it was about the middle of the summer, after my severe illness, that i went to the island for a long visit. i was taken there by my brother and my sister, the latter was like a second mother to me. after a sojourn of several weeks with our relatives at st. pierre oleron (my good aunt claire and her two old unmarried daughters) we went alone, we three, to a fishing village upon the long-beach, which at that time was entirely off the line of travel. the long-beach is that portion of the island commanding a view of the ocean over which the west winds blow ceaselessly. upon this coast, which extends without a curve straight and seemingly limitless, with the majestic sweep of the desert of sahara, the waves roll and break with a mighty noise. here there are to be seen many uneven waste spaces; it is a region of sand where stunted trees and dwarfish evergreen oaks shelter themselves behind the dunes. a curious kind of wild flower, a pink and fragrant carnation, blooms there profusely all summer long. two or three villages, composed of humble little cottages, whitewashed like the bungalows of algeria, break the loneliness of this region. these homes have planted about them such flowers as can best resist the sea-winds. dark skinned fishermen and their families, a hardy honest people, still very primitive at the time of which i write, live here; even sea-bathers had not found their way to these shores.
in an old forgotten copy-book where my sister had written down (in a stilted manner) the impressions of that summer i find this description of our lodgings.
“we dwell in the centre of the village, in the square, at the mayor's house.
“this house has two ells, which are spacious beyond measure.
“its dazzling whitewashed surfaces sparkle in the sun, its window shutters are fastened with large iron hooks and painted a dark green as is the custom here. the flower bed that is planted in the form of a wreath all around the house grows vigorously in the sand. the day-lilies, one surpassing the other in beauty, open their yellow, pink and red blossoms, and the mignonette beds which at noon-time are fully abloom waft on the air an odor that is sweet as the scent of orange blossoms.
“opposite us a little path hollowed out of the sand descends rapidly to the edge of the sea.”
my first really intimate acquaintance with the sea-wrack, crabs, sea-nettles, jelly-fish, and the thousand and one other small creatures that inhabit the ocean, dates from this visit to the long-beach.
and during this same summer i fell in love for the first time—my beloved was a little village girl. but here, so that the story may be related more accurately, i will allow my sister, through the medium of the old copy-book, to speak again—i merely copy:
“dozens of the children (fishermen's boys and girls), tanned and brown and with little legs all bare, followed pierre, or audaciously hurried before him, and from time to time turned and looked at him wonderingly with their beautiful dark eyes. at that time a little gentleman was a rare enough spectacle in that part of the country to be worth the trouble of running after.
“every day pierre, accompanied by this crowd, would descend to the beach by means of the little footpath scooped out of the sand. there he would run and pick up the shells that, upon that coast, are so exquisitely beautiful. they are yellow, pink, purple and many other bright colors, and they have the most delicate and varied forms. pierre admired them greatly, and the little ones who always followed him would silently offer him hands full.
“veronica was the most attentive of all. she was about his own age, perhaps a little younger, six or seven years of age. she had a sweet, dreamy little face, a rather pale complexion and lovely gray eyes. she was protected from the heat by a large white sunbonnet; a kichenote, as they call it in that part of the country, is a very old word, and means a large bonnet made of linen and cardboard, which projects over the face like the head-dress of a nun. veronica would slip near pierre, take possession of his hand, and keep it in hers. thus they walked along contentedly without saying a word. they stopped from time to time to kiss each other. 'i wish to kiss you,' veronica would say, and as she did so she embraced him tenderly with her little arms. then after pierre had allowed her the caress he would, in his turn, kiss her vehemently on her pretty, little, plump cheeks. . . .”
“little veronica used to run and seat herself upon our doorstep as soon as she was up; and there she remained like a faithful, loyal spaniel. as soon as pierre woke he thought of her being there, and he would immediately get out of bed, have himself quickly washed, and stand quietly to have his blond curls combed out, and then run to find his little friend. they embraced each other and prattled of the events of the day before; sometimes veronica, before coming to our house to wait for pierre, made a trip to the seashore and gathered an apron full of the beautiful shells as a love offering to her sweetheart.
“one day, at about the end of august, after a long reverie, during which pierre had perhaps weighed and considered the difficult question of the social difference between them, he said; 'veronica you and i must get married some day; i will ask permission of my parents when the time comes.'”
then my sister speaks of our departure:
“upon the 15th of september it was necessary for us to leave the village. pierre had made a collection of shells, sea-weeds, star-fish and pebbles; he was insatiable and wished to carry all of them away with him, and with veronica's aid he packed a great many into his boxes.
“one morning a large carriage arrived at st. pierre to take us away. the peace of the village was broken by the noise of the little bells and the cracking of the driver's whip. pierre with the greatest care placed his own packets into the carriage and then we three quickly took our places. with eyes full of sadness pierre gazed out of the carriage window towards the sandy path that led down to the beach—and at his little friend who stood there weeping.”
in conclusion i will copy word for word the reflection found at the end of the faded book which was written down by my sister during that same summer.
“then, and not for the first time, i fell into an uneasy reverie that had to do with pierre, and i asked myself: 'what will become of the little boy? and what will become of his little friend whose figure we could still see outlined at the now far distant end of the road. how much despair does that little heart feel; how much anguish at being thus abandoned?'”
“what will become of that boy?” alas! what indeed! his whole life was to be similar to that summer of his childhood. to know the sorrow of many farewells; to desire to take with me a thousand trifles of no appreciable value, to hunger to have about me a world of beloved souvenirs,—but especially to say good bye to wild little creatures (loved perhaps just because they were ingenuous children of nature),—these things were to make up the sum of my life.
the two or three days' journey home (broken into by a visit to our old aunts) seemed to me very nearly endless. my impatience to see and embrace mamma kept me from sleeping. i had not seen her for almost two months! my sister was the only person in the world who, at that time, could have made such a long separation from my mamma endurable to me.
we reached the continent safely, and after a three-hours ride in the carriage that we found awaiting us at the boat-landing, we passed through the ramparts of our town. ah! at last i saw my mother; i once more saw her dear face and sweet smile.—and now at this distant time i find that one of my clearest and most persistent memories is her beloved and still youthful face and her beautiful dark hair.
when we arrived at the house i ran to visit my little lake and its grottoes, and i hurried to the arbor that grew against the old wall. but my eyes had become so accustomed to the immensity of the sandy beach and the ocean that all of these things appeared shrunken, diminished, walled-in and mean. the leaves were turning yellow, and although it was still warm there was a promise of early autumn in the air. with fear and dread i thought of the dull and cold days which would soon be upon us; and when, with a heavy heart, i began to unpack my boxes of sea-weed and shells, i was overcome with grief because i was not still upon the island. i felt disquieted too about veronica who would have to be there without me during the winter, and suddenly my eyes overflowed with tears at the thought that i might never again hold her dear little sun-burned hands in mine.
