot, have: ‘guessed, it

Y from. the’ bay's; physical , appearar be,

‘for: he was. eht; rather, tha ni. dark sii

with tue eyes: rand . blond. aie"
the ‘ modern. Molly, tho’ lived re a]:
_palace,. witha; , Croesus. for’ a: husband,.| |¢

wide e porch of her home has, bécome, AL

‘saw what’ Was. 8 happening as the years |

Kirke |;

ubout 4,
for he had one consuming am- |,

-
‘

‘Peribonka,
Her. boy, grew + lean of face
und figure, His cheek bones were a/jf
little high, -His love for the outdoors 7
became -a passion, She made. tt pos- iim
‘sible for him to spend his “vacations /4 :
in the woods, and each time he re- 4
turned. she knew that something had 4
been taken away from him and a little #
more of the other tiing put in its}
place. The servants thought’ he was
queer, and loved his quiet and stotcal | :
Kindness, which. was many years |
oldér than his.age, Most boys would 4
have Itved up to-the princely grandeur {qj
of hts environment, To Paul lt meant |j
less than a tree with birds singing
in its branches. |

In hig thirteenth- year came three} 7
events: ‘of vital importance in the]
shaping of his future,-..Pirst his moth, 4
er didd... No one would ever: ‘know the] ;
tertible; unhealing wound. At. cut a
'g:heart. 7 It-wwas, Jamés ‘Kirke, the
Li power-seeking . -Jugger-\9
aut of flesh and: blood’ ‘who’ went tom
“pieces when he discovered that death '#
“had been fearless enough to cross his!

‘ path? } IWS dgohy“‘wan:- ‘ike’ kK storm, |
tragic fora time, ~ ‘and: quickly » over: °
-He settled back Into the fierce strife %
-of hig-money getting by the time, Paull
-began.-to grteve.., But the shadow and/i
.the fact,of death changed, him a little, |!
‘He saw himself. alone, except ‘for hie i
son, And this. son,: after years of i
passing Interest - on his: part, became, .
the kernel of his plane: and ‘ambitions.
He was now king:: ‘Some day hig: boy "
would be king. And it was his desire§
and his: decision that he should be a,
‘greater king than himoelt. Pride fired .
his resolution. :

7 But. here the, _gooistaiphicat zeniue of :
‘Fate’ “again. Stepped In. with humors oi
Vit, -own: dn! another. Fifth avenuci
leme* a baby” irl was born to the wif
of; Kir ké’a;+most implacable: financly §
H enry iurand. A few month

passed by.

‘hire. ra 3
them and no. one would have care - :
very much, for their adventure wag
only one of millions #f a similar kint#

The. immigrant, baby's fortune hegnj a :
and ended with the few Little clothyyiim
‘she wore. ‘The other baby was wort iim
millions ‘one second. after she con wee
into the world. oe

Paul ‘continued’ to grow up, and wig

equal stedidiness his: father continuy iim
‘to amass’ fortune and influence. ‘Sag
was his passion. to smash and bre i
down, then devour.and build up—Unig ,

gome one called’ him tie Anaconda, |i
dame which ‘fitted him so well that thi
‘newspapers would have used’ lt/h
they, dared. Kirke was always withif
the legal boundaries of his country(iiN
ttws. He ‘absorbed slipping: con

pantea, ralironds, coal mines, and tiie
berlands, and ‘sent out his engineet
.to,.cqrner vast, water-power rightiEa
in induptrlal point ‘of ‘view Hig
“anaot, for: whe}

” Hew y Bs intolerent tn rivalg 7
this’ beovight” him ench ‘year &
dover and ‘more ‘deadly | ‘contact wif

woo ‘Continned on Tage a