FootNote
The new kid on the block, FootNote is known for digitizing historical
documents... many of which are genealogical gems. With naturalizations,
city directories, war records, newspapers, town records, etc... this new
kid is quickly being recognized as an alternative to Ancestry.
While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
It was a bright day in the
latter part of October that Jerome and
Clotelle set out for the church, where the
marriage ceremony was to be performed. The
clear, bracing air added buoyancy to every
movement, and the sun poured its brilliant
rays through the deeply stained windows, as
the happy couple entered the sanctuary,
followed by old Mr. Devenant, whose form,
bowed down with age, attracted almost as
much attention from the assembly as did the
couple more particularly interested.
As the ceremonies were finished and the
priest pronounced the benediction on the
newly married pair, Clotelle whispered in
the ear of Jerome,
"'No power in death shall tear our names
apart, As none in life could rend thee from
my heart.'"
A smile beamed on every face as the wedding
party left the church and entered their
carriage. What a happy day, after ten years'
separation, when, both hearts having been
blighted for a time, they are brought
together by the hand of a beneficent and
kind Providence, and united in holy wedlock.
Everything being arranged for a wedding tour
extending up the Rhine, the party set out
the same day for Antwerp. There are many
rivers of greater length and width than the
Rhine. Our Mississippi would swallow up half
a dozen Rhines. The Hudson is grander, the
Tiber, the Po, and the Mincio more classic;
the Thames and Seine bear upon their waters
greater amounts of wealth and commerce; the
Nile and the Euphrates have a greater
antiquity; but for a combination of
interesting historical incidents and natural
scenery, the Rhine surpasses them all.
Nature has so ordained it that those who
travel in the valley of the Rhine shall see
the river, for there never will be a
railroad upon its banks. So mountainous is
the land that it would have to be one series
of tunnels. Every three or four miles from
the time you enter this glorious river,
hills, dales, castles, and crags present
themselves as the steamer glides onward.
Their first resting place for any length of
time was at Coblentz, at the mouth of the
"Blue Moselle," the most interesting place
on the river. >From Coblentz they went to
Brussels, where they had the greatest
attention paid them. Besides being provided
with letters of introduction, Jerome's
complexion secured for him more deference
than is usually awarded to travellers.
Having letters of introduction to M.
Deceptiax, the great lace manufacturer, that
gentleman received them with distinguished
honors, and gave them a splendid <soiree,>
at which the <elite> of the city were
assembled. The sumptuously furnished mansion
was lavishly decorated for the occasion, and
every preparation made that could add to the
novelty or interest of the event.
Jerome, with his beautiful bride, next
visited Cologne, the largest and wealthiest
city on the banks of the Rhine. The
Cathedral of Cologne is the most splendid
structure of the kind in Europe, and Jerome
and Clotelle viewed with interest the
beautiful arches and columns of this
stupendous building, which strikes with awe
the beholder, as he gazes at its unequalled
splendor, surrounded, as it is, by villas,
cottages, and palace like mansions, with the
enchanting Rhine winding through the vine
covered hills.
After strolling over miles and miles of
classic ground, and visiting castles, whose
legends and traditions have given them an
enduring fame, our delighted travellers
started for Geneva, bidding the picturesque
banks of the Rhine a regretful farewell.
Being much interested in literature, and
aware that Geneva was noted for having been
the city of refuge to the victims of
religious and political persecution, Jerome
arranged to stay here for some days. He was
provided with a letter of introduction to M.
de Stee, who had been a fellow soldier of
Mr. Devenant in the East India wars, and
they were invited to make his house their
home during their sojourn. On the side of a
noble mountain, whose base is kissed by the
waves of Lake Geneva, and whose slopes are
decked with verdure to the utmost peak of
its rocky crown, is situated the delightful
country residence of this wealthy, retired
French officer. A winding road, with
frequent climbs and brakes, leads from the
valley to this enchanting spot, the air and
scenery of which cannot be surpassed in the
world.
Clotelle or The Colored Heroine, A tale
of the Southern States
